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NCAA Basketball: Ranking teams in 2019 Wooden Legacy Tournament

By Joey Loose

TUCSON, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 07: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats talks with Ira Lee #11, Brandon Randolph #5 and Dylan Smith #3 during the second half of the NCAAB game against the Washington Huskies at McKale Center on February 07, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. The Huskies defeated the Wildcats 67-60. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 07: Head coach Sean Miller of the Arizona Wildcats talks with Ira Lee #11, Brandon Randolph #5 and Dylan Smith #3 during the second half of the NCAAB game against the Washington Huskies at McKale Center on February 07, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. The Huskies defeated the Wildcats 67-60. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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WINSTON-SALEM, NC – JANUARY 08: Head coach Danny Manning of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons high-fives Jaylen Hoard #10 in the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at LJVM Coliseum Complex on January 8, 2019 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Duke won 87-65. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
WINSTON-SALEM, NC – JANUARY 08: Head coach Danny Manning of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons high-fives Jaylen Hoard #10 in the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at LJVM Coliseum Complex on January 8, 2019 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Duke won 87-65. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

5. Wake Forest

Well known for his playing career, Danny Manning has had a difficult time building a winning culture again at Wake Forest. He led the team to the First Four back in 2017, but the former Kansas guard has yet to finish higher than 10th place in a competitive ACC. There was some surprise when Manning was brought back for his sixth year, especially after back-to-back 11-20 seasons. Will Manning reward the Demon Deacons for their patience?

The positive is that last year’s Wake Forest squad was a pretty young team and returns a good amount of talent besides Jaylen Hoard who went pro early. Leading scorers Brandon Childress and Chaundee Brown will all be back, but this offense will need drastic improvement next season. The recruiting class features a group of 3-star prospects, including forward Ismael Massoud and point guard Jahcobi Neath. Manning will have some solid pieces in place, and should lean on Childress as his star, but how much progression can this team actually make in such a loaded conference?

The Demon Deacons won this event back in 2008, but that was clearly with a far different group of talent on the court. Many pundits project this Wake Forest team finishing at or near the bottom of the ACC again. They’ll begin the Wooden Legacy with a winnable game against the College of Charleston, though it would surprise me to see Wake Forest challenging Arizona or Providence for the tournament crown. Anything could happen as this team develops, but we shouldn’t expect to see this team playing meaningful games in March this season.

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