It didn’t always look great, but at the end of night, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons are 1-0 with a 21 point win over the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks.
The story in this one is Gavin Placide. The true freshman was completely dominant in his first real game as a Demon Deacon, finishing with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals. He definitely did not look like a freshman out there, and the Hawks really had no answer for him throughout the game. His brother Gallagher also had a solid first game, finishing with 13 points on 6-10 shooting. The twins helped the Deacs outscore the Hawks 44-22 in the paint and were a major part of a 20-0 2nd half run that sealed the win for Wake Forest. Based on the first game, Wake’s ceiling this season is going to depend heavily upon the play and development of the Placide brothers.
Wake also showed tonight what their identity is going to be this season—pressure defense and and a break neck pace on offense. The Deacs utilized a full court press for much of the game and played very aggressively in the half court, denying the ball and jumping passing lanes. When they did get the ball on a steal or a rebound, Wake was flying down the court as fast as possible trying to score in transition. Merrimack transfer Kevair Kennedy was really good when attacking the rim on the break, either scoring or getting to the free throw line. Kennedy finished with a near triple double with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. For the game, the Deacs scored 31 points off turnovers and 25 fast break points, while holding the Hawks to 35% shooting from the floor.
It’s great to be 1-0, but the outlook of the season probably isn’t going to change much after 1 game against a team projected to be one of the worst in the nation this season. Wake will get their first test on Thursday night when they travel to Tennessee to take on #24 Vanderbilt. The Deacs aren’t going to be able to rely heavily on a full court press and points off turnovers in ACC play, so it will be important to see how they handle scoring in the half court against a team that can handle the pressure and will likely put the ball in the basket on a consistent basis. We will know a lot more about this team after that game.
Go Deacs!