There is a brand new coach in Winston-Salem and a brand new approach to basketball at Wake Forest. Jeff Bzdelik, who made his way to the ACC after spending the last three seasons at Colorado, is known as a miracle worker. He won 50 games in two seasons at the head coach at Air Force before transitioning to the Big 12 and Colorado. Bzdelik's ability to hold onto Wake's heralded recruiting class was the first of several miracles he'll need to work this season for the Demon Deacons to be successful and return to the NCAA Tournament. Because I'm writing this preview six games into the season, I'm going to cheat by talking some about the early returns. All indications so far point to this being a long season for the Deacs. Losses to Stetson, VCU and Winthrop in the first three games - all at home mind you - can't have the faithful in Winston-Salem feeling very confident so far. That said, this young team will grow during the season and Bzdelik will likely have them playing well by year's end.
Backcourt
After averaging nearly 10 points a game last season as a freshman, sophomore C.J. Harris is the most experienced player in the Wake Forest backcourt and will be relied upon heavily. Harris is joined by senior Gary Clark and freshman J.T. Terrell, both of whom will see heavy minutes in 2010-2011. Terrell, from Charlotte, has averaged nearly 13 points a night in the first six games and is playing almost 30 minutes per contest. His development during the season will be crucial if Wake hopes to establish some consistency in its backcourt. Through his first six contests, Terrell has seven more turnovers (21) than assists (14). That number will need to improve moving forward.
Frontcourt
Sophomore Ari Stewart is the only returning player from the 2009-2010 frontcourt and has played well so far this season, averaging almost 14 points and eight rebounds a night thus far. Joining Stewart in the frontcourt is junior Ty Walker and two freshmen, Travis McKie and Melvin Tabb. While Walker has been in Winston-Salem for two years, his limited action has him playing much more like his freshmen teammates. His five points and five rebounds a night will do the job for now, but a bump in his numbers would make Wake Forest a much better basketball team. Perhaps the bump in minutes - from six a game last season to nearly 25 through six games this year - will help Walker more than anything else. McKie has started the year on a hot streak, averaging almost 15 points and eight rebounds. Against Elon Nov. 20, McKie recorded his first double-double, scoring 22 and hauling in 15 rebounds in the 89-70 Wake Forest victory. It will be interesting to see how Wake'e frontcourt looks when ACC play comes around, but the experience Walker, Tabb and McKie gain during the first month and a half of the season will be key.
Schedule
Wake Forest's schedule certainly won't make things any easier for first year coach Jeff Bzdelik as he tries to figure out just what kind of team he has. Non-conference matchups with Xavier and Gonzaga will be tough. Once ACC play starts in January, the road gets even tougher as trips to Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, NC State and Florida State await the inexperienced Deacs. Wake will have several seemingly winnable conference games at home (Maryland, Virginia, Miami, Georgia Tech) but the schedule is nowhere near easy. With three of the first four games on the road during an 11-day span in January, things could get ugly in a hurry for the Deacons.
Prediction
While it's hard to hold down expectations for a program that has become a consistent NCAA Tournament participant, Wake Forest fans shouldn't expect much from this team, at least not this year. Bzdelik is replacing a 2009-2010 that had a ton of talent with mostly freshmen and lightly used sophomores. This will take time. That's not to say Wake Forest won't win some games and be competitive in others, but Deacon fans should not be looking for a return trip to the Big Dance. Based on what Wake has done in its first six games, a 6-10 season in the ACC would be a success in Bzdelik's first year.
This is the only category where writing this preview so late actually helps. Coming into the season I would have said C.J. Harris without a doubt, but he's actually the fifth leading scorer through six games. Freshman Travis McKie is playing major minutes and averaging 15 and eight. I'm not sure he can put up those numbers all season, but his minutes will certainly give him the chance to.
