Three future Deacs decommit after Wake fires Danny Manning
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After firing Head Coach Danny Manning on Saturday, three future Wake Forest players have decided to decommit from the Deacs and re-open their recruitment.
2020 post prospect Jaylon Gibson, of Grace Christian, has requested a release from his Letter of Intent to Wake Forest after the dismissal of Danny Manning, his coach DeShannon Morris tells @247Sports.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) April 27, 2020
Jaylon Gibson, a 3-star power forward from Grace Christian in Raleigh, has decommitted from Wake Forest. Gibson is rated as the 318th best player and the 68th best power forward in the 2020 recruiting class according to 247Sports. As a senior, Gibson averaged 16 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game for the Eagles. As he has already signed his letter of intent to player for Wake Forest, the Deacs will have to release him from his commitment in order for him to play elsewhere next season. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess there is about a 0% chance that Wake Forest doesn’t grant Gibson his release.
GODS PLAN ?? pic.twitter.com/gMU2OWSUi6
— Djimon Bailey (@thed4show) April 28, 2020
Djimon Bailey, a 3 star guard from Wilson, has also asked for his release. Bailey is rated as the 431st recruit in the nation and the 37th combo guard in the 2020 recruiting class by 247Sports. Bailey initially committed to Wake Forest in May of 2019 over offers from George Mason, Princeton, Rice, UNCG, VCU, and Wofford. Like Gibson, I have no doubts that Wake will grant his release to play elsewhere next season.
After much thought and discussion with my family, I have decided to decommit from Wake Forest University and reopen my recruitment. I want to thank Coach Manning, Coach Walters and Coach Childress for the opportunity and I wish the best to Wake Forest.
— Trey James (@Trey50James) April 26, 2020
The Deacs will also be losing Trey James, who was set to be a member of the 2021 recruiting class as a 3-star center out of Kentucky. He is currently rated as the 165th best player and the 25th best center in the 2021 class by 247Sports. Earlier this year, James set the single season block state record in Kentucky with 258 blocks. He initially committed to play for the Deacs in January.
This is not uncommon when a team is set to get a new coach, and I’m sure it is much more difficult for players to mesh with a coach who had absolutely nothing to do with recruiting them. With these decommits, the 2020 class now includes 2 players—Marcus Watson and Quadry Adams—and is ranked 73rd in the nation and 15th in the ACC.
