The college basketball world is full of teams, all with the same goal in mind: to win a national championship. There will always be the frontrunners in the NCAA Tournament like Duke, Auburn, Iowa State, etc. Every year there is always a new team that fights to stand out amongst the top-tier schools and strives to make themselves a standout team.
To have a team that can make a run in March, coaches need to have the ability to acquire talent through the transfer portal and recruit talented players in high school. The recent NIL rules in place, which allow players to make money from their notability and fame, make it difficult for smaller schools to bring in star players. Recruiting can be challenging for smaller schools, like Wake Forest, because they lack the resources and funds to compete with bigger ACC schools, like Duke and North Carolina. Yet, in his fifth season, head coach Steve Forbes has proven he can produce talented players who can compete at the highest level while still creating a strong team dynamic.
A factor that keeps a team strong is team chemistry. A very important goal Forbes has for the season is to build a team of players that get along well, as having a good team dynamic will improve overall gameplay.
“My teammates help me a lot: they tell me to shoot the shot when I’m open and help me get to the spot,” senior forward Tre’Von Spillers said.
Spillers spent his freshmen and sophomore seasons playing for a junior college with a dream to play at a Division 1 school, in the future. His dream finally came true when he transferred to Appalachian State, made the All Sun-Belt Conference first team and then transferred to Wake Forest in the offseason.
The Deacs have not made an NCAA tournament appearance since 2017, and Forbes is looking to change that this year with the very talented roster he has assembled. With the team being led by senior guard Hunter Sallis, who finished second last year in ACC Player of the Year voting, Sallis looks to help lead the Deacs to March Madness.
Wake Forest had eight players enter the transfer portal this offseason, including two starters from last season, forward Andrew Carr and guard Boopie Miller. This put some pressure on the back of Forbes to replace all the lost talent. He recruited some great talent including Spillers and former five-star from Iowa State sophomore forward Omaha Biliew.
“The first time I came here I felt a real connection with the coaches. I liked the environment and the campus, I thought it was beautiful,” Biliew said.
Biliew fractured his ankle towards the beginning of the season, which has forced him to leave for some time, but he continues to persevere with the hopes of getting back and helping his team win.
Wake Forest had an impressive 7-1 record through the first eight ACC games. That is the first time the program has achieved this since 1997, when NBA legend Tim Duncan played at Wake Forest. During the 1997 season when this statistic was achieved, was the same season that the Deacs made it to the NCAA tournament, but sadly lost in the second round.
Steve Forbes took on this team at its lowest. Since then, there have been many ups and downs, from heartbreaking losses and star players leaving, to beating some of the best teams in college basketball. The team looks to continue their uprising and hope to make their first NCAA tournament since 2017.
