Things looked so great for Wake Forest after an 86-73 victory over Duke.

The Demon Deacons were 16-8 on the season overall and 6-4 in ACC play. A run for one of the top four spots in the conference wasn't out of the question, and postseason chances looked bright.

But the Deacons never got it going after that and finished with just one more victory in their last six games.

Still, a 17-13 overall record and 7-9 finish in the conference was a much better ledger than many expected when the Deacons entered the season under the most trying of circumstances.

They had lost their coach, Skip Prosser, to a heart attack over the summer, and immediate help for their roster looked to be a year away.

But James Johnson, a freshman forward from Wyoming, and Jeff Teague, a freshman guard from Indianapolis, keyed a resurgence that has given the program a solid nucleus to build on for next season.

They have a solid point guard in Ishmael Smith, and if Chas McFarland shows as much improvement from his sophomore to his junior year as he did from his freshman campaign to this season, the Deacons could make a significant move in the conference in 2008-09.

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