Back in the yesteryear of college athletics, Wake Forest’s roster would be so enticing because everybody on it had eligibility for next season.
But this isn’t 1993, or even 2003, so that notion is quaint, but is also long gone.
Coach Steve Forbes could only shrug when asked what his roster might look like next season as he will enter his fifth season still looking for that elusive bid to the NCAA Tournament.
If the roster stays intact, and with the addition of incoming freshman Juke Harris from Salisbury, you will have to consider the Demon Deacons of next season a contender in the ACC.
If only it was that easy.
Hunter Sallis is the most likely player to take his talents to the NBA, where he fits the mode of a good shooter, an elite defender, and he has size and strength. But if he doesn’t like the projections of where he might land in the NBA Draft, he could return.
Forbes joked earlier this year that Andrew Carr was going through his first Senior Day, meaning that if Carr chooses to come back, he could go through his second Senior Day next season.
In this era, retaining your roster has to do with NIL money and thanks to “Roll the Quad,” the Demon Deacons do have a strong collective to entice players to stay and not go into the transfer portal.
“I feel confident about the tools that we’ve been given to retain our players,” Forbes said. “I think that, first of all, that’s important. That hasn’t always been the case. Credit to (athletics director) John Currie, and Mit (Shah) and all the other donors who have stepped up to help.”
Forbes speculated that this week he will send draft prospect paperwork to the NBA for as many as five of his players just to see where they might stack up in the process. It’s not something that Forbes is hiding because that’s the reality of today’s college landscape.
“It takes about 10 to 14 days to get back (the paperwork) and it’s a private thing,” Forbes said, “but what that does is it’s a panel of (general managers and scouts in the NBA) that gives them an idea of where they are at in the draft.”
After getting that information players can then decide whether to go to the NBA combine to test their skills on the court.
Forbes is very familiar with the process because he’s had players leave for the chance to play professionally. Not all of those who left early made it to the NBA.
Carr said after the loss to Georgia on Sunday he has thought about what the Demon Deacons would look like next season.
“I am super excited about the future of this program and what it could look like,” Carr said.
Efton Reid, who also could come back next season, offered this when asked about next season: “We have to stride to get much better, and we have to go back to the drawing board.”
What that drawing board will look like depends on the current roster and the players’ intentions. Forbes will have to reach into the portal yet again if scholarships open up. But his track record on the “Portal Whisperer” keeps getting better and better.
“And so we’ll wait,” Forbes said.
In his four seasons the Demon Deacons have made it to the NIT twice and over the last three seasons they have combined to win 65 games. It’s one of the best three-year runs in a long time.
Going 21-14 this season was maybe more remarkable considering that Forbes’ wife, Johnetta, had a stroke in August and she’s still recovering. The coach’s mom, who lives in Iowa, also has had some health issues.
As for not making the NCAA Tournament, Forbes said: “Nobody is more disappointed in this entire situation than me and the players.”
He also talked about the off-the-court things he’s had to monitor daily hasn’t always been easy.
“There’s no coaching manual for what I went through this year,” Forbes said. “I tried my darndest to do the best job that I could do. Some days I struggled. I appreciate everybody’s support and patience with that. I tried to do the very best that I could.”
PHOTOS: Wake Forest falls to Georgia in NIT second round