Wake Forest Defeats Young Harris: Analysis

Wake Forest defeated Young Harris 96-71 in its lone exhibition game. Below are the stats of each player and my thoughts on how they performed.

Devin Thomas - Devin was excellent against Young Harris. He went 12-12 from the field, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 4 blocks. He played with constant energy and had some good interior passes. It was one "game," but Devin looks ready to be an all-ACC caliber player this season.

Madison Jones - Madison was a pleasant surprise tonight. He was the starting point guard and did a very good job attacking and finishing at the rim. He got reckless at times, so he will need to work on limiting turnovers. He also must become a better shooter to be a threat against zone defenses. He's probably not going to be able to attack other opponents as easily as he did, so that jumper is necessary.

Codi Miller-McIntyre - CMM had a very good all-around game, though I'd still like to see him be more aggressive. Codi's performance this season will go a long way in determining how many games the Deacs win.

Cornelius Hudson - "Crab" has a nice offensive game. He's skinny, but he has a good stroke and for the most part made good decisions. He can definitely be a good offensive spark for us. He plays hard on defense, but got beat a few times.

Greek Deac - "Dinos" played a smooth and efficient game during his time on the court. He had a quick stretch in the second half where he went on a personal 6-0 run off some nice lobs over some fronting from Young Harris. He lacks upper body strength, but has good length.

Miles Overton - Overton has trimmed down since the summer, but needs to knock down his three point attempts and get better on defense.

Andre Washington - He rebounded the ball well, but did not execute when he got the ball in scoring positions. He also needs to improve his awareness of where his opposite post player is and improve his interior passing.

Aaron Rountree III - Tree had another "Tree stat line" where he had a little bit of everything. He finished with 3 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. He still struggles to shoot the ball, but he definitely had a positive impact on the game. Still, he must improve his shooting to be effective against zone defenses.

Greg McClinton - Greg didn't really stand out much when he was on the court. He seemed to lack some explosiveness and did struggle defensively. He also cannot have zero rebounds. I do think part of it was just hesitation coming back from injury, so I anticipate him improving as the season moves along.

Mitchell Wilbekin - Mitchell did not stand out much tonight, but didn't make many mistakes. Wake will need Wilbekin to develop into a reliable option at the point guard position this year.

Darius Leonard - Leonard got into some early foul trouble tonight and that seemed to throw him off his game. He finished with just 2 points, zero rebounds and 3 turnovers. We'll continue to monitor his performances early in the season.

Rondale Watson - Rondale only got 3 minutes of action, but he still attempted 3 field goals and finished with 2 points. He has good form, but clearly he is one of the low men on the totem pole. Manning had a very quick trigger with substitutions, however, so Watson could get more playing time as the season progresses.