The Hunt for the Most Interesting Team in the World is the Dagger's 2009-10 countdown preview series. Check out the overriding principles here.

Last year's record: 24-7 (11-5, ACC)

2009-2010's toughest games: at Purdue, at Gonzaga, vs. Xavier

Primary attraction: After a roller coaster year that saw Wake Forest reach No. 1 before flaming out in the first round of the NCAAs, can the team withstand the losses of two first-rounders and make a repeat appearance in the tournament?

Three items of undeniable interest:

1. Back on schedule? -- Wake Forest's arrival came a year earlier than expected. At this time last season, most were expecting Wake to be a middle-of-the-road ACC team that would improve throughout the year and enter 2009-2010 as a potential preseason No. 1. But a quick start and wins over North Carolina and Duke propelled the Deacs to the top of the rankings in January, before a 7-6 finish ended with a thorough beat-down to No. 13 seed Cleveland State in the NCAA tournament. Jeff Teague and James Johnson both went pro (and were first round picks), so now the Deacs will have to rebuild on the fly. Ish Smith, one of the quickest guards, will lead provide senior leadership along with the explosive L.D. Williams.

2. The Chief has arrived -- The bulk of preseason attention in the ACC has gone to Kyle Singler, Greivis Vasquez, Derrick Favors and Ed Davis, but Wake sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu (whose name means "the chief has arrived") may end up being better than them all in 2010. Though he was projected as a lottery pick, Aminu chose to return to Wake and is said to have worked on his ball-handling and perimeter range during the off-season. Expect a double-double average, particularly if Wake's green frontcourt players (Ty Walker, Tony Woods) can capitalize on their potential.

3. The Skip Prosser Classic -- It hasn't even started yet, but The Skip Prosser Classic is already one of the coolest non-conference series in college basketball. For the next 10 years (at least), Wake Forest and Xavier will play a game in honor of their former coach, who died unexpectedly in the summer of 2007. Prosser was the head coach at Xavier from 1994-2001 before taking over at Wake Forest, where he worked until his death. This year's game will be played in Winston-Salem on Jan. 3 and will be broadcast on FSN.

L.D.: Though he may only be the second most famous L.D. in the country (watch the language at that link), Wake Forest's L.D. Williams is no slouch himself. And Wake's L.D. almost certainly doesn't kill swans.