2004–05 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team

The 2004–05 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented Wake Forest University in the 2004–05 season. Led by head coach Skip Prosser and Sophomore Chris Paul, the Demon Deacons put together their most successful season since their 1996–97 Campaign as led by Dave Odom and Tim Duncan. The efforts of Paul earned him a consensus All-American selection, and named him ACC Player of the year. After the season, Paul declared for the NBA draft, and the New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans) selected him fourth overall.^[1]

2004–05 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball
Preseason NIT champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 5
Record	27–6 (13–3 ACC)
Head coach	Skip Prosser (4th season)
Assistant coach	Dino Gaudio (4th season)
Home arena	Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Capacity: 14,655)
Seasons ← 2003–04 2005–06 →

2004–05 ACC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 North Carolina	14	–	2		.875			33	–	4		.892
No. 5 Wake Forest	13	–	3		.813			27	–	6		.818
No. 3 Duke†	11	–	5		.688			27	–	6		.818
Virginia Tech	8	–	8		.500			16	–	14		.533
No. 25 Georgia Tech	8	–	8		.500			20	–	12		.625
Miami (FL)	7	–	9		.438			16	–	13		.552
NC State	7	–	9		.438			21	–	14		.600
Maryland	7	–	9		.438			19	–	13		.594
Clemson	5	–	11		.313			16	–	16		.500
Florida State	4	–	12		.250			14	–	15		.483
Virginia	4	–	12		.250			14	–	15		.483
† 2005 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2004–05 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown SF 0 Chris Ellis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 261 lb (118 kg) Jr Marietta High School Marietta, Georgia SG 1 Justin Gray 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Jr Oak Hill Academy Charlotte, North Carolina PG 3 Chris Paul 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So West Forsyth Lewisville, North Carolina SG 4 Taron Downey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Fork Union Military Academy Oxford, North Carolina	Head coach Skip Prosser Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 22, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 15, 2004* 7:02 p.m.	No. 2	George Washington	W 97–76	1–0	LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Nov 18, 2004*	No. 2	VCU	W 81–67	2–0	LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Nov 22, 2004*	No. 1	Yale	W 99–72	3–0	LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Nov 24, 2004*	No. 1	vs. Providence Preseason NIT	W 79–67	4–0	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Nov 26, 2004*	No. 1	vs. No. 18 Arizona Preseason NIT	W 63–60	5–0	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 1, 2004* 7:00 p.m.	No. 1	at No. 5 Illinois	L 73-91	5–1	Assembly Hall  Champaign, Illinois
Dec 4, 2004* 2:00 p.m.	No. 1	Richmond	W 90-73	6–1	LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
ACC tournament
Mar 11, 2005*	No. 5	vs. NC State Quarterfinals	L 65–81	26–5	Verizon Center  Washington, D.C.
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 2005*	(2 ABQ) No. 5	vs. (15 ABQ) Chattanooga First round	W 70–54[2]	27–5	Wolstein Center  Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 19, 2005*	(2 ABQ) No. 5	vs. (7 ABQ) West Virginia Second round	L 105–111 2OT[3]	27–6	Wolstein Center  Cleveland, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ABQ=Albuquerque.

Tournament results

ACC Tournament
Vs. NC State @ MCI Center, Washington D.C. - L, 65-81
NCAA Tournament
First Round Vs. Chattanooga @ Wolstein Center, Cleveland, OH - W, 70-54
Second Round Vs. West Virginia @ Wolstein Center, Cleveland, OH - L, 105-111 2OT

Rankings

Main article: 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[4]

Awards and honors

• Chris Paul – Consensus First-team All-American