Wake Forest is finally catching a break after a miserable start to its basketball season. Freshman point guard  Tony Chennault will make his return from a broken left foot on Wednesday at Georgia Tech, the school announced Wednesday afternoon.

Chennault broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in the Demon Deacons’ season opener against Stetson on Nov. 12. He is the only true point guard on the Wake roster and the Deacons have struggled the first half of this season.

Chennault missed much of the preseason with a stress reaction in the foot. After the season-opening injury, Chennault had surgery Nov. 15.

“To his credit, here is a young man who is not in optimum shape who hasn’t even gone through a full week of practice, who hasn’t even run some of the plays we’re running, has gotten zero reps with certain things,” Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik said in a statement. “But he is so unselfish and so team-oriented that he knows he can just help us in spot minutes as he continues to get in shape and continues to learn.

“He’s put his pride aside for the well-being of this team. And that is a great testimony to his leadership and what he’s going to bring to the future of this program in a huge way.”

Chennault, from Philadelphia, had six points and three assists in 13 minutes in the season opener against Stetson.

Wake Forest is at Georgia Tech Wednesday at 7 p.m.  The Deacons are 0-3 in ACC play and 7-11 overall.

Ron Rivera won the press conference Tuesday. He spoke of how his Panthers players have to conduct themselves appropriately off the field, how his Latino heritage was a source of pride, and how his life in a military family – his father served for 32 years – helped shape him with a sense of determination and disciplline.

Perhaps most significantly, though, he spoke of bringing a tough level of play to the Panthers. Carolina has sought that from the beginning, from Dom Capers to George Seifert to John Fox and now Rivera. It’s no accident every Panthers coach has come up on the defensive side.

“I’d like to be an aggressive, physical football team,” Rivera said, his voice rising. He expressed disdain for players who want to hit with their helmets and be otherwise fundamentally unsound. “I want to get back to tackling. I want to have a physical, no nonsense, get the job done identity.

“I think that’s important. I saw tape of the [Panthers] guys trying to give their best. I was pleasantly surprised.”

Still, Carolina was far from being a dominant team last season. The defense just doesn’t have many great players, and an offense that once could grind it out with the running game just floundered.

Rivera spoke highly of his new players. He described the offensive line as “solid,” praised Steve Smith’s abilities, said he was impressed by the young receivers and of course liked the talent and depth at running back. He also said Jimmy Clausen would get the early nod as the starter, although the new offensive coordinator and new quarterbacks coach would have input.

For a man who had been passed over for multiple jobs in the past, Rivera showed a sense of command and assurance. The toughness angle was significant – the Panthers aren’t going to turn into the NFL’s version of the Oregon Ducks.

But don’t make a mistake about this – Ron Rivera has a tough job with a franchise long on hope and short on talent.

N.C. State finished 25th in the final AP poll, which came on Tuesday morning. That finish completes what was a turnaround year for the Wolfpack, which finished 9-4 and won its bowl game.

Finishing in the rankings will help for next year. Voters tend to remember who got votes and who did not, and if Russell Wilson returns, the Pack could be formidable. State plays South Alabama, Central Michigan and Liberty at home, with a road game at Cincinnati. The Pack should win three, and possibly four, of those.

The ACC, after a poor year overall, still finished the 2010 season with four teams in the rankings. The highest was just No. 15 Virginia Tech (which finished 11-3),  followed by No. 17 Florida State (10-4) and No. 23 Maryland (9-4).

By the way, isn’t it ridiculous to see Oregon lose on the last play of the game in the national title game and fall to third in the rankings? Does anyone really think No. 2 TCU, which played a weak schedule and squeezed by Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, would beat Oregon?

Of course not. Oregon clearly is the second-best team in the country.

San Diego Chargers coach Ron Rivera is expected to be named the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, according to Pro Football Talk. A press conference could be held as soon as Tuesday, according to some reports.

Rivera would replace John Fox, whose contract was not renewed after last season.

The Virginia basketball program, which just gave North Carolina a tough game in Charlottesville Saturday, suffered a blow Monday when coach Tony Bennett announced senior Mike Scott has had a second surgery on his left ankle and is out for the season.

Scott, a 6-foot-8 senior, led the Cavaliers in 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds. “Guys will have to find a way. We don’t have a dominant post player,” Bennett said Monday.

Bennett said Scott had “a loose piece” in his ankle and the program had hoped the first surgery Dec. 16 would be successful. The Cavaliers next game is Saturday at Duke at 2 p.m.

Virginia hopes Scott will be awarded a medical redshirt.

Two years ago, John Wall was running the point for Word of God in Raleigh. Saturday night, he was the No. 1 pick for Washington Wizards and playing at Time Warner Arena in Charlotte.

The Bobcats won 104-89, but watching from midcourt, it was clear Wall is already one of the best players in the NBA. He had 16 points and 11 assists and played a fluid, confident game. Wall is explosive on the break but plays for a poor Wizards team with few players to build around. In watching the game, Wall almost seemed like Magic Johnson with Kareem and Worthy and all the parts that made him so great.

Wall is not Magic, of course, but he is electric, and his game is only going to improve. Charlotte’s D.J. Augustin had 20 points and nine assists but, if you watched the game, Augustin did little impressive. He looked like a run-of-the-mill NBA guard while Wall was a star.

Two other points about the game jumped out. Gerald Wallace was out for Charlotte and Gerald Henderson of Duke started in his place. Henderson did not do much as a rookie, but he played hard, and well, against Washington. As expected, he hustled on defense, but he also shot with confidence and looked like a guy who will be in the NBA a while. Henderson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.

By the way, the Bobcats also have former Duke signee Shaun Livingstone coming off the bench at point guard. Livingstone was one of the top players in the country but skipped college for the NBA, and you can see in his game how much he is missing. Livingstone is a miserable defensive player – rarely hustling on defense, always seemeing a step behind – and had seven points in backup duty for Charlotte.

Watching him, you couldn’t help but wonder how much better he would be if he’d spent two years honing his game in the ACC.

Now that Andrew Luck is out of the picture for the Carolina Panthers, the top choice in the NFL Draft should be a player familiar to football fans here – Da’Quan Bowers of Clemson.

Bowers is 6 feet 4 and 280 pounds and one of the few elite rushers expected to be available in the draft. Carolina has the No. 1 pick, and we’re not fans of NFL teams drafting local guys to sell tickets. After a game or two, all that wears off. But getting Julius Peppers with the second pick overall was a perfect example of a local guy – UNC – who also fit the need of the region’s team.

Carolina is in the same boat now. Peppers joined a downtrodden team and helped turn it into a winner. Bowers is as destructive a force on defense as the ACC has seen since Peppers, and he’d help the Panthers right away.

On offense, it remains true that Carolina is going to have to find out if Jimmy Clausen can win in the NFL after all.  The Panthers have a horrible offense, with Steve Smith and the offensive line declining. But defense is an even more urgent problem. Charles Johnson had 11.5 sacks for Carolina at one end, but he has little help. Adding Bowers would be a start toward respectability on defense, and a great defense always has been the foundation of Carolina’s best teams.