Wake Forest's hopes of getting off to a strong start next season could rest on how quickly its best player can heal.
The school announced Monday that senior guard Codi Miller-McIntyre underwent surgery to repair a broken foot and will miss 4 to 6 weeks.
If Miller-McIntyre returns in four weeks, he'd only miss Wake Forest's season-opening home games against Maryland Baltimore County and Bucknell. If Miller-McIntyre misses the full six weeks, he'd also be unable to play against Atlantic 10 contender Richmond and in the Maui Invitational, which features the likes of Kansas, Indiana, Vanderbilt, UCLA and UNLV.
Wake Forest could struggle against that level of competition if Miller-McIntyre is sidelined or even if he is not at full strength. The 6-foot-3 senior averaged a team-best 14.5 points per game last season and also added 4.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Miller-McIntyre's injury likely means that four-star freshman Bryant Crawford will begin the season as Wake Forest's starting point guard and that Mitchell Wilbekin will be called upon to handle the ball some as well. Crawford is expected to play some alongside Miller-McIntyre later in the season, allowing Wake Forest's top scorer to move off ball.
Though Wake Forest endured a 19-loss season in Danny Manning's debut, for the first time in a while, there was a sense the perpetually rebuilding Demon Deacons were beginning to make progress.
Miller-McIntyre's injury doesn't change the program's trajectory long-term, yet it could put a dent in Wake Forest's hopes of building early momentum this November.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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