Wake Forest's Bzdelik Hits Ground Running, Recruiting

Jeff Bzdelik has demonstrated nice closing speed during his first week on the job.

Word coming from Winston-Salem, N.C., is that Wake Forest's heralded recruiting class has remained intact and will play next season for Bzdelik. Bzdelik stressed that task was his No. 1 priority following his hiring, one that drew raised eyebrows by many faithful Demon Deacon followers last Wednesday. It also appears that Bzdelik's close to completing his staff.

Bzdelik replaces Dino Gaudio, who, despite his overall record of 61-31, was fired for the program's late-season funks. Gaudio, who led the Deacs to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, was 16-17 in February and March and 1-5 in the postseason.

Bzdelik, 57, who was hired away from Colorado and is also a former head coach of the Denver Nuggets, says his vision for the Wake Forest program is plain, simple and clear. He wants to win during the regular season, win during the postseason and, of course, accomplish both without comprising the integrity of the university.

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Well, he's off to a nice start by making sure the recruiting class of J.T. Terrell, Tony Chennault, Melvin Tabb, Travis McKie and Carson Desrosiers -- the class is ranked among the top 10 in the nation by most recruiting analysts -- also believes in his vision.

Wake Forest returns five players and a sixth, transfer Nikita Mescheriakov, is expected to become eligible at the end of the fall semester. Both of Wake Forest's assistant coaches, Jeff Battle and Rusty LaRue, were retained by Bzdelik. Walt Corbean, the director of basketball operations, has also remained on staff.

Dan Collins of the Winston-Salem Journal recently reported that Mark Pope is expected to be named an assistant coach and will complete the staff. Pope, a six-year veteran of the NBA, served as director of basketball operations at Georgia this past season and has no other coaching experience.

Bzdelik, a 30-year veteran of the college and professional ranks, is prepared to move forward, with or without fanfare. He joins North Carolina State's Sidney Lowe along Tobacco Road with an NBA pedigree.

"I don't think there is a whole lot of difference," Bzdelik explained when asked about his success at the college and pro levels.

"To me it's about bringing the best people in, developing your players individually and collectively and have a team concept. If you go watch any great college coach who has had great success, or you go watch Coach Popovich or Coach Sloan, who has been another mentor of mine, Coach Riley, why do those people always have success?

"It's the relationship they have with the players. It's the way they develop their players individually to get better and the way they collectively mold those players together in a system that works for them."

Needless to say, Bzdelik is not worried about the fuss over his hiring or concerned about his relationship with Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman. The pair have known each other since they were both at Northwestern in the early 1980s, and cynics point to it as a primary reason behind his hiring.

Bzdelik became Wellman's target early in the week-long search and was the only coach brought to campus for interviews.

While Colorado went 36-58 and didn't advance into either the NCAA tournament or the NIT in Bzdelik's three seasons, Wellman said he looked past the raw numbers to judge Bzdelik's overall performance.

Bzdelik's stops included: head coach at Maryland-Baltimore County (1986-88), an assistant coach with the Washington Bullets (1988-94), a scout for the New York Knicks (1994-95), assistant coach and scouting director of the Miami Heat (1995-2001), a scout for the Denver Nuggets (2001-02), head coach of the Nuggets (2002-04), head coach at Air Force (2005-07) and head coach at Colorado (2007-10).

Bzdelik's best postseason performance was in 2006-07 at Air Force. The Falcons ended up in the NIT, where they beat Austin Peay, Georgia, and DePaul before losing to Clemson 68-67 in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden.

The no-nonsense Bzdelik isn't one to sidestep any issues or challenges.

"I'll be honest with you, the one thing you'll know about me is I am very straightforward. I will tell you the truth," Bzdelik said.

"Nobody puts puts any more pressure on me than I put on myself, period. Wake Forest, I know I have a responsibility."