Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Begins Men's Basketball Practice Thursday
8/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 23, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will get a head start on the 2006-07 men's basketball season when the Demon Deacons begin a series of practice sessions on Thursday.
Granted permission by the NCAA to play two exhibition games in the Bahamas over Labor Day weekend, Wake Forest is allowed 10 days of practice in August.
The short trip to the Bahamas will hardly be a vacations for the Deacons. They will fly to the islands on Friday (Sept. 1), play exhibition games against professional teams Saturday and Sunday, and return home Sunday evening. Wake Forest players will miss no class for the trip.
"With so many young and inexperienced players, getting a chance to practice this time of year could be very beneficial," Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser said. "I am hoping that we not only improve individually, but these two weeks give us a chance to develop some chemistry as a team.
"I know that our staff and our players are very anxious to get in the gym and get started."
Wake Forest will be one of the youngest teams in college basketball this season. The Deacons have six true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and four sophomores on the roster. Kyle Visser, in fact, is the only fourth-year senior on the roster.
Wake lost All-ACC starters Eric Williams and Justin Gray as well as Trent Strickland and Chris Ellis off of last year's team that finished 17-17 overall.
In the Bahamas, Wake Forest will play Saturday (Sept. 2) at noon (local time) against a professional team called the Explorers. The following day, also at noon, Wake takes on the Rockets.
