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Wake Forest Basketball: Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2015-16 Season Preview

By Alex Piasecki

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Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2014-2015 Record: 13-19 (5-13, ACC)
Postseason: ACC Tournament – Second Round

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Danny Manning’s first year at the helm of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons was not a success when measured in wins and losses. But Manning was successful in something far more important–establishing a foundation for winning and development for Wake Forest Basketball.

Manning has changed the culture of the Demon Deacon locker room, starting with his aggressive recruiting pursuit of elite talent, which is something Wake Forest has not done since the Chris Paul era. And even though Wake Forest failed to crack the top half of the ACC this past season, they played many games close, dominating large portions of games against top tier opponents such as Virginia and Duke. Despite missing out on postseason play in 204-2015, there is reason for optimism in Winston-Salem surrounding this new fresh faced Demon Deacon basketball program.

Newcomers

C – Doral Moore (#72 247Sports)
G – Bryant Crawford (#97 247Sports)

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov. 23-26 at Maui Invitational – Wake Forest has a chance to make a statement early this season at the Maui Invitational. An early match-up against the Indiana Hoosiers will test Wake Forest’s experienced backcourt against one of the top returning backcourts in the nation. The Red Storm will open with the Hoosiers, and see either St. Johns or a SEC sleepers Vanderbilt in the next round. An improving Codi Miller McIntyre along with a couple top 100 new recruits will make the Demon Deacons a dangerous team in this early preseason tournament.

Dec. 29 vs LSU – This ACC-SEC crossover match-up carries quite a bit of intrigue, mostly circling around the potential impact incoming LSU freshman 6-10 forward Ben Simmons. Simmons, along with other freshman studs Antonio Blakeney and Brandon Sampson, should make for a fun game to watch.

Key Players

Devin Thomas – The 6-9 senior power forward Thomas will be essential to the success of the Demon Deacons this year. Not only does this returning big man have pressure on him to score (12.0 ppg last year), he additionally will be responsible for helping freshman center Doral Moore get acclimated to Danny Manning’s style of play. If Thomas continues to score and rebound like last year, and Moore follows suit, this front-court could be an underrated force for Wake Forest.

Codi Miller-McIntyre – This 6-3 senior guard from Concord, NC is Wake Forest’s key returning player, as he led the Demon Deacons in scoring last year at 14.5 ppg. With the recent dismissal of reserve guard Madison Jones, Miller-McIntyre will be relied on heavily to distribute (4.3 apg), score and rebound (4.8 rpg) the ball. Only time will tell if Miller-McIntyre, Wake’s jack of all trades, can shoulder this load and lead the Demon Deacons back to winning ways.

Season Outlook

Despite struggling to close out games last year and missing the postseason, Danny Manning’s second season as head coach of Wake Forest should be an improvement for a team that went 5-13 in ACC conference play. The dismissal of troubled guard Madison Jones* will test this team’s depth at backcourt, but the return and continued development of the Demon Deacon’s primary scorers (Miller-McIntyre and Thomas), along with the bevy of fresh talent (Moore and Crawford) should help Wake Forest win more games this year, and finish in the top half of the ACC. An NCAA tournament bid should be a season-long goal for this replenished squad, but just getting back to postseason basketball (NIT) is very realistic given returning and new talent.

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