Wake Forest looks to end NCAA Tournament drought

WINSTON-SALEM — The Wake Forest men’s basketball team has made a habit of finishing above .500 under Steve Forbes, but making the NCAA Tournament has proved considerably harder.

As the Demon Deacons prepare for their seventh season under Forbes, the challenge is turning five consecutive winning records into their first March Madness appearance since 2017.

A dramatically rebuilt roster will determine whether that breakthrough finally arrives.

Forbes owns a 110-82 record at Wake Forest, but last season’s 18-17 finish, including a 7-11 ACC mark and 13th-place conference standing, represented a retreat from the previous year’s 21-11 campaign and fourth-place league finish.

The Deacs have won between 18 and 21 games in each of the past four seasons. That consistency has kept them competitive, though an NCAA berth remains elusive.

Those near-misses have heightened scrutiny of Forbes’ portal-heavy approach. New faces have repeatedly helped produce respectable regular-season totals, but continuity has been harder to maintain.

In a competitive ACC, another season hovering around the middle of the standings would only deepen questions about the program’s direction.

Forbes now faces the challenge of replacing his eight leading players with a group featuring 12 newcomers, eight of them transfers.

An early warning came Oct. 4, when Georgetown beat Wake 94-77 in an exhibition. The Hoyas shot 60% from the floor and sank 16 3-pointers, exposing defensive problems for a group still learning to play together.

“Defensive transition is communication and organization,” Forbes said after the game. “We have some new guys, a lot of new guys. I’m not surprised in some ways that we struggled with that, but we’ll get better at it.”

Sophomore guard Isaac Carr is the most experienced returning contributor after averaging 2.2 points in 26 games, including four starts. The 6-foot-4 Carr figures to assume a much larger role as both a perimeter defender and secondary playmaker.

“I think he can be a really high-level defensive player,” Forbes said of Carr. “He’s a really good athlete. He’s in elite condition. I think he’s a guy we need to average 8 to 9, 10 points a game at least for us. He’s been playing with a lot of confidence on offense. He’s a ball mover. We can penetrate. He can get on the glass.”

Anson Beard Jr., Will Underwood and Vincent Ricchiuti also return, although much of the rotation will be supplied by newcomers.

Merrimack transfer Kevair Kennedy headlines the backcourt additions. The reigning MAAC player and rookie of the year averaged 18.6 points last season and delivered 19 points and four steals against Georgetown. His quickness and ability to create offense should make him a central figure.

Justin Ray, arriving from Monmouth, provides another scoring option after shooting 42% from 3-point range last season. Former Kansas guard Jamari McDowell offers size, versatility and leadership, but plantar fasciitis has complicated his preseason.

“It’s just a little lower extremity, so I’ll be fine here in a couple of weeks. It’s nothing major,” McDowell said.

“He’s a really tough kid,” Forbes said of McDowell. “I’d love to have him in there for sure. He’s a steadying force and a captain. But we’ve got to keep the big picture in mind on where we’re headed here, and that’s November.”

Inside, Florida Atlantic transfer Xander Pintelon offers perimeter shooting from a 6-foot-11 frame. Northern Colorado addition Ring Nyeri brings energy and rebounding, while Georgia transfer Justin Abson supplies rim protection.

Seven-foot Virginia Tech transfer Antonio Dorn adds size after recovering from a summer injury.

Freshman twins Gavin and Gallagher Placide could immediately influence the frontcourt. Gavin, a 6-foot-11 forward, is an athletic rebounder and interior defender. Gallagher, who stands at 6-foot-9, supplies additional ball-handling and shooting. Together they scored 27 points against Georgetown.

Another freshman, 6-foot-6 guard Lukas Bojovic, brings international experience after earning Serbian junior league player and defensive player of the year honors.

Forbes could lean on a nine or 10-man rotation while sorting out starting roles, particularly on the wing and in the frontcourt.

Wake Forest is set to play another exhibition Thursday night against South Carolina in Rock Hill before opening the season Nov. 2 at home against Maryland Eastern Shore.

The nonconference schedule includes trips to Vanderbilt and LSU, a Battle 4 Atlantis matchup with Mississippi State and a meeting with UMass. ACC play brings home games against Duke and UNC, plus home-and-away meetings with NC State and Notre Dame.

As its revamped roster begins to jell, Wake Forest will soon see the initial product as the regular season approaches.