It is safe to say that the Danny Manning era is coming to its final days. Barring a miraculous run in the ACC Tournament, Manning should be fired within the next two weeks. Danny was originally seen as the savior of Wake basketball, considering after four years of terrible basketball under Jeff Bzdelik, it seemed the Deacs could only go up! After two lackluster seasons, Manning took the Deacs to a 19-14 record, and a NCAA Tournament birth. Wake looked like they were on the verge of something great, and after signing 5 star Jaylen Hoard, it was hard for the Wake faithful to expect success. Unfortunately success never came, and we are back to square one with a head coaching search just days away.
So what is the solution to our problem is it an established coach like John Beilein (Michigan) or Porter Moser (Loyola Chicago?) While those would be A+ hires for the Deacs, I would argue our best solution is 32 miles away in Greensboro. The savior of the Wake Forest basketball program is Wes Miller!
Miller is in his 9th season with UNCG, he has boasted an impressive four SoCon regular season titles, while leading UNCG to five straight postseason performances. In fact last year Millers squad was the number one overall seed in the NIT, meaning they were the last team out of the NCAA Tournament. Impressive for a 37 year old.
Moreover, Miller has a collection of connections to the ACC. As a guard for UNC, Miller helped the Heels win the 2005 National Championship, and that is not even mentioning Miller's father who is a huge donor at Wake Forest. Additionally, since UNCG is so close to Wake, all worries of Miller not wanting to leave the Triad are not present. Wes would be recruiting in the same areas, while living in the same location. If Wes wanted to, he could probably keep his house in Greensboro. This almost seems like a dream hire for the Deacs, so what's preventing Wake from hiring Wes?
The first thing is Miller's current contract. Last year UNCG extended Wes through the 2028-29 season, so buying out Mannings contract, while simultaneously buying us Wes could get pricy for Wake. The Deacs don't have as much athletic money that other ACC schools have, but I could easily see John Currie rallying the Wake faithful to come up with the funds.
The next fews weeks are vital for the future of the Wake basketball program, if the Deacs get this hire wrong, they will be dooming themselves to another decade of obscurity. I think this is the hire the Deacs have been searching for, and frankly I think Wes Miller is the only coach who can bring back Tie Dye Nation!