Post by Commissioner on Nov 21, 2024 9:20:10 GMT -5
Wake Forest
Saturday, Nov. 23, 4:00 p.m.
Winston-Salem, NC
Can we count on Titan Tarheel and NCTitan to be at the game, cheering our boys on at the first ever meeting between Detroit and Wake Forest?
The consensus seems to be that this is, at least, an enjoyable Titan team to watch. It is, not yet, a good team, but they guys hustle, share the ball, seem to have growing confidence in themselves and in one another. They collapsed late against the better teams they've played--Toledo and Loyola (who are a combined 8-1 on the young season)--but showed resiliancy against the weaker teams, Niagara and Ball State (a combined 2-7), with a nice comeback against the former and fighting off every rally by the latter. I haven't seen any word on the extent of Manciel's injury, but I don't expect to see Mak on Saturday, at a minimum. That right foot was hanging at a really awful looking angle when he left the court on Wednesday. Even at full strength Wake would present an enormous challenge; at less than full strength, it's hard to be optimistic, but we will see.
Wake Forest is 5-1, their only loss coming at Xavier, 75-60, last Saturday. Their best win is a 72-70 squeaker over Michigan on a quasi-home court--the game was played in nearby Greensboro. Their other wins are nice, but the Titans might have won 4 home games against Western Carolina, South Carolina-Upstate, Coppin State, and North Carolina A&T as well. The first three of those schools are a combined 0-11 against D1 competition; NC A&T has wins over Morgan State and the Citadel. On the other hand, Wake was picked to finish third this year in the ACC, so I don't think that 5-1 record is just a fluke of scheduling.
The Deacons' top player is 6-5 senior guard Hunter Sallis, who spent two years coming off the bench at Gonzaga, but has emerged as a star since transfering. Sallis averaged 18 points a year ago while shooting over 40% from three. This year his three point shooting has been off (22.3%) but he's still averaging 16.8 points and contributing 4.3 assists per game. He's paired in the back court with senior point guard Cameron Hildreth, who brings 12 points and 4.5 assists to the table. Hildreth hit 35% of his threes a year ago, but like Sallis has fallen off so far this year, connecting on just 27.8%. With sophomore guard Parker Friedrichsen also falling off from 36.5% a year ago to 23.1% this year, Coach Steve Forbes inserted sophomore Davin Cosby into the lineup in place of Friedrichsen two games ago. Cosby, a sophomore transfer from Alabama, has responded by connecting on 37.8% of his three point attempts.
Senior Tre'Von Spillars, a 6-7 transfer from Appalachian State, mans one forward position, averaging 10 points and a team best 8 rebounds. Rounding out the starting lineup is senior Center Efton Reid, who stands 6-11, 240 pounds. Reid is on his third school, after stops at Louisiana State and Gonzaga. Spillars and Reid are both very effective finishers at the rim. Okoro and Kalambay are going to pick up fouls--the key is to avoid stupid little chippy fouls that serve no purpose.
Wake will typically go 8-9 deep in the rotation. The bench consists of the afore-mentioned Friedrichsen; guard Ty-Laur Johnson, a transfer from Louisville; freshman forward Juke Harris; and sophomore center Churchill Abass, a transfer from DePaul. Abass played sparingly in Wake's early games, but with an injury to Omaha Biliew, a former top 20 recruit, Abass's minutes have climbed in the last couple outings. Biliew is out until at least mid-January, so we won't see him.
I haven't seen Wake play this year, so I can't say much about their style. Statistically, nothing jumps out at you--per KenPom, their pace of play is almost exactly at the national average. They shoot more threes than most teams but, so far this year, at a poor percentage. As I've noted above, several of their players have really fallen off in three point shooting from a year ago, and we'll hope Saturday doesn't see a reversion to the mean. I suppose another thing that stands out is that Wake is dominating at the foul line, averaging 22 attempts per game to their opponents' 14. I assume that's largely because they're just bigger and quicker than the mediocre mid-majors that have dominated their schedule so far (against Michigan they took 19 free throws to the Wolverines' 15, and were outshot at the line, 22-15, by Xavier), but obviously the Titans have to watch the fouls on defense, and not waste opportunities at the line.
Despite my negativity at the top of this preview, I don't see this game as unwinnable for the Titans. It's a challenge, to be sure, but Wake Forest is not Gonzaga or Kansas. If the Titans watch the fouls and turnovers, and someone--Kuac? Maybe Nadeau is due for a breakout shooting game?--gets a hot hand, we can give Wake Forest some problems. But Wake Forest is also very experienced, with 4 seniors starting, and not likely to panic if the Titans go on an early run. My modest hope is to see the Titans keep it competitive and continue to improve.
Probable Starters
PG - #6 Cameron Hildreth, 6-4 Sr. (12.0 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.8 rpg, 2.0 spg, 27.8% 3Pt)
SG - #23 Hunter Sallis, 6-5 Sr. (16.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 23.1% 3Pt)
SF/G - #1 Davin Cosby, 6-5 Soph. (8.2 ppg, 37.8% 3Pt)
F - #25 Tre'Von Spillars, 6-7 Sr. (10.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
C - #4 Efton Reid, 6-11 Sr. (8.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
Bench
PG - #8 Ty-Laur Johnson, 6-0 Soph. (3,8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 16.7% 3Pt)
SG - #7 Parker Friedrichsen, 6-3 Soph. (5.8 ppg, 23.1% 3Pt)
F - #2 Juke Harris, 6-7 Fr. (5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
C - #55 Churchill Abass, 6-9 Soph. (2.8 ppg.)
