Nov. 16, 2002

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Wake Forest vs. EA Sports All-Stars (5-6)

Exhibition #2 / Nov. 18, 2002

Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,665)

Winston-Salem, NC

Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.

Television: None

Radio: None

Websites: WAKE (wakeforestsports.com)

The Records: WAKE FOREST is 1-0 in exhibition play after beating Gulbene Buki of Latvia, 90-55, Thursday night. EA SPORTS ALL-STARS are 5-6 heading into Saturday¡¦s game at Temple and Sunday¡¦s game at Clemson.

The Rankings: WAKE FOREST is not ranked.

WFU Coach Skip Prosser: Prosser (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy ¡¥72) is 21-13 in his second season at Wake Forest, 186-91 in 10 years overall as a head coach. Prosser coached one season at Loyola (MD) and seven seasons at Xavier before coming to Wake.

EA Sports All-Stars Coach: Maz Trakh

Series History: None.

Trivial Statistic: EA Sports All-Stars Fred Vinson (Georgia Tech) and Alex Jensen (Utah) played against Wake Forest in Lawrence Joel Coliseum as collegians.

The Officials: Announced on game day.

Wake Forest will face stern test in Monday night¡¦s exhibition game

Wake Forest, which breezed to a 90-55 in its first exhibition game last Thursday, will face a much stiffer challenge Monday night against the EA Sports All-Stars (7 p.m./no TV). The Demon Deacons jumped out to a 46-17 halftime lead last Thursday, then cruised to the 35-point win over Gulbene Buki of Latvia. EA Sports, 5-6 on its November college tour, has given some powerful college programs fits. The All-Stars have defeated Penn State, Old Dominion, James Madison, Kansas State and East Carolina. A three-point loss came at nationally-ranked Alabama. Wake Forest, one of college basketball¡¦s youngest teams, started three sophomores and two freshmen in the first exhibition game. Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard, who has been plagued all season with severe shin splints, came off the bench last Thursday to lead the Deacons with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Monday¡¦s game will mark the final tune-up for the Deacons, who open the regular season Nov. 27 against visiting Yale.

A quick look at EA Sports

The EA Sports All-Stars are one of the top touring teams with a roster full of former college stars. Former Georgia Tech standout Fred Vinson and former San Francisco star Damien Cantrell have been the offensive leaders. Vinson scored 26 points last week against NC State and Cantrell poured in 19 points at Duke. The All-Stars will conclude their 15-game tour Tuesday night at Maryland. Six ACC teams are on their schedule.

The EA Sports All-Stars have held their own against difficult schedule

The EA Sports All-Stars have already knocked off Old Dominion, James Madison, Penn State, Kansas State and East Carolina. Their losses include a three-point loss at nationally-ranked Alabama and a two-point loss at NC State last week. Below is a look at the EA Sports schedule:

11/1 -- at Alabama L, 94-97 11/3 -- at George Washington L, 89-96 11/4 -- at Old Dominion W, 83-78 11/5 -- at James Madison W, 85-80 11/6 -- at Penn State W, 86-77 11/7 -- at Kansas State W, 91-81 11/9 -- at North Carolina L, 97-109 11/11 -- at UNC-Wilmington L, 53-58 11/12 -- at East Carolina W, 76-68 11/13 -- at NC State L, 50-68 11/14 -- at Duke L, 74-102 11/16 -- at Temple 11/17 -- at Clemson 11/18 -- at WAKE FOREST 11/19 -- at Maryland

EA Sports shares the wealth, and the ball, against college opponents

The EA Sports All-Stars have had a balanced attack on their November tour across the nation. Below is a look at some of their top individual efforts: - Damien Cantrell and Issac Harmon each scored 19 points in a losing effort at Duke Nov. 14. - Fred Vinson scored nearly half (26) of EA Sports¡¦ 58 points in a two-point loss at NC State Nov. 13. The All-Stars lost to the Wolfpack when State¡¦s Julius Hodge made a 17-footer at the buzzer. - Vinson scored 33 points and was 7-of-8 from three-point range in a 76-68 win at East Carolina Nov. 12. R.J. Powell dished out 10 assists in that game. - Cantrell had 15 rebounds in the Nov. 11 loss at UNC-Wilmington. - Mike Elliott scored 27 points and dished out six assists against North Carolina on Nov. 9. Vinson added 20 points and four steals against the Tar Heels. - Elliott scored 26 points and dished out nine assists in a Nov. 7 win at Kansas Sate. Vinson added 19 points against the Wildcats. - Vinson led the All-Stars with 18 points in an 86-77 win at Penn State Nov. 6. Vinson was 9-of-9 from the free throw line in that game. - Cantrell scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Elliott dished out eight assists in the Nov. 5 win at James Madison. - Vinson sank seven three-point field goals en route to 28 points and added four steals in the All-Stars¡¦ 83-78 victory at Old Dominion Nov. 4. - Cantrell poured in 21 points and Vinson contributed 17 points in the Nov. 3 game at George Washington. - Bennett Davison scored 21 points and Vinson added 20 points in the Nov. 1 three-point loss at nationally-ranked Alabama.

