Harvey Hale's Pro Debut

Former Demon Deacon guard Harvey Hale (2006-09) made his professional basketball debut in Finland over the weekend. Harvey played 36 minutes and finished with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

He filled up the stat sheet with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Harvey also went 5-for-6 at the foul line and had five fouls of his own, including a technical.

Harvey's team fell, 90-85, in his debut.

Below is a photo sent by Harvey's team of his arrival in Finland (nice to see him doing well and all, but the photo doesn't do much for the Finnish scenery).

Andy Katz in Town

ESPN.com writer and college basketball analyst Andy Katz was making his rounds through the Carolinas this week and stopped by campus on Friday afternoon. Andy talked with a handful of the players, including Ishmael Smith, Chas McFarland, Al-Farouq Aminu and Tony Woods.

He also spent some time at lunch with the basketball staff before heading down to Charlotte for ESPNU's Midnight Madness special.

Check out ESPN.com over the next few days for Andy's report on the Demon Deacons.

The U Picks Up 2

Two more of Wake Forest's men's basketball games have been picked up to be televised on ESPNU. The Deacons' Dec. 16 game at UNC Wilmington is now set to air live, as well as Wake's Dec. 31 home game against Richmond.

Both games will tip at 7 p.m. and will be available nationally on ESPNU.

In total, Wake Forest will have 21 of its 28 regular season games televised. The Deacs will be on national TV 14 times, including nine telecasts on the ESPN family of networks. Beginning Dec. 1, all but two of Wake Forest's games will be televised.

Printable 2009-10 Basketball Schedule

Former Deacon Now a Hustlin' Owl

Former Wake Forest basketball walk-on Matt Smith has decided to continue his basketball career at Oregon Tech, the school announced yesterday. Smith, who lettered two seasons with the Deacons from 2006-07, now gets the rare privilege of being known as a Hustlin' Owl.

Jeff Teague Video Feature

NBA.com has a great video feature on former Demon Deacon Jeff Teague. Jeff, who was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 19th pick in last month's draft, touches on a number of subjects during the interview.

NBA Summer Update

James Johnson has led the Chicago Bulls in each of their first two summer league games in Orlando this week. The forward out of Wake Forest scored 21 points in the Bulls' opener against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday and then followed with 16 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

The Bulls have lost each of their two summer league games thus far. Johnson has started and has played more than 34 minutes in both games, the most on Chicago's summer league roster.

Johnson and the Bulls have three more games in Vegas remaining, playing each day this weekend. For complete coverage, check out the Bulls' official summer league website.

As for Jeff Teague and the Atlanta Hawks, they are set to open their mini camp next week. The Hawks are not participating in a summer league this year. For info on the mini camp, check out the Hawks' official site.

Wake-Purdue on ESPN

On Wednesday the ACC announced the television broadcast assignments for this year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge games. Wake Forest received a fortunate draw, as the Deacons will play the Purdue Boilermakers on ESPN at 7 p.m.

The Wake-Purdue game is one of four matchups in the 11-game Challenge that will air on the main ESPN network. The Deacons and Boilermakers will duel in the first game of a doubleheader that also features a rematch of last year's national championship game in Michigan State and North Carolina.

Johnson Blogging for Bulls

Former Wake Forest forward James Johnson is providing some first-hand insight into his world on Bulls.com. Johnson is blogging for the team's official site and already has two posts online.

Chicago announced last week that it had signed Johnson and fellow first-round pick Taj Gibson. Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Johnson will get his first taste of NBA action when he and the Bulls open their 2009 NBA Summer League schedule tonight against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas.

The Bulls' summer league roster is littered with players that Johnson is familiar with from the ACC. Joining the former Demon Deacon are Duke's DeMarcus Nelson, NC State's Brandon Costner and Virginia Tech's A.D. Vassallo.

CP3 Grants a Wish

Catch Chris Paul on SportsCenter tonight (July 8) about 6:35 pm as he is featured on the "My Wish" segment of the show. Chris and his family granted the wish of Cole Johanson, a 10-year-old from Portland, OR who is stricken with a rare form of cancer known as Burkitt’s Lymphoma.

Cole’s wish came true when he and his family traveled to Paul’s hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C., to spend some time with his hero. Paul took Cole to see his childhood home, played some one-on-one at Paul’s alma mater of West Forsyth High School and wrapped up the day with lunch at the Olive Garden, Cole’s favorite restaurant. Said Cole of the experience: “It’s amazing how cancer was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but the day I met Chris Paul was the best day of my life.”

Click here for more on ESPN's "My Wish" series.

Hip Hop Dance Class Photos

A handful of Wake Forest student-athletes were able to show off their moves by taking a hip hop dance class this summer. Football's Brandon Ghee, Basketball's L.D. Williams, Soccer's Cody Arnoux and Volleyball's Megan Thornberry were all in the class.

Hunter Willard from Student-Athlete Services was kind enough to take some photos and post a gallery online to show the dancers in action. Too bad there wasn't a video camera rolling as well...

