Wake Forest Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Demon Deacons

Wake Forest basketball has quite the recruiting class coming in. Could the Demon Deacons be to be a surprise team in the ACC in 2018-19?

Head coach Danny Manning will have his hands full this upcoming season with the Wake Forest basketball team. Last season, the Demon Deacons went 11-20 (4-14 in ACC play) just one season after finishing 9-9 and making the First Four of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Additionally, the program said goodbye to some key contributors this offseason.

For starters, last year’s leading scorer Bryant Crawford (16.9 points per game) left early to pursue a pro career. Then, 7-foot-1 center Doral Moore also left early to pursue a career in the NBA and is currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. Moore produced 11.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game and 12 double-doubles last season as a junior.

Finally, Keyshawn Woods graduated early and transferred to finish his basketball career with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Woods finished second on the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game in 28 appearances last season. With guard Chaundee Brown as their lone returning starter, things are bound to look a lot different this upcoming season.

The team returns just three scholarship players from last season while they will lose four of their top scorers from a season ago. Manning does have a solid recruiting class set to take the stage for the upcoming season. With an apparent rebuild in the works, let’s preview the season for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.