Howard shakes off the rust to lead Wake Forest to exhibition victory

Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard has missed much of preseason practice because of severe shin splints. And while his shot was rusty, his team-high 15 points and 13 rebounds helped lead the Deacons to a 90-55 win over Gulbene Buki of Latvia in an exhibition game last Thursday night. Howard did all his damage in just 19 minutes of action. He struggled from the floor (5-of-14), but he had six offensive boards, two assists and two blocked shots. Sophomore Vytas Danelius (13 points, 10 rebounds) recorded a double-double. Freshman Justin Gray started, scored 13 points, dished out six assists and had one turnover in 23 minutes. Sophomore Taron Downey scored 10 points, dished out six assists with zero turnovers and recorded three steals. Wake Forest held Gulbene Buki to 31.8 percent shooting and forced 21 Buki turnovers.

Deacons have more than fair share of injuries

Because of injuries to both seniors, the most experienced player at many practice sessions this fall has been sophomore Taron Downey, who started 10 games last season. Following is a look at Wake¡¦s injuries: - Senior guard Steve Lepore (ruptured patella tendon) has yet to participate full-scale in a practice because of an injury suffered in last season¡¦s ACC Tournament. - Senior forward Josh Howard (severe shin splints) has been day-to-day throughout the preseason. - Freshman center Eric Williams (bruised knee, sprained ankle) has missed more than a week of practice because of the knee. He played just nine minutes in the first exhibition game after twisting an ankle. - Freshman Justin Gray (neck strain) missed some practice time with a sore neck.

Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard racks up preseason honors

A preseason injury (severe shin splints) possibly cost senior Josh Howard the honor of ACC Preseason Player of the Year, but he continues to rack up the individual honors anyway. Howard received 20 of 88 votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year (won by Duke¡¦s Chris Duhon). He was named first team Preseason All-ACC. On the national level, Howard is on the preseason list for the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith Award. Both go to the nation¡¦s top college player. In addition, Howard has received considerable praise from preseason publications. Athlon ranks him as an honorable mention preseason All-American and the magazine calls Howard the nation¡¦s fourth-best ¡§slasher¡¨.

Howard¡¦s Preseason Honors - 1st team All-ACC - 1st team All-ACC (Athlon)_ - 1st team All-ACC (ACC Handbook)_ - Wooden Award candidate - Naismith Award candidate - Honorable mention All-America (Athlon) - ACC Top Defensive Player (Athlon)

Deacons receiving votes in ESPN/USA Today poll

Just like last season, Wake Forest begins the year outside looking in at the national polls. Last year¡¦s squad leaped into the top 25 in late November, reached a ranking as high as 14, and remained in the polls for 14 consecutive weeks. The Deacons received 17 votes for the ESPN/USA Today preseason poll, which would rank 38th. Just three Wake Forest opponents -- Duke, Maryland and Marquette -- are ranked in both national polls. However, among the top vote-getters not in the top 25 are Deacon foes Virginia, NC State, Temple, Georgia Tech and St. John¡¦s.

Season opener Nov. 27 vs. Yale will be a tough test for youthful Deacons

Wake Forest could have chosen a lesser opponent for its Nov. 27 season opener. The Demon Deacons will host Yale (9 p.m./Fox Sports Net) in the opener at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. The Bulldogs went 21-11 last season, tied for first in the Ivy League and advanced to the NIT. Yale returns all 12 letterwinners from last year¡¦s team, including four players who averaged scoring in double figures. The Bulldogs will come into The Joel with a road game under their belts. Yale opens the season Nov. 22 at Oklahoma State. Wake leads the all-time series with Yale, 2-1.

Deacons eye 13th consecutive postseason appearance

Wake Forest enters the 2002-03 season having appeared in postseason play 12 consecutive seasons. That¡¦s the longest current streak among all teams in the ACC. Maryland, with nine straight postseason appearances, is second.

