Ishmael Smith is a rarity on Wake Forest's campus. He's one of the few men's basketball players who knows what it's like to win a postseason tournament game.
It's been a while since the Demon Deacons' last victory - the first round of the 2007 ACC tournament, to be exact.
Smith and his teammates are eager to make up for last year's NCAA flop - and last week's embarrassing upset loss in the league tournament - when they take on Texas in the first round of the East Regional.
``Our biggest thing isn't size, isn't talent, isn't Xs and Os. ... It's not any of those things,'' Smith said by phone from New Orleans, where No. 9 seed Wake Forest will play eighth-seeded Texas on Thursday in the first round of the East Regional.
``It's all about being mentally tough, mentally strong and playing with a lot of emotion and energy from the beginning,'' he added. ``If we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win the game, no matter who we're playing.''
The Demon Deacons (19-10) arrived in the Big Easy on Tuesday afternoon, after their travel plans were pushed forward a few hours due to the availability of the team's flight.
That gave them some extra time to prepare for the Longhorns (24-9) and maybe even figure out a way to snap their pesky losing streak in the postseason.
They're 0-4 in March tournaments under coach Dino Gaudio. That slide included a cold-shooting setback to Maryland in last year's ACC tournament when they were the No. 2 seed. They were the biggest upset victim of the first round of last year's NCAA tournament when they were a No. 4 seed and were thoroughly outplayed by No. 13 Cleveland State.
And, most recently, they were lethargic early and often during a 21-point beating at the hands of 12th-seeded Miami last week in the first round of the ACC tournament. That punctuated a late-season slide in which they lost four of five after briefly cracking the AP Top 25.
``Going into this tournament, everybody is 0-0,'' center Chas McFarland said. ``Records don't mean anything. Basically, it's a whole new season.''
Still, Wake Forest can't help but have some unfinished business - especially after the way the Deacons were bounced last year. When the season began, Smith said he still hadn't watched tape of the 15-point loss that left a ``bitter, bitter taste.''
Twelve months later, the sourness has subsided some - but it's still there. McFarland admitted it's ``in the back of your mind'' but vowed that this isn't the same Wake Forest team that lost that one.
``You know what, we're back in this position,'' Smith said. ``Is it bothersome? A little bit, obviously. You don't let that sour taste out of your mouth until you win one in the NCAA tournament. ... But we don't think about last year. That's kind of way behind us. We're trying to focus on Texas.''
Maybe the Demon Deacons can pick up some good karma from one of their all-time best players, who now happens to play in New Orleans.
Chris Paul of the Hornets was the last Wake Forest point guard to win an NCAA tournament game when he beat Chattanooga in 2005. The Hornets are on the road this week. Smith, the point guard of the present, would gladly accept another of his frequent messages of encouragement.
``I'm sure he'll shoot us a text and tell us 'Good luck,' like he does all the time,'' Smith said.
