The grief would come in waves for Robby Ashford. Now, it trickles in when he least expects it.

When Ashford’s father died on April 2, he and his new teammates at Wake Forest were in the middle of spring practice. It was hard enough trying to work through what the coaches wanted, what his teammates wanted, but adding to his stress level was the death of his ‘Pops’ at the age of 52.

Robert "Bobby" Louis Ashford II died on April 2 in Birmingham, Alabama.

“It was a tough time for me and my family,” Ashford said on Tuesday following practice as the Demon Deacons are preparing for Thursday night’s ACC home opener against NC State (7:30 p.m. on ESPN).

Ashford admitted it’s still a tough time when he thinks about how close he was to his father, who taught him the game, and followed him to most

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