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Speedy Smith working on touch
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close xWINSTON-SALEM -- Wake Forest point guard Ish Smith knows the rap against him.
He's a blur in the open court, but make him shoot and Smith becomes a potential liability for the Demon Deacons. Nothing can slow him down like a 15-foot jump shot.
"The biggest problem for some people is denial. You can't deny it," said Smith, a senior.
Smith chose to deal with his shooting and began working with former Maryland player Keith Gatlin over the summer. Smith would stay with his sister in Winston-Salem then meet with Gatlin in Greensboro, intent on improving his range and accuracy.
After shooting 29 percent from the foul line as a sophomore, Smith embarked on a similar self-improvement strategy and last year shot 79 percent from the foul line.
In his first three seasons, Smith has been a 42-percent shooter from the field, 32 percent from 3-point range. Given the loss of guard Jeff Teague after last season, Smith's role in the offense will require him to be a threat from perimeter.
He's always been effective getting in the lane, but when opposing defenses pack it in to combat the Deacons' imposing size this season, Smith will need to score from the outside.
"We want him to score more for us," coach Dino Gaudio said.
Gaudio also wants Smith to take ownership of the leadership role. He was a team captain as a junior, though he didn't start. With Teague and forward James Johnson having gone to the NBA, taking 33 percent of Wake Forest's offense with them, Smith's role has been enhanced.
Smith's greatest asset is his speed. There may be no player in college basketball quicker from end to end than Smith, who can sometimes outrun his teammates on the break.
The challenge is maximizing Smith's effectiveness as a point guard.
"Sometimes he has to go 80 miles an hour rather than 100 miles an hour," Gaudio said. "Sometimes he's going so fast that he'd be better served to slow down."
Without Teague and Johnson, the Deacons are adapting to new personnel this season. Sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu figures to be among the league's most productive players, capable of averaging a double-double, Gaudio said.
Guard L.D. Williams will have a larger role and the frontcourt includes 7-footer Chas McFarland along Tony Woods and David Weaver, both of whom are 6-11.
Freshman Ari Stewart, a 6-7 forward, is expected to have a significant role as the season unfolds.
"I don't want one guy to say I'm Jeff Teague and another to say I'm James Johnson," Gaudio said. "I hope collectively we try to replace those guys. If we do it collectively, we can make up for those guys."
There were times last season when the Deacons were brilliant, running out to a 16-0 start and briefly being ranked No. 1. They stumbled through a portion of February then rebounded before tournament time.
However, a first-round ACC Tournament loss to Maryland and a first-round loss to Cleveland State in the NCAA Tournament brought the season to an abrupt halt.
"The Cleveland State game is one of the biggest mysteries in college basketball history," Smith said. "People are like, 'How did they lose that game?' We just played bad."
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