Taking huge strides from last season when he was a reserve, Juke Harris has emerged as the top threat for Wake Forest.
When the Demon Deacons (7-3) face Queens on Sunday in Winston-Salem, N.C., all eyes will be on Harris and his rapidly developing game.
In Wake Forest’s most recent game, a 75-66 victory over West Virginia, Harris made a career-high seven 3-pointers on his way to scoring 28 points.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore wing paces the Demon Deacons in points (20.7 per game) and rebounds (6.9), up from his averages of 6.1 and 2.8 a year ago.
“I think he’s one of the most improved players in all of college basketball from his freshman to sophomore year,” Demon Deacons coach Steve Forbes said.
Harris showed his maturity against West Virginia, overcoming early foul trouble that kept him on the bench for all but 6:21 of the first half. He played all 20 minutes in the second half and delivered 28 points in the game.
“Instead of just sitting there and pouting, I just viewed how the game was being played, knowing I’m coming back in,” Harris said. “That second half, I knew the right spots to be at.”
Harris’ improvement is reflected in his marksmanship. He is hitting 51.6% from the floor and 40.6% from 3-point range, up from figures of 42.6% and 30.3% last season.
Queens (5-5) enters on an offensive roll, topping Gardner-Webb on Dec. 3, 107-74, and South Carolina State on Friday, 102-78.
Carson Schwieger, recently installed in the Royals’ starting frontcourt, scored 29 points on 9-of-16 accuracy from 3-point range while Avantae Parker added 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting in the two-game stretch.
In the victory over winless South Carolina State, Nasir Mann scored a career-high 23 points and delivered six assists and six rebounds.
While Queens is the second-highest scoring team in the Atlantic Sun (85.5 points per game), it also surrenders the second-most points in the conference (83.2).
“The problem on defense is that 20 good minutes isn’t enough; we need 40,” Royals coach Grant Leonard said. “This group can be special if we decide that our identity is going to start with defense as a group.”
