Wake Forest
Last season: 19-14, lost to Kansas State in NCAA Tournament opening round
Nickname: Demon Deacons
Coach: Danny Manning
Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference
Who’s gone: F John Collins, F Dinos Mitoglou
Who’s back: G Bryant Crawford averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 assists last season; G Keyshawn Woods averaged 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds; G Mitchell Wilbekin averaged 7 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists.
Who’s new: G-F Chaundee Brown is the program’s highest-rated recruit since Al-Farouq Aminu in 2008; C Olivier Sarr is a 7-foot native of France who could help mitigate the loss of Collins inside.
The Skinny: Manning’s fourth season with the Demon Deacons will be a pivotal one. They made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010 behind a player (Collins) who’s since moved on to the NBA. The key issue is whether the handful of guards in the rotation can carry this team farther than Collins did.
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