Wake Forest Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Demon Deacons
By Jacob Shames
Reserves
G Sharone Wright Jr. (6’5, So., 7.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 31.7 3pt%) — Wright’s 2018-19 was pretty typical for a toolsy freshman guard on a bad team: streaky scoring, limited efficiency, little else. He wasn’t ready to start 20 games in his first season, and his play showed that. But Wright has the length to be a lockdown defender, and the athleticism and shooting to give a nice scoring punch off the bench.
G Torry Johnson (6’3, Sr., 5.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 34.1 3pt%) — Johnson’s the closest thing this roster has to a 3-and-D guy. He averaged 21.8 minutes per game, starting nine, and brings solid defense and a great deal of experience — this is his sixth year in college basketball. A grad transfer from Northern Arizona last season, Johnson earned a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA because he was injured almost all of 2016-17.
G Michael Wynn (6’6, So., 1.9 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 22.5 3pt%) — Wynn took 60 percent of his shots from behind the arc last season but didn’t make too many of them. Someday, he could become a sniper — he may just be too buried on the depth chart to do so this year.
G Jahcobi Neath (6’3, Fr.) — The Canadian was a three-star recruit last season and is one of five freshman on the roster. Neath is athletic and got valuable international experience at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, but it’s hard to see him making a huge impact just yet.
F Sunday Okeke (6’8, Jr., 1.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 25.0 fg%) — Okeke has strength and experience, two things that most of the Deacs’ other bigs lack. His offensive rebounding rate was a sky-high 17.7 last year, and his physicality means he might have a consistent role.
F Ismael Massoud (6’8, Fr.) — Born in Spain and raised in Harlem, Massoud, who played his senior season at Massachusetts’ MacDuffie School, can fill it up from outside. The four-star is Wake’s most promising freshman, although nobody’s expecting him to be a savior. It’s plausible that he starts over Mucius.
F Ody Oguama (6’9, Fr.) — Oguama, from Raleigh, weighs in at 205 pounds and has won praise for his work ethic. His path to immediate playing time is unclear right now — like most freshman, it’s wait-and-see, but he has potential.
G Miles Lester (6’0, Rs. So., 3.1 ppg, 1.6 apg, 37.7 3pt% in 2017-18), F Blake Buchanan (6’5, So., 0.2 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.1 apg), F Grant Van Beveren (6’6, Fr.) and F Tariq Ingraham (6’9, Fr.) — Lester, Buchanan and Van Beveren are walk-ons, although Lester, a transfer from Rice, might work his way into a role. Ingraham, a bruising forward from Philadelphia, would have seen minutes this season but suffered a season-ending torn Achilles recently.