Johnson & Teague Introduced

Wake Forest's James Johnson and Jeff Teague have both been officially introduced to their new teams. Teague was introduced in Atlanta on Friday, while Johnson was unveiled in Chicago on Monday (along with fellow first round Bulls draft pick Taj Gibson).

Johnson was the No. 16 pick in last week's draft by the Bulls. Maybe coincidentally, he will wear #16 on his Bulls jersey. Johnson's collegiate number (#23) is sort of off-limits in Chi-town.

Teague was picked three spots later at No. 19 by the Hawks. Deacon Zero will stick with his signature jersey #0. The Associated Press details Teague's decision to don the digit.

Good luck to both James and Jeff as they embark on their professional careers.

NBA Draft Reaction

Chicago media reacts to the Bulls drafting James Johnson
Northwest Herald

ESPN.com

Chicago Sun-Times

Wyoming Tribune

Casper Star-Tribune

Chicago Daily Herald

Daily Herald Blog


Media reaction on Jeff Teague’s selection by the Atlanta Hawks.
Indianapolis Star

Hoops World

USA Today

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dino Gaudio Interview

To go along with my preview of tomorrow night's NBA Draft, I did a video Q&A with Deacon head coach Dino Gaudio.

Gaudio gave his take on the draft prospects of James Johnson and Jeff Teague, as well as a brief opinion on the news that Darius Songaila was traded to the Timberwolves today.

The 2009 NBA Draft is tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden in New York. According to the Sporting News, Johnson was invited to attend the Draft but declined. No word on whether Teague will be in NYC.

Stay tuned to WakeForestSports.com for post-draft coverage tomorrow night.

Summer Fun for Deacs

Wake Forest golfer Brendan Gielow will attempt to defend his Northeast Amateur title when he tees it up in Rhode Island this week.

James Johnson is gaining notoriety for his martial arts expertise.

Jeff Teague worked out for the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Former Deacon and current Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dave Bush has never missed a start as a Major League pitcher but he was placed on the DL yesterday.

ESPN Bracketology

Good news...if the 2010 NCAA Tournament started today, ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi believes the Demon Deacons are in! Pack your bags for a trip to Spokane and a date with the Zags!

Poll Results - Week of June 8

In last week's poll we asked what was your favorite moment of the 2008-09 Wake Forest men's basketball season. This question turned out to be what has probably been the closest vote since we started the new blog (albeit it was not a nailbiter).

The Demon Deacons' Jan. 11 defeat of eventual national champion North Carolina won the poll with 42 percent of the vote. Wake Forest's upset of No. 1 Duke on Jan. 28 was second with 26 percent.

The defeat of the Blue Devils narrowly edged out Wake's rise to the No. 1 ranking and a 16-0 record. That accomplishment received 22 percent of the vote.

Alas, Jeff Teague's thunderous dunk over Maryland's Dave Neal pulled up the rear with eight percent of the vote.

What was your favorite moment of Wake Forest's 2008-09 men's basketball season?
Wake topples UNC - 42%
Wake upsets No. 1 Duke - 26%
Deacs rise to No. 1 with 16-0 record - 22%
Teague posterizes Maryland's Neal - 8%

CP3 Announces Winston-Salem Weekend Dates

Chris Paul held a press conference on Thursday to announce the dates for his fourth annual Winston-Salem Weekend. The charity event, which is hosted by the Twin City Quarters, will be Sept. 24-27.

One wrinkle in this year's weekend is that ESPN will be on hand on Sept. 24 to tape a new episode of "Homecoming". Sports writer Rick Reilly will interview Paul with Winston-Salem and Wake Forest University as a backdrop.

For complete info on the weekend, check out this article courtesy of Octagon.

Hoops Addict Interview With James Johnson

James Johnson was in Toronto recently for a pre-draft workout with the Toronto Raptors. Hoops Addict caught up with the former Demon Deacon after his workout and did a brief video interview.

The NBA Draft will be June 25. Wake Forest's Jeff Teague must decide by next Monday whether he will remain in the Draft or come back to school. Check out WakeForestSports.com for an announcement when Teague makes his decision.

Pro-Style

Here are a few updates on Wake Forest's alums in pro sports and those contemplating a career in the pros.

Among Wake's NBA prospects, Jeff Teague suffered a knee sprain this week during an NBA workout. Dan Wiederer of the Fayetteville Observer muses over Teague’s draft possibilities. Jocklife offers up a pre-draft profile of James Johnson. And Al-Farouq Aminu did not strongly consider leaving Wake Forest after his freshman year.


Over in the NFL, Kevin Patterson was waived by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kenny Moore is making the most of his shot with the Panthers and Tyson Clabo re-signed with the Atlanta Falcons.

Rusty LaRue Interview - Part 3

The third and final installment of our interview with new Deacon assistant basketball coach Rusty LaRue is now on WakeForestSports.com. In this segment, Rusty talks about his impressions of the Demon Deacons and what the team needs to do to be successful going forward.

We also hope to sit down with new assistant coach Dave Wojcik at some point in the near future. I'll keep you posted when that video hits the website.

Rusty LaRue Interview:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3