2003 Top 50 List: No
Dan Collins List: Yes
In 1972, Carl Tacy took over a Wake Forest program that was coming off a dismal 8-18 season and really hadn’t done much since the days of Bones McKinney. He had a talented player in Tony Byers, but not much else. The first thing he did to get the program headed in the right direction was the recruitment of Skip Brown. Brown and fellow freshman Jerry Schellenberg made an immediate impact in 1974. Wake was pretty good, but you couldn’t tell by their record in the brutal ACC. They went 0-8 against NC State, UNC, and Maryland, 13-5 against everybody else. The next season, Brown took a major step forward, making first team All-ACC and finishing second to David Thompson in scoring. Byers was gone, but Tacy added Rod Griffin. The record was more of the same – 1-7 against NC State, UNC, and Maryland, 12-6 against everybody else. But the foundation had been laid.
An interesting side note on Brown’s 1975 season. He averaged 22.7 points and 6.8 assists. I mean, that’s a lot, isn’t it? According to sports-reference.com, there have been only 20 seasons of 22+ points and 6+ assists per game in all of college basketball in the past 30 years (as far back as their data set goes). Many of them are players from low-major schools, but there are some you’ve heard of:
- 1993, Penny Hardaway, Memphis, 22.8/6.4
- 1994, B.J. Tyler, Texas, 22.8/6.3
- 1995, Damon Stoudamire, Arizona, 22.8/7.3
- 1997, Antonio Daniels, Bowling Green, 24.0/6.8
- 2000, Speedy Claxton, Hofstra, 22.8/6.0
- 2005, J.J. Barea, Northeastern, 22.2/7.3
- 2009, Eric Maynor, VCU, 22.4/6.2
- 2018, Trae Young, Oklahoma, 27.4/8.7
- 2019, Ja Morant, Murray State, 24.5/10.0
In 1976, Wake put everyone on notice by beating both State and Carolina in the Big Four Tournament in early January. They went on to go 17-10. Brown’s numbers dipped just a little bit as Griffin and Schellenberg took more of the offensive load, but he still averaged 21 points and 5 assists.
In 1977, things finally came together as the Deacs went 22-8 (8-4). They won the Big Four Tournament again and were ranked in the Top 10 most of the season before a late season slide. They earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they knocked off Sidney Moncrief and Arkansas on their way to the Sweet 16, where they lost to eventual champion Marquette. Brown was again first team All-ACC, while Rod Griffin was player of the year over Phil Ford.
Statistically, Mark Price is a pretty good comp for Brown; smallish, ball-dominant point guards who could really shoot it. They are among the 12 players in ACC history with 2000 points and 500 assists. Steals didn’t become a official stat until Brown’s sophomore year, which is too bad; otherwise he would probably be in the Top 10 all-time in that category as well.
Brown was at the center of one of the most controversial ACC Tournament games ever, the 1975 quarterfinal matchup with North Carolina in which the Tar Heels came from eight down with 44 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime, eventually winning 101-100. A Phil Ford bucket, a steal, and a Mitch Kupchak layup cut the lead to four. Then came the controversial moment. Schellenberg inbounded the length of the floor to Brown, who was fouled; but referee Fred Hikel ruled that the inbounds pass had grazed the scoreboard overhead and gave the ball to Carolina, who scored to cut the lead to two. The Tar Heels tied the game after Brown, an 84% career free throw shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and they went on to win in overtime.
After the game, Brown and Schellenberg were adamant that the ball did not hit the scoreboard. Dean Smith, being Dean Smith, said “I’m sure it hit or the official never would have called it.” Can’t you just hear him saying that in that nasally voice he had? Someone really should go through the thousands of newspaper articles and compile all the Dean-isms like that from over the years – the backhanded compliments, the subtle digs… it would be a great read.
The Tar Heels were living right that year; their semifinal game was another overtime win, this time over Clemson. Tree Rollins had a short follow shot at the end of regulation that went down, around, and fell out, giving the Heels new life, which they took advantage of. Carolina went on to topple David Thompson and NC State in the final and win the title.