ACC Basketball: Analyzing each team's overall offense for 2020-21 season

ACC Basketball: Analyzing each team’s overall offense for 2020-21 season

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 10: Teammates Jordan Goldwire #14, Wendell Moore Jr. #0 and Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils react after a play against the Florida State Seminoles during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 10, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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ANAHEIM, CA – DECEMBER 01: Isaiah Mucius #1 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2019-20: 73.3 ppg in ACC play

The Demon Deacons are naturally the most difficult team to forecast this season. Not only do they have a similar overturn of players, but they have a new coach. There is no indication that Forbes will run the same offense with Wake Forest as he did with East Tennessee State, despite coaches having their particular philosophies.

Plus, there are a couple of consistencies in basketball as a whole, teams need a point guard who can take care of the ball and get to the basket, a big man that can set a screen and have at least a mid-range game in order to pop out or roll and you need a shooter, if not two, in order to space out the defense. Fortunately for Forbes, he is able to check several of those boxes.

The transfer of Olivier Sarr (13.7 ppg) was a huge loss for Wake Forest fans, while the graduation of Brandon Childress (15.6 ppg) was expected, hurt just as much. In addition to starter Adrien White (9 ppg) and part-time starter Torry Johnson (5.6) moving on, Forbes will turn to three Grad transfers as well as redshirt freshman Tariq Ingraham to contribute points. Plus Isaiah Mucius remains, and will quickly become the number one option. This will prevent them from tumbling down too much.

Childress at 32 percent and White at 37 percent were the biggest threats from deep last season, but this year Coach Forbes hopes the key guys from the arc will be just as good. Ian Dubose who played a lot of point guard at Houston Baptist connected on 32 percent from beyond the arc, which seemed much higher on open looks.

Some combination of sophomore Ody Oguama, freshman Emmanual Okpomo, and redshirt freshman Tariq Ingraham will provide Coach Forbes with two big men that can alternate between screening and posting. This will allow 6’8 junior Isaiah Mucius to be the focal point of the offense at the perimeter where he is better at shooting off the dribble.

Jacobi Neath will be valuable off the bench as a point guard while Grad Transfers Jalen Johnson and Jonah Antonio can add some baskets at either swing position. Coach Forbes’ starters may score fewer, point for point than last years’ team, but he will have more combinations to work with.