Wake Forest Basketball 2010-11 Predictions
November 16, 2010
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons went 20-11 overall and 9-7 in the conference last season, garnering a berth to the Big Dance where they came away with a close 81-80 win over Texas in the first round, before being stomped by Kentucky in the next round. The Demon Deacons however struggled down the stretch and after just one postseason win in the past three years, Wake Forest decided it was time to part ways with head coach Dino Gaudio, regardless of his 61-31 record. In comes former Colorado head coach Jeff Bzdelik, who will have the tough time in leading a Wake Forest squad that lost four starters and need a lot out of their incoming freshman class. To get an overview of what the Demon Deacons will look like this year, here is a quick preview of what they will send to the court, plus my prediction on where they finish the season in the conference.
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Taking a look at the college basketball odds for the upcoming season, the oddsmakers currently have the Demon Deacons offered at +5000 to win the conference, and are very heavy underdogs to win the National Title at +12500
Backcourt: The only starter back for Wake Forest this season is sophomore guard C.J. Harris, who put up 10 ppg last year. Where exactly Harris will fit in this year, will depend on the play of freshmen J.T. Terrell and Tony Chennault. Terrell has the makings of being a big time scorer in the conference, and could quickly become the team’s top scoring option. Chennault doesn’t appear to have the makings of a pure point guard, but can handle the ball and play good defense. The probable scenario will be Harris at the point, while Terrell steps in at the two, leaving Chennault to come in and give the team a spark off the bench.
Frontcourt: The Demon Deacons will have to find a way to replace NBA lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, who contributed almost 16 points and 11 boards per contest. Also gone is center Chas McFarland, who added seven points and seven boards a night, and junior Tony Woods, who left the team after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assaulting a female. That leaves Sophomore Ari Stewart as the only player with experience back. Stewart contributed just over seven points in 17 minutes a game last season, but has trouble getting the rest of the team involved and only looking for his shot. That means a couple of freshmen are likely going to have to step in immediately. The three highly touted freshmen are Travis McKie, Melvin Tabb, and Carson Desrosiers. Tabb and Desrosiers figure to get first opportunity at starting inside, as McKie is more of a spot up jump shooter. The Deacons also added Gerogetown transfer Nikita Meshcharakou, but I’m not sure what he will be able to bring to the table.
Pick -11th in the ACC: The freshmen class is very gifted, but with a new head coach and little experience, it is hard to imagine Wake Forest putting together a strong season this year. The Deacons may actually be a better shooting team than it was last year, but whether or not they can play as a team offensively is up in the air. Defense and rebounding is also a concern for this team, and while a surprise season is definitely in the mix, the Demon Deacons are likely to struggle more than succeed this season.
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