What We Learned About Wake Forest Basketball This Summer

Wake Forest head men's basketball coach Steve Forbes spoke to the media last week for the first time this summer. He gave his first impressions of the new squad, along with some scheduling and big-picture thoughts on the program. Let's dive into some of these comments and see what we may be able to expect from this new squad.

Preseason Tune-Ups

Coach Forbes announced that Wake Forest will play in two exhibition games and one closed-door scrimmage before the season kicks off on November 2nd. On October 4, Wake will host the Georgetown Hoyas in an exhibition game that should give fans an early opportunity to see the new squad on the court for the first time. Similar to Wake, Georgetown reloaded through the portal, so both rosters should be relatively new.

On October 15, the Deacs will head to Rock Hill to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. This is another very new-look roster and should be a good preseason challenge for Wake against an SEC opponent. Lastly, a closed-door scrimmage close to the start of the season will round out the preseason action. Despite fewer marquee matchups in the non-conference than fans may have hoped, the Deacs will get some good competition early on to help bring the new roster together.

#BREAKING: Georgetown will scrimmage Wake Forest on October 4, per @CamLemons_ and Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes.

An extremely strong preseason test for Ed Cooley’s squad before the regular season tips off, similar to the Kentucky game last season. pic.twitter.com/lowY3g2ESe
— Big East Hoyas: Owen Rosen (@BigEastHoyas) July 8, 2026

Future Freshman Star

Forbes talked about each new player individually and what they can bring to the collective group. However, he had especially high praise for freshman Gavin Placide. When talking about Placide, Forbes said:

"He's probably the most talented freshman I've coached, maybe since Tobias Harris. Just that type of size, build, skill. I mean, he can do so many things with the ball in his hands off the dribble. He can shoot it, rebound it, pass it, good defender. Really, really, really like him."

This is strong praise from a coach who has been around as long as Steve Forbes. Placide brings some great size to the Deacs' frontline along with rare athleticism and skill. I don't believe Coach Forbes has had a player who brings all the frontcourt upside as Placide during his tenure at Wake Forest. This major weapon on the interior will be a key piece to this team's attack.

Create Our Own Expectations

Forbes made a strong statement near the beginning of his press conference about expectations for this upcoming year:

"Expectations are built on what we see every day on and off the court, and they're high. They're high. Expectations aren't given to you. They're created by us."

This statement may have been made in light of recent way-too-early ACC offseason projections that have Wake near the rock bottom of the conference. Jamari McDowell even said during his press conference that this team is "definitely not last in the ACC." Obviously, not finishing last is not the goal; this team believes they are capable of finishing high in the ACC.

As much as teams try to tune out outside noise, it's always there. It's understandable that with an entirely near roster, some outsiders may not be fully bought into the Deacs for next season. However, this roster seems to be well built, despite some financial restraints. Many of the issues from last year's roster were major areas of improvement in the transfer portal, including size and defensive ability. I bet that the Deacs will surprise people come the start of the season.

Wake fans should not get their impression of this team based on preseason projections, but rather see what the Deacs can do come November. There seems to be a lot of excitement inside the program for this upcoming season.

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