Looking ahead: Wake Forest’s future is in its sophomore class

Apr 17, 2016

It’s never too early to look at what’s to come. Over the next few weeks, we will give you a peek at what is ahead for teams in the Power 5 conferences and some other teams expected to be players on the national scene. Today: Wake Forest.

So the good news for Wake Forest: the future is brighter. Alas, that must come with the reminder of just how bleak the most recent past has been.

The Demon Deacons’ stumble to season’s end included a 1-15 finish after a 10-5 start, player suspensions and evictions and a place near the basement of the ACC (saved only from the real basement by Boston College).

But if you truly have to reach rock bottom before you can find the light, Danny Manning at least has to figure his team is on the way up.

And frankly it should be. Before things started to unravel, Wake Forest did beat Indiana, UCLA and LSU and those results weren’t entirely mirages. They were built largely on the backbone of senior Devin Thomas, but with a big boost from freshman Bryant Crawford.

Crawford, along with sophomore classmates John Collins and Doral Moore, is the reason to hope. The trio made up an eye-opening recruiting class for Manning a year ago and now, with Thomas transferring out and other seniors moving on, this team is officially theirs.

Bryant Crawford is a member of Wake Forest’s promising sophomore class, the continued development of which …

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