Wake Forest Demon Deacons
2014-15 record: 13-19, 5-13 in the ACC
Head coach: Danny Manning
Tenure at Wake Forest: 2nd season
Career coaching record: 51-48
Home court: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Starters: G Codi Miller-McIntyre, F Devin Thomas, G Mitchell Wilbekin, F Konstantinos Mitoglu, C Andre Washington
Bench: F Cornelius Hudson, F Greg McClinton
Overview: In his second season as the Demon Deacons’ head coach, Danny Manning brings championship experience to Winston-Salem after winning NCAA titles both as player and assistant coach at Kansas, Manning—the No. 1 pick in the 1988 NBA draft—will try to put an emphasis on improving his squad's defensive numbers this season. Wake Forest allowed 69.0 points per game and committed 13 turnovers per contest. The Demon Deacons did not beat any ranked opponents last year, but Manning’s squad will get excellent preparation for the gauntlet of ACC play with a trip to the Maui Invitational in November, where they will play Indiana and could possibly face Kansas, St. John's and UCLA.
Wake Forest’s attack will rely on two seniors—guard Codi Miller-McIntyre and forward Devin Thomas—as the veteran duo averaged 26.5 points per game last season. Although the Demon Deacons dropped both contests against Duke last year, Miller-McIntyre and Thomas combined for 57 of their team’s 116 points in those games. Miller-McIntyre, though, will miss the first two to three weeks of competition due to a fractured foot, and will likely need some time to acclimate to the line-up.
At the end of August, guard Madison Jones was dismissed from the program due to a violation of an athletic department policy. As Jones did not register high scoring or assisting numbers last season—averaging 4.7 points and 3.0 assists per game—his dismissal will give sophomore Mitchell Wilbekin an opportunity to assume an even more crucial role within the Demon Deacons’ offense. In his first year at Wake Forest, Wilbekin averaged 28.1 minutes per contest and converted 49 shots from beyond the arc—the second-best mark on the team. Manning suspended sophomores Cornelius Hudson and Rondale Watson indefinitely on Halloween, cutting into the Demon Deacons' depth.
One thing that needs to go right: The senior duo of Miller-McIntyre and Thomas clicks on both ends of the court—they averaged 13.6 rebounds per game—from January on to help the Demon Deacons pull off a couple of upsets in the ACC.
One thing that could go wrong: Despite having a deep bench, Wake Forest is a squad mainly consisting of underclassmen, and their inexperience derails the team’s aspirations. Also, senior Andre Washington should be the Demon Deacon starting center but saw just 4.9 minutes per game last year.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.