Wake Forest’s Nate Calmese out indefinitely
The majority of Tuesday night’s game without Nate Calmese is a preview of what an indefinite amount of time will look like for Wake Forest’s men’s basketball team.
Coach Steve Forbes said on his radio show Thursday night that Calmese will be out indefinitely with a grade 3 ankle sprain.
“I can’t put a timeframe on it,” Forbes said.
The senior point guard suffered a right ankle injury in Wake’s 80-76 overtime loss at Pittsburgh earlier this week.
Calmese has started all 21 games this season. He’s fourth on the team in scoring (10.4) and minutes (25.8).
What jumps out — and what the Deacons will miss the most — is his ball movement and initiation. The 6-2, 181-pounder has 103 assists (4.9 per game). On KenPom, Calmese’s assist rate (35.6%) is 34th in the country.
Sebastian Akins, Calmese’s backup at point guard for most of the season, is second on the team with 37 assists. His assist rate is 25.9%.
Calmese’s 33 3-pointers are the third-most on the team, and his 38.8% 3-point percentage is the best of any player who’s been in the regular rotation.
The injury occurred in the first half of Tuesday night’s game. For the rest of the game, Akins and freshman Isaac Carr played the point guard role for the Deacons. Akins had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting, with three assists and three turnovers in 26 minutes. Carr played 29 minutes, blowing past his previous season-high (11), and had two points, two assists, one turnover and nine rebounds.
