April 29, 2009

Season in Review in PDF Format

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The 2008-09 season will go down as one of the most successful campaigns in the storied history of Wake Forest basketball. Despite a disappointing ending to the year, the Demon Deacons still accomplished a great deal throughout the season, most important of which was restoring the program to national prominence.

After winning a combined 32 games over the previous two seasons and missing out on the postseason each year, Wake Forest righted the ship, and then some, under second-year head coach Dino Gaudio in 2008-09.

Gaudio led the Deacons to an overall record of 24-7, finishing with the second-most regular season wins in school history. Wake also went 11-5 in ACC play and finished in a tie for second place in the final conference standings--a far cry from finishing 12th just three seasons prior.

Wake Forest, which was ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP Poll, won its first 16 games of the year and rose all the way to the No. 1 ranking in the country on Jan. 19. The Deacons were knocked from the top spot but still spent a total of 12 weeks ranked in the top 10.

Wake Forest had a bevy of quality wins throughout the season, going 5-1 against ranked competition. The Deacons were 3-1 against top 10-ranked foes, including wins over rivals Duke and North Carolina.

Individually, the Deacons were led by a pair of standout sophomores. Jeff Teague had a breakout campaign and was honored as an All-American by multiple organizations. James Johnson picked up where he left off as a freshman and earned his second straight All-ACC honors.

Forward Al-Farouq Aminu arrived on campus as a highly-touted recruit and did not disappoint. Aminu was one of the top rookies in the country and was named a Freshman All-American by a number of publications.

The Deacs accomplished all that they did despite featuring one of the youngest lineups in the country. Wake Forest had the ACC's youngest starting five according to average class year, as the Demon Deacons regularly started two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.