Earlier in the year we
noticed some conflict in a Wake game, between Wake players, and mentioned
it, which brought some angry e-mail from Wake fans. Here's what we
said:Â
"ESPN has an article up about how Robert O' Kelly has grown as a player and learned to do more than just shoot. No doubt true also, but did anyone else notice the fast break in the Wake game where Shoemaker appeared to get visibly angry at O' Kelly? It was striking."
Well, maybe we were
wrong, but here's what Pete Simpkinson of Nando noticed:
"Hicks started to chew out O'Kelley when the officials signaled a television timeout. Hicks started grousing at O'Kelley again but O'Kelley just kept walking toward the bench with a faraway look, refusing to acknowledge Hicks' presence."
And the other relevant passage:
"About three minutes into the second half, O'Kelley ran at Duke center Carlos Boozer at a full sprint on the fast break and had his shot blocked by Chris Carrawell. O'Kelley went crashing into the photographers beyond the baseline after drawing a foul.Â
"None of O'Kelley's teammates headed over to check on him or help him up. They huddled without him near the free throw line.Â
Duke huddled near the baseline. Carrawell craned over a teammate's shoulder to see if O'Kelley was OK, showing more concern than anyone from Wake Forest.
"
What's up with Wake? At least they pulled the game out tonight against Tech,
but if they're fighting each other as much as they seem to be, chances for a
tourney bid, much less a tourney run, aren't too good.