Wake Forest vs. Rollins College

A First Look at the Deacons 7-Man Recruiting Class

By James Blackburn

Score: Wake wins 73-66
Box Score

*Denotes Starter

Game Notes – 1st Half
• Game started 2-0 in favor of Rollins because of a Technical foul issued to Freshman Madison Jones before game started
• Wake Started off settling for Jump shots and found themselves in a 9-0 hole early before Tyler Cavanaugh drove to the rim for a lay-up and scored.
• Wake is allowing Rollins to score easy baskets and are comfortable in their offense early on.
• The Deacons are being too passive early- no one being willing to shoot and then having to settle at end of shot clock.
• Wakes bigs do a decent job boxing out- but need to attack rebounds instead of standing and looking at it.
• Wake is going to really struggle against pressure this season.
• Rollins is switching all screens in the first half.
• Wake closes the half with a 28-25 lead mainly because of them attacking the basket and getting Rollins into foul trouble and getting out into transition, resulting in easy baskets.

Game Notes- 2nd Half
• Wake is getting out in transition and is getting easy baskets.
• Wake has extended its lead to double figures by pressuring the ball and turning the game into a more up-tempo.
• One area of major concern for Wake is rebounding-Rollins got too many offensive boards.
• Wake is finally starting to hit some shots and some 3’s.

The three Freshmen I was most impressed with tonight were Codi-Miller McIntyre, Madison Jones, and Aaron Rountree– great kids not only on the court but off the court as well. Here are scouting reports on all seven of the freshmen.

Scouting Reports/Notes

*Codi Miller-McIntyre (G, 6’3”, Hargrave Military Academy)
22 min, 5-7 FG, 1-2 3pt, 1-4 FT, 1 rb, 1 assist, 3 TO, 4 PF, 12 TP
Started game playing the PG w/ CJ Harris playing off the ball. Had a nice fake hand-off pass and drive for a 2-hand dunk in the half-court that awakened himself and the team. Does a great job of getting the ball up court quickly with the pass. Showed the ability to split the P/R trap and get to rim. Good athlete and ball handler. Was the most impressive looking freshmen for the second 10 minutes of the first- half and beyond. Really gets into his guy defensively. Great mix of size/strength/athleticism with the ability to score by attacking the rim or shooting the pull-up. Very poised as a freshmen- doesn’t ever look rattled- is under control at all times.

Madison Jones (G, 6’1”, Ravenscroft School)
26 min, 2-3 FG, 1-1 3pt, 2 rb, 5 assist, 1 TO, 7 steals, 5 TP
Came in and is playing the PG position replacing McIntyre- Size for quickness switch at PG. Quick crossover dribble move- has the ability to create for himself or teammates when the play falls apart. Can get to the rim, but size is an issue- gets bumped off his lines too easily. Quick hands, plays the passing lanes- will be one of Wakes leaders in the steals department this season. Pressured his man and played excellent on-ball defense in the second half. Playing the PG position better then expected early on- doing a solid job of passing/getting ball to post. Doing a great job of breaking down the defender, getting to the rim, and kicking to the open man. Smooth. Had a few highlight passes leading to easy baskets for teammates. Has a tendency to dribble instead of passing up court immediately, but to his credit he did have a few up court passes- sees the floor pretty well. He is a freshman and that is something he could away with in HS, taking that 1 extra dribble, but not in college, especially the ACC. Quick first step. Even though he didn’t shoot much from the perimeter- he has a nice stroke from 3. One word to describe Jones game…Quick. Most impressive freshmen in the second half- His play was probably the central reason that Wake squeaked out the win. Reminds me of Ish Smith when he was at Wake- better shooter then Ish and he has his quickness/same size issues.

Devin Thomas (F, 6’9”, Central Dauphin HS)
22 TP, 5-8 FG, 6 rb, 1 st, 1 blk, 10 TP
Must get stronger (Something that could, and probably will be said, about all the freshman, except for Miller-McIntyre). Good hands. His post-ups are not strong enough- doesn’t get great position and doesn’t demand the ball. Displayed a nice drop step/spin move that he utilized several times to score over his left shoulder. Actually didn’t look that uncomfortable defending a little on the perimeter- more nimble/mobile then I thought. Solid overall performance inside for the freshman.

Andre Washington (C, 7’0”, Hargrave Military Academy)
5 min, 1-1 FG, 1 rb, 1 TO, 2 TP
Didn’t see any action until 10 minutes to go in the first half. Attacked the offensive glass and tried to block everything inside. Raw offensively. Was invincible most of his time on the court.

Aaron Rountree (F, 6’8”, Greenfield School)
11 min, 1-2 FG, 1-1 3pt, 2 rb, 2 blk, 1 st, 3 TP
Didn’t get in the game until the second half, but didn’t miss a beat, impacting the game immediately upon entering with his motor/energy. He showed the ability to hit the open set 3 and defend multiple positions with his length. Has possibly the most upside out of all of Wakes freshmen. Didn’t even play in the first but finished the game on the floor in a tight contest- speaks to how he impacts the game in areas that don’t show up in the box score. Needs to continue to get stronger, tighten his handle, and defend with out fouling- but he has a never-ending motor and a high ceiling.

*Tyler Cavanaugh (F, 6’9”, Jamesville-Dewitt HS)
19 min, 3-9 FG, 0-2 3pt, 3 rb, 2 TO, 6 TP
Most impressive looking freshman 10 minutes in. Demands the ball in the post, showed the ability to score by putting the ball on the floor, and can hit the 3 with feet set, good pick/pop guy. Looks comfortable and confident which is more then I can say about a few other freshmen so far. Needs to improve his ability to finish inside, doesn’t take his time and missed some easy looks. More comfortable playing on the perimeter.

*Arnaud William Adala Moto (F, 6’6”, Episcopal HS)
19 min, 1-2 FG, 1-2 FT, 7 rb, 3 TO, 2 blk, 3 TP
Got caught out of position defensively/beat to spot early on- freshman mistakes. Also allows opposing bigs to way too deep post position. Good defensive pressure on perimeter. Very limited offensively. Must improve ball handling. Hard worker who stays active- athletic. Lead the Deacs in rebounds tonight and will be counted on heavily in this department throughout the year as Wake is not big inside and struggle rebounding the basketball.

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