Taron Downey held hot hand in Nov. 2 intra-squad scrimmage

Sophomore guard Taron Downey poured in 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, to lead all Wake Forest scorers in a closed intra-squad scrimmage at Budd Gymnasium Nov. 2. Downey, who started 10 games as a freshman last season, added four assists and two steals. Rosters of the teams changed throughout the scrimmage, thus no official team score was kept. Sitting out the scrimmage were senior Steve Lepore (recovering from ruptured patella tendon), freshman Eric Williams (bruised knee) and freshman Justin Gray (strained neck). Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard (severe shin splints) played just six minutes, but managed to score 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Junior walk-on Alan Williams added 17 points, going 5-of-5 from three-point range. Sophomore forwards Jamaal Levy and Vytas Danelius each added eight points and seven rebounds. Levy led all Deacons with five assists. Freshman Chris Ellis blocked three shots.

Trent Strickland¡¦s 20 points led all scorers at Oct. 26 Black/Gold Game

Freshman Trent Strickland led all scorers with 20 points and paced an impressive showing by Wake Forest¡¦s five-man freshman class at the annual Black/Gold intra-squad scrimmage at Reynolds Gym Oct. 26. The 30-minute scrimmage consisted of three 10-minute periods. Rosters were rotated after each period. Strickland (East Flat Rock, NC), 6-5, made 8-of-14 shots from the field and also contributed three steals and one blocked shot. He was especially impressive in the first 10-minute period when he poured in 10 points, had two steals and blocked a shot in the Gold team¡¦s 31-11 win. Sophomore Taron Downey continued to have a solid preseason, chipping in 17 points, a game-high seven assists and three steals. Sophomore Vytas Danelius scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman Richard Joyce (Mt. Airy, NC) tossed in 14 points and made four consecutive three-point field goals without a miss during one stretch. Freshman Chris Ellis (Marietta, GA) scored 12 points and pulled down five boards and sophomore Jamaal Levy nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Demon Deacon All-American candidate Josh Howard and Steve Lepore -- the only two seniors on the Wake roster -- sat out of the scrimmage.

Justin Gray, Taron Downey shine in Midnight Madness scrimmage

Freshman guard Justin Gray scored 13 points, including 3-of-6 from behind the three-point arc, to lead the Black past the Gold, 37-29, in a abbreviated intra-squad scrimmage at Reynolds Gym Oct. 12. Gray (Charlotte, NC) was 5-of-8 from the field, including one from 26 feet that brought the capacity crowd to its feet. Freshman Trent Strickland (East Flat Rock, NC) added seven points, one block and two steals for the Black team. Freshman Eric Williams (Wake Forest, NC), sophomore Jamaal Levy (Panama City) and junior walk-on Alan Williams (Memphis) each contributed five points for the Black. Downey (Oxford, NC) was equally impressive for the Gold team, scoring 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and a game-high three assists. Freshman Richard Joyce (Mt. Airy, NC) added six points for the Gold. Senior All-American candidate Josh Howard added five points, freshman Chris Ellis (Marietta, GA) scored four points and junior Dshamal Schoetz (Cottbus, Germany) four points for the Gold. While the game was sloppy at times (eight combined turnovers in 15 minutes), it was an impressive display by Wake¡¦s five-man freshman class. The freshmen combined for 35 of the game¡¦s 66 points.

ACC/Big 10 Challenge -- part IV

The ACC/Big 10 Challenge, which originated during the 2000-01 season, has been a good event for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are a perfect 3-0, with wins over Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The Deacons and Duke are the only teams 3-0 in the event. Michigan State is 2-0 and the Spartans¡¦ game last season with Virginia was postponed. Wake¡¦s perfect record in the Challenge will be tested this season. The Deacons play at Wisconsin Dec. 4 in their first road game of the season.

The ACC is tops

Since 1985, no conference has performed better in the postseason than the ACC. Since 1988, the ACC has made 17 Final Four appearances while the Big Ten is second with 12 Final Four teams. More on the ACC in the NCAA Tournament: - The ACC has produced the last two NCAA champions (Duke in 2001 and Maryland in 2002). - The ACC is the only league to have at least one team in the Final Four in each of the last six years. - Since 1985, the ACC leads all conferences in NCAA Tournament wins (182), Sweet 16 appearances (51), and Final Four appearances (18). - The ACC has had at least one consensus All-American in each of the past 12 years -- the longest active streak by any league. - An all-time high 154 televised games involving ACC teams are on tap for 2002-03.

Always on Sunday (it seems)

Nine times this season Wake Forest will play on Sunday. In all but one of those games, the Deacons will be playing on Fox Sports Net TV. Conversely, Wake will play on Saturday just five times in 2002-03. The Deacons have Saturdays off between Jan. 5 and March 1.

Athletic families

Senior Steve Lepore¡¦s brother, Chris, was an All-American defensive back at Navy... Freshman Chris Ellis¡¦ father, Dale, was a standout performer at Tennessee and for many years in the NBA... Freshman Eric Williams¡¦ mother (basketball) and father (football) played college athletics at Livingstone College... Alan Williams¡¦ father played basketball at Washington & Lee.