Ian DuBose will undergo tests about a week from now to gauge when — or if — he’ll return to the court for Wake Forest’s basketball team this season.
Coach Steve Forbes opened his Tuesday news conference with that update on DuBose. The Houston Baptist transfer who played in the first two games of the season has been out indefinitely because of “medical reasons,” according to the program.
“I don’t know really anything more than that other than he’s going to have some tests run,” Forbes said. “We’ll see what the results are and go from there.”
Even if the results yield a best-case scenario as far as DuBose’s return, he wouldn’t be immediately available to play in games. Forbes noted that DuBose and Tariq Ingraham, who also played in the first two games but is out for the rest of the season because of complications from COVID-19, have both returned to campus.
“(Ingraham) got back on Sunday, it looks like he’s lost a few pounds, which doesn’t surprise me considering that neither one of them can do anything,” Forbes said. “And that’ll be an issue for Ian when and if he is cleared, then he’ll have to get back in some type of conditioning.
“He hasn’t done anything since basically Thanksgiving weekend, which was a long time ago.”
DuBose has been a significant missing ingredient as the Deacons have lost five straight games to begin ACC action, and that hasn’t been lost on Forbes.
Albeit with a small sample size of two games — one of them being a 60-point blowout — DuBose looked to be the alpha guard who would have the ball in his hands in crunch time. In Wake Forest’s 11-point win over Longwood, DuBose scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, along with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“I thought he was our best overall guard,” Forbes said. “I’m not just saying talent. Strength, experience, he can drive the ball.
“It really hurt us, I thought, against like Georgia Tech. He would have got in those gaps and he could make plays for himself, he could make plays for others.”
The 6-4, 225-pound DuBose’s absence has been noticeable defensively, too.
“He gives us a bigger perimeter defender, too. We don’t really — we’re not overly long and lanky on the perimeter,” Forbes said. “He gives us a guy that can guard the other team’s best guard.”
DuBose has been back around the team longer than Ingraham — he has been around the Deacons’ bench area for at least every home game since they started playing games again.
Forbes said he’s been an asset during practices and has made the most of how much he’s able to participate.
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like coaching yet, and that’s all he’s been able to do. … He’s been helpful to the guys, and I think it’s been interesting for him at times … to see it from a different lens,” Forbes said. “I’ll say some things that may be hard for the team to hear during practice, and then I’ll look over at him and he’ll be like, shaking his head like, ‘Yep, that’s what I see too.’
“So maybe we all need to go through that sometimes. Not necessarily be sick or whatever is going on, but just have the chance to get a different view of practice and games. Maybe that’ll help him.”
While it’s a “maybe” on whether that will help DuBose, it’s certain that when — or if — DuBose returns, he’ll help the Deacons.