Why Wake Forest Basketball Is at a Crossroads and What They Should Do Next
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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons appear to be in a downward spiral at the moment. After starting the season with promising wins over Michigan and Texas Tech, the Deacs were blown out at home by Vanderbilt and started conference play 2-8.
When it seemed like things were getting better after a three-game ACC win streak, it now appears to have fallen apart at the seams. Wake got blown out at Virginia Tech and just suffered an embarrassing defeat to 10-18 Boston College.
What made things even more embarrassing, apart from the loss, was that Juke Harris had a career night. He dropped 38 points on just 19 shots, but the Deacs got virtually no other offensive contribution from anyone else. This seems to have been the story of most of the season: Juke looks elite, but the rest of the team simply cannot provide him any help.
Now we are at a crossroads. Wake Forest basketball has missed out on eight straight NCAA Tournaments and is likely to miss out on nine at the conclusion of the season. Despite strong talent, they have not made it into the Tournament during the Steve Forbes era. So the question is, where do we go from here? Let me peel back the curtain a bit so we can find out.
Offseason Uncertainty
The Demon Deacons still have some basketball left to play, but the offseason is going to come sooner rather than later. At the conclusion of this season, Wake is set to graduate three of its important pieces in Nate Calmese, Tre'Von Spillers, and Mekhi Mason. This will likely lead to the Deacs needing to dip into the portal once again.
Juke Harris has looked like a top player in the ACC this season. He may very well choose to pursue the NBA draft at the conclusion of the season. If not, he could probably gain a substantial amount of money in the transfer portal. His retruning to Wake Forest is not off the table, but it certainly is not a given at the moment for the sophomore guard.
A lot of talk centers around the coaching. All reports signal that Steve Forbes has the confidence of the athletic department and will return for a seventh year at the helm. Now, a total collapse at the end of the season could make this situation a little more complex.
Another factor is vacant coaching jobs that Forbes could be in contention for. Some reports link him to the Kansas State job that is currently vacant. A Memphis opening at the conclusion of the season is also a possibility, which may potentially be a fit, but it's too early to tell.
One area of promise for the program is the incoming 2026 class that Steve Forbes has put together. The class is currently ranked 15th in the nation according to 247sports. It includes the 34th-ranked player nationally in Quentin Coleman and top-75 bigs Gavin and Gallagher Placide.
Financial Crisis/Portal Problem
I don't think it comes as a surprise to any Wake Forest fans that the Deacs are not in a good place financially. The NIL era has perpetrated the sport, and it has left Wake Forest as one of the bottom spending programs in terms of ACC Basketball. Schools like Virginia, NC State, and Miami pumped a bunch of money into their basketball programs this season and are seeing the results.
The results the Deacs are getting seem to be headed in the opposite direction. Steve Forbes has been highly acclaimed for his ability to bring great talent to Winston-Salem through the transfer portal. Guys like Ty Applebee, Alondes Williams, and Hunter Sallis became bona fide ACC stars on his watch.
However, it is impossible to ignore the misses of the last two seasons that have been to the detriment of the team. Big pieces brought in last season, including Davin Cosby Jr., Ty-Luar Johnson, and Churchill Abass, did not pan out.
This season, the team was more reliant on the portal and missed just as badly. The misses were on full display last night as no one outside of Juke Harris could do anything of value offensively against an ACC bottom-dweller.
The other concerning factor was the fact that this team failed to bring in any sort of presence on the inside. The good teams in college basketball today all have solid big guys that they can go to in the post. The Deacs simply do not have that and struggle to compete with teams who do have this post presence.
Finding a Way Forward
The short answer to this question is simply.....I don't know. The only people who can truly make this decision are the ones at the top. We all know something needs to change, but the question is, what is it?
You could always make a coaching change. After all, Steve Forbes has acquired great talent, but has still not been able to turn that talent into an NCAA Tournament team. Some teams benefit from a new voice, and in today's era, progress can take place quickly. However, this goes beyond just the "new voice" aspect of it, as any coach the Deacs have is going to need more financial resources to be successful.
We all know and can ackowledge that Steve Forbes has not had the necessary financial means to compete at the highest level. The athletic department has to ackowledge that the level of investment is simply not enough to generate the return fans are hoping for. The question is: can you conjure up more resources to pursue real modern-day roster-building to give the team a chance at real success? These are the questions that the people must start asking.
Justin is a student at Wake Forest University. He is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and aspiring finance major interested everything sports. In his freshman year, Justin completed an internship with the Wake Forest Ticketing Department where he gained some valuable insight into the sales and operations aspects of collegiate athletics. Before working with Wake Forest On SI, Justin was a contributing writer for Wake Forest’s student publication The Old Gold and Black. Currently, Justin serves as a student manager on the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team. In his free time Justin enjoys spending time with his family and friends on the golf course and traveling.