Wake Basketball Featuring a Surprising Starter in the Frontcourt
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Believe it or not, the college basketball season kicks off in less than a week, and many fans are looking forward to seeing what they'll get out of this new look Demon Deacon squad. The Deacs brought in new coach Nick Friedman alongside five transfers and three freshmen. They complement the returners, Juke Harris, Tre'Von Spillers, and Omaha Biliew.
Unlike the backcourt, which we already previewed, the frontcourt for the Deacs features some experienced guys coming back, in Tre'Von Spillers and Omaha Biliew, alongside some younger guys like Cooper Schwieger and Marqus Marion.
With that being said, let's go over what we know so far about how this frontcourt will take shape and who will play a major role.
Cooper Schwieger will miss time
The Deacs will face a little bit of a blow to start the season as transfer big man Cooper Schwieger will miss some time to start the season. He has an ankle sprain, which Coach Forbes said he is working hard to heal.
As for the timeline, Forbes said Schwieger will be out the first week of the season and potentially make a return against Michigan. As a transfer, it hurts that he is not able to start playing some buy games with the team to get his feet wet before competition kicks off. The team chemistry will be key for a new-look Demon Deacon roster.
This is significant because Schwieger, at 6'10", is the tallest player in Wake's frontcourt rotation. His absence will dampen a frontcourt that is already thin. Sure, guys like Biliew and Spillers can step up, but asking them to guard guys much bigger than them would be a tall task.
Marqus Marion expected to start in the frontcourt
You may not have seen this one coming. According to Coach Forbes, redshirt sophomore Marqus Marion will be the second starter in the Deacs frontcourt alongside Tre'Von Spillers. Marion redshirted last season as he went down with an injury early. He also faced injury issues in his freshman year.
We know by now that Coach Forbes shows loyalty to players who are loyal to him and the program, but he had very good things to say about Marion at his coaches' show. He said Marqus is "low maintenance. I don't think I've ever had a conversation with Marqus, not one time, about anything he needed to get better at as far as off the court."
This is quite the ringing endorsement from Coach Forbes and shows Marqus is the kind of personality you want on your team. It will be interesting to see how he fits into the starting lineup after not having played in a competitive game in significant time. He is long and athletic at 6'9, so hopefully he fits in well offensively and defensively.
Omaha Biliew is finally fully healthy (knock on wood) heading into the season. Deacon fans saw a lot of potential from Omaha, especially from three, but he was on the court for such a small portion of the season, as he was dealing with an injury. He is a former five-star recruit, showing his obvious potential, but he has never been healthy enough to show all this potential. Hopefully, a full offseason means he can find his rhythm and play a big role for the Deacs this season.
Projected Starting Lineup
PG: Nate Calmese
SG: Mekhi Mason
SF: Juke Harris
PF: Marqus Marion
C: Tre'Von Spillers
Bench: Myles Colvin, Omaha Biliew, Sebastian Akins, Cooper Schwieger (injured), Isaac Carr, Jaylen Cross
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Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.