Go Titans!
Saturday, Nov. 23, 4:00 p.m.
Winston-Salem, NC
Can we count on Titan Tarheel and NCTitan to be at the game, cheering our boys on at the first ever meeting between Detroit and Wake Forest?
The consensus seems to be that this is, at least, an enjoyable Titan team to watch. It is, not yet, a good team, but they guys hustle, share the ball, seem to have growing confidence in themselves and in one another. They collapsed late against the better teams they've played--Toledo and Loyola (who are a combined 8-1 on the young season)--but showed resiliancy against the weaker teams, Niagara and Ball State (a combined 2-7), with a nice comeback against the former and fighting off every rally by the latter. I haven't seen any word on the extent of Manciel's injury, but I don't expect to see Mak on Saturday, at a minimum. That right foot was hanging at a really awful looking angle when he left the court on Wednesday. Even at full strength Wake would present an enormous challenge; at less than full strength, it's hard to be optimistic, but we will see.
Wake Forest is 5-1, their only loss coming at Xavier, 75-60, last Saturday. Their best win is a 72-70 squeaker over Michigan on a quasi-home court--the game was played in nearby Greensboro. Their other wins are nice, but the Titans might have won 4 home games against Western Carolina, South Carolina-Upstate, Coppin State, and North Carolina A&T as well. The first three of those schools are a combined 0-11 against D1 competition; NC A&T has wins over Morgan State and the Citadel. On the other hand, Wake was picked to finish third this year in the ACC, so I don't think that 5-1 record is just a fluke of scheduling.
The Deacons' top player is 6-5 senior guard Hunter Sallis, who spent two years coming off the bench at Gonzaga, but has emerged as a star since transfering. Sallis averaged 18 points a year ago while shooting over 40% from three. This year his three point shooting has been off (22.3%) but he's still averaging 16.8 points and contributing 4.3 assists per game. He's paired in the back court with senior point guard Cameron Hildreth, who brings 12 points and 4.5 assists to the table. Hildreth hit 35% of his threes a year ago, but like Sallis has fallen off so far this year, connecting on just 27.8%. With sophomore guard Parker Friedrichsen also falling off from 36.5% a year ago to 23.1% this year, Coach Steve Forbes inserted sophomore Davin Cosby into the lineup in place of Friedrichsen two games ago. Cosby, a sophomore transfer from Alabama, has responded by connecting on 37.8% of his three point attempts.
Senior Tre'Von Spillars, a 6-7 transfer from Appalachian State, mans one forward position, averaging 10 points and a team best 8 rebounds. Rounding out the starting lineup is senior Center Efton Reid, who stands 6-11, 240 pounds. Reid is on his third school, after stops at Louisiana State and Gonzaga. Spillars and Reid are both very effective finishers at the rim. Okoro and Kalambay are going to pick up fouls--the key is to avoid stupid little chippy fouls that serve no purpose.
Wake will typically go 8-9 deep in the rotation. The bench consists of the afore-mentioned Friedrichsen; guard Ty-Laur Johnson, a transfer from Louisville; freshman forward Juke Harris; and sophomore center Churchill Abass, a transfer from DePaul. Abass played sparingly in Wake's early games, but with an injury to Omaha Biliew, a former top 20 recruit, Abass's minutes have climbed in the last couple outings. Biliew is out until at least mid-January, so we won't see him.
I haven't seen Wake play this year, so I can't say much about their style. Statistically, nothing jumps out at you--per KenPom, their pace of play is almost exactly at the national average. They shoot more threes than most teams but, so far this year, at a poor percentage. As I've noted above, several of their players have really fallen off in three point shooting from a year ago, and we'll hope Saturday doesn't see a reversion to the mean. I suppose another thing that stands out is that Wake is dominating at the foul line, averaging 22 attempts per game to their opponents' 14. I assume that's largely because they're just bigger and quicker than the mediocre mid-majors that have dominated their schedule so far (against Michigan they took 19 free throws to the Wolverines' 15, and were outshot at the line, 22-15, by Xavier), but obviously the Titans have to watch the fouls on defense, and not waste opportunities at the line.
Despite my negativity at the top of this preview, I don't see this game as unwinnable for the Titans. It's a challenge, to be sure, but Wake Forest is not Gonzaga or Kansas. If the Titans watch the fouls and turnovers, and someone--Kuac? Maybe Nadeau is due for a breakout shooting game?--gets a hot hand, we can give Wake Forest some problems. But Wake Forest is also very experienced, with 4 seniors starting, and not likely to panic if the Titans go on an early run. My modest hope is to see the Titans keep it competitive and continue to improve.
Probable Starters
PG - #6 Cameron Hildreth, 6-4 Sr. (12.0 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.8 rpg, 2.0 spg, 27.8% 3Pt)
SG - #23 Hunter Sallis, 6-5 Sr. (16.8 ppg, 4.3 apg, 23.1% 3Pt)
SF/G - #1 Davin Cosby, 6-5 Soph. (8.2 ppg, 37.8% 3Pt)
F - #25 Tre'Von Spillars, 6-7 Sr. (10.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
C - #4 Efton Reid, 6-11 Sr. (8.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
Bench
PG - #8 Ty-Laur Johnson, 6-0 Soph. (3,8 ppg, 1.5 apg, 16.7% 3Pt)
SG - #7 Parker Friedrichsen, 6-3 Soph. (5.8 ppg, 23.1% 3Pt)
F - #2 Juke Harris, 6-7 Fr. (5.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg)
C - #55 Churchill Abass, 6-9 Soph. (2.8 ppg.)
Go Titans!
