Wake Forest chasing elusive NCAA bid entering Steve Forbes’ 6th season as coach

Wake Forest chasing elusive NCAA bid entering Steve Forbes' 6th season as coach | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes watches his team play defense against Texas A&M during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, in College Station, Texas, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam Craft, File)

Wake Forest (21-11, 13-7 ACC)

The Demon Deacons are chasing their first NCAA Tournament bid under sixth-year coach Steve Forbes after being a bubble team multiple years. Four starters are gone from a team that faded with five losses in its last eight. Forbes is hoping to repeat past transfer-portal success after twice adding guards who became The Associated Press league player of the year (Alondes Williams in 2022, Tyree Appleby in 2023).

Wake Forest is picked to finish 11th in the 18-team ACC.

Players to watch

Nate Calmese (senior, PG, 6-2, 181, 15.2 ppg). He’s on his fourth school in as many seasons and thrived last year at Washington State.

Tre’Von Spillers (graduate, F, 6-7, 215, 9.9 ppg). The returnee started all 32 games, averaging a team-best 7.6 rebounds.

Mekhi Mason (senior, G, 6-5, 202, 9.9 ppg). Mason spent two seasons at Rice and last year at Washington, where he shot 40.2% from 3-point range.

Departures and arrivals

Hunter Sallis is the biggest departure as a two-time AP all-ACC guard. Veteran guard Cameron Hildreth (14.7) and big man Efton Reid (8.8) also departed.

Transfer additions include big man Cooper Schwieger (Valparaiso), and guards Sebastian Akins (Denver) and Myles Colvin (Purdue). The 6-10 Schwieger averaged 14.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while making 62 3-pointers over two college seasons.

Akins averaged 12.7 points as the Summit League freshman of the year, while Colvin hit 65 career 3s in his two-year reserve role that included playing for the Boilermakers in the 2024 NCAA title game. They join with returnee Juke Harris (6.1) in providing backcourt depth.

Wake Forest also added assistant Nick Friedman, who has worked in recent years in the NBA and G-League. Forbes pointed to Friedman’s impact showing in areas such as spacing and passing to create better looks.

Top games

Wake Forest opens Nov. 3 at home against American in a nonconference slate that includes No. 7 Michigan (Nov. 11) and a matchup with No. 10 Texas Tech (Nov. 20) to open the Baha Mar Championship tournament in the Bahamas.

The Demon Deacons visit N.C. State on Dec. 31 to open an ACC schedule that features trips to No. 25 North Carolina (Jan. 10) and No. 6 Duke (Jan. 24), and a home game against No. 11 Louisville (Feb. 7).

Facts and figures

Wake Forest ranked 353rd of 355 Division I teams in 3-point percentage last year (28.5%). … Forbes has won at least 19 games overall and 10 league games in four straight seasons. … The Demon Deacons have been to the NCAA Tournament once since 2010, coming in a 2017 First Four appearance under Danny Manning.

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Wake Forest chasing elusive NCAA bid entering Steve Forbes' 6th season as coach | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – Wake Forest’s Tre’Von Spillers dunks during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Winston-Salem, N.C., Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown, File)
Wake Forest chasing elusive NCAA bid entering Steve Forbes' 6th season as coach | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – Wake Forest forward Tre’Von Spillers celebrates after scoring against North Carolina during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte, N.C., March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
Wake Forest chasing elusive NCAA bid entering Steve Forbes' 6th season as coach | iNFOnews.ca
FILE – Washington State guard Nate Calmese, who has since transferred to Wake Forest, shoots while pressured by Gonzaga forward Ben Gregg during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Spokane, Wash., Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Young Kwak, File)

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