ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER

WINSTON-SALEM – Wake Forest’s seniors are under the gun in providing leadership.

Demon Deacon coach Dino Gaudio believes that success in the NCAA Tournament comes down to “emotion, energy and toughness” – qualities Wake did not exhibit in their blowout in the ACC quarterfinals by Miami.

Wake came out listless and without much energy, outhustled from the start.

“You have to be excited and enthused to play (in NCAA games), and it’s got to manifest itself out on the floor,” Gaudio said. “I really think from the shoulders up is more important than the shoulders down.”

That’s where Gaudio is counting on seniors Ish Smith, Chas McFarland, L.D. Williams and David Weaver as they get ready to play Texas in a first-round game Thursday in New Orleans.

“We have four seniors and they’ve been around the block,” Gaudio said. “They played in the ACC Tournament for four years and they’ve played in the NCAA Tournament. This is their finale. They’ve got to bring the energy and emotion. Coach-driven teams only go so far. The player-driven teams take off and win championships.

“I think they’ve taken ownership of this. When our name popped up on the screen (during Sunday night’s announcement of the field), they were excited and hugging each other. It’s time now to play.”

The Miami loss was Wake’s fifth in its last six game after climbing into the top-25 polls. Gaudio thought the Deacons played well in a loss at Florida State and a victory in the regular-season finale against Clemson before the Miami loss. “For us now, it’s a confidence thing and I’m going to do my best to instill confidence in these young men,” Gaudio said.

Sophomore forward Al-Farouq Aminu blamed pain from a hand injury as the reason for an airballed free throw and other woes against Miami.

“He did have some pain,” Gaudio said. “He shot the airball because he got slapped on the hand. We had the hand X-rayed Sunday. It came back completely negative which means he is fine.”

gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519