Coaches trying to build Deacons' confidence

Building confidence in the Demon Deacons appears to be one of the objectives of the coaching staff, which has had fragile moments and an iron will at others. The Demon Deacons, who have seen how a season can spiral out of control, are demonstrating signs of cohesiveness. G C.J. Harris said sticking together has been one of the priorities. Wake Forest has responded from a three-game ACC losing streak to win its second conference game of the season. That's one more ACC victory than last season. Harris said the Demon Deacons have the ability to put aside disappointments and move on to the next task. "We just need to correct the things we did wrong," Harris said. Sophomore G Tony Chennault said he noticed the urgency in which the Demon Deacons needed to make amends after a subpar performance. And even if the turnaround doesn't result in a victory, at least a positive outing could prepare the Demon Deacons for the future. There's no easy path to the upper echelon of the ACC. Two of Wake Forest's next five games are against nationally ranked opponents (and it will be three of five if Florida State moves into Top 25). Their newfound confidence won't make the Demon Deacons a more talented team, but it could help if there's another dismal result that threatens to send the team off course. NOTES, QUOTES --The Demon Deacons finally reached the 400-win mark in ACC games. They did it in their third ACC victory in two seasons and it came at Boston College, which is the newest active member of the ACC. Yet accomplishing that with a road game was a rarity because other Wake Forest milestone victories (Nos. 1, 100, 200, 300) within the ACC all came at home. --Freshman G Chase Fischer is a key weapon for the Demon Deacons even though he comes off the bench. Fischer has proven to be a strong perimeter shooter, taking almost half of the team's three-point attempts (6 of the 13) in the victory against Boston College. He accounted for 75 percent of the successful three-point baskets (3 of the 4). --Much could be made about Wake Forest's improvement this season and defeating Boston College had to be one of the team's biggest accomplishments. After all, the Demon Deacons played their final two games of last season against Boston College, dropping the regular-season finale and their ACC Tournament opener to the Eagles. They'll have another shot against Boston College on Feb. 25 at home. QUOTE TO NOTE "As long as we fought hard and competed, that's all that matters to me." -- F Travis McKie on the Demon Deacons' up-and-down season that sometimes has been defined by lapses in effort and concentration. THIS WEEK'S GAMES --vs. Florida State, Jan. 25 The Demon Deacons will have to deal with Florida State's physical front line, including F Bernard James. Finding points might be difficult for the Demon Deacons, who can hope Florida State suffers a letdown after its dramatic victory at Duke. --at Clemson, Jan. 28 The Demon Deacons have been hurt by some solid scoring backcourts and Clemson's Andre Young could fall into that category so he'll require particular attention. Clemson has altered its starting lineup recently, while the Demon Deacons have stuck to their core for the most part this season. FUTURES MARKET Senior C Ty Walker, who might have been a candidate to be pushed aside given the emphasis on the future, has shown that he has some good moments left in him. They seem to be tapping Walker for everything he has after he had to sit out the fall semester because of a violation of the university's code. His emergence, particularly on defense, has been one of the surprises and now there will be an effort to keep him involved because his confidence tends to wane at times. He has shown flashes of the potential that largely went untapped during his career. PLAYER NOTES --G C.J. Harris has scored 20 or more points in eight of his 18 games this season. But in his last five outings, only once has he reached 20 points and that came at Duke. --C Ty Walker recorded 10 blocked shots across the past two games. That moves the senior into seventh place in career blocked shots with 121 as he passed former center Kyle Visser. --F Travis McKie reached the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season when he scored 20 at Boston College. Half of those games when McKie has scored 20 or more, he has finished with 25 points, which remains the sophomore's career high.