Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Second Time’s the Charm: Whitt Ready for Second Freshman Season
12/29/2021 12:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Les Johns
James Johnson got wide open on a slip-screen for the go-ahead layup with less than a second to go as the No. 4 Demon Deacons toppled No. 1 Duke in front of a sold-out Joel Coliseum crowd, which quickly emptied onto the court to celebrate with their team.
In the stands that January 2009 night, and then on the court celebrating, was a young Carter Whitt, current second-year freshman point guard at Wake Forest.
"I stormed the court," Whitt said. "I will always remember that. I grew up a Wake Forest fan my whole life. It was a crazy atmosphere. That's the goal, to get this program back to that, get The Joel full and get some big wins in there."
Whitt, whose father Scott is a 1989 Wake Forest graduate, has always been a Demon Deacon fan, and ended up joining the Deacs under then first-year head coach Steve Forbes in the middle of the season in 2020-21, during the Christmas break in what would have normally been his final semester of high school.
"It was really good for me," Whitt said. "It was something I really needed last year. Not too much was happening in high school, so this was a way for me to go ahead and get the experience without the year counting. I'm definitely a much better player now than I would have been if I just came in the summer. It's helped my development a lot."
After a Covid-19 outbreak affected the team and shut the program down for more than a month early in the season, Whitt joined the team and had an immediate opportunity to contribute.
"It worked out for the timing of me coming in," he said. "They were coming off quarantine and hadn't played in a while. I fit right in where they were starting up. The older guys really helped make it an easy transition."
As one would expect for the huge jump in competition level for the young player, he had his share of ups and downs as he went from playing on Friday nights in high school gyms to squaring off against some of the best guards in the country in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"The UNC game was probably by far the worst I played last year," Whitt said. "It was really disappointing, being a Raleigh kid and always dreaming of playing at UNC. The way I bounced back from that was great. You just have to learn from it and get better. I just want to improve every game."
Though the Deacs took some lumps last season, Whitt grew more confident each game and in the ACC Tournament he had the offense humming as Wake gained a 16-point second-half lead over Notre Dame. Whitt finished with a then career-high 12 points and seven assists, although the Irish came from behind to steal the victory.
"That was probably my best game of the year," Whitt said. "It just felt like I was playing basketball with a lot of confidence. I was really comfortable."
It's a new season and essentially a new team for Wake Forest in 2021-22, with Whitt one of just three holdovers for Forbes' second season at the helm. He, Daivien Williamson and Isaiah Mucius welcomed a group of five transfers and four true freshmen to the team that has started 11-1 on the season.
"This was my first preseason, so the way we went at it was different," Whitt said. "The way we've all got along — we have such a good vibe on the team. This is really going to help us this year, but we're also a really talented team. We go at it every day. It's beneficial for everybody. The freshmen are playing against talented seniors every day, and all that just helps the program get better."
Whitt went for a career-high 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting behind the arc earlier this month in a 79-53 victory over USC Upstate.
"I've been shooting it well lately, but have to keep building off it," Whitt said. "I still don't think I'm shooting to my full potential, but I'll get there.
"Everybody can play. We can split teams up in so many different ways in practice and we just go at it. It's good to have depth and a lot of options. You have to be deep to win big games. It will help us a lot."
He's looking forward to the days to come where the crowds return en masse to Joel Coliseum to see the Deacs become once again one of the top teams in the ACC.
"We have to keep building," Whitt said. "We have a team that can win some games this year, and people will start coming back. We just have to keep building off of it. You have to work every day and that's how you get it back to the way it used to be."
Not yet a subscriber or know someone who would like to receive these stories in their email inbox? Click here for the DSX subscription link - share it with your friends!
In the stands that January 2009 night, and then on the court celebrating, was a young Carter Whitt, current second-year freshman point guard at Wake Forest.
"I stormed the court," Whitt said. "I will always remember that. I grew up a Wake Forest fan my whole life. It was a crazy atmosphere. That's the goal, to get this program back to that, get The Joel full and get some big wins in there."
Whitt, whose father Scott is a 1989 Wake Forest graduate, has always been a Demon Deacon fan, and ended up joining the Deacs under then first-year head coach Steve Forbes in the middle of the season in 2020-21, during the Christmas break in what would have normally been his final semester of high school.
"It was really good for me," Whitt said. "It was something I really needed last year. Not too much was happening in high school, so this was a way for me to go ahead and get the experience without the year counting. I'm definitely a much better player now than I would have been if I just came in the summer. It's helped my development a lot."
After a Covid-19 outbreak affected the team and shut the program down for more than a month early in the season, Whitt joined the team and had an immediate opportunity to contribute.
"It worked out for the timing of me coming in," he said. "They were coming off quarantine and hadn't played in a while. I fit right in where they were starting up. The older guys really helped make it an easy transition."
As one would expect for the huge jump in competition level for the young player, he had his share of ups and downs as he went from playing on Friday nights in high school gyms to squaring off against some of the best guards in the country in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"The UNC game was probably by far the worst I played last year," Whitt said. "It was really disappointing, being a Raleigh kid and always dreaming of playing at UNC. The way I bounced back from that was great. You just have to learn from it and get better. I just want to improve every game."
Though the Deacs took some lumps last season, Whitt grew more confident each game and in the ACC Tournament he had the offense humming as Wake gained a 16-point second-half lead over Notre Dame. Whitt finished with a then career-high 12 points and seven assists, although the Irish came from behind to steal the victory.
"That was probably my best game of the year," Whitt said. "It just felt like I was playing basketball with a lot of confidence. I was really comfortable."
It's a new season and essentially a new team for Wake Forest in 2021-22, with Whitt one of just three holdovers for Forbes' second season at the helm. He, Daivien Williamson and Isaiah Mucius welcomed a group of five transfers and four true freshmen to the team that has started 11-1 on the season.
"This was my first preseason, so the way we went at it was different," Whitt said. "The way we've all got along — we have such a good vibe on the team. This is really going to help us this year, but we're also a really talented team. We go at it every day. It's beneficial for everybody. The freshmen are playing against talented seniors every day, and all that just helps the program get better."
Whitt went for a career-high 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting behind the arc earlier this month in a 79-53 victory over USC Upstate.
"I've been shooting it well lately, but have to keep building off it," Whitt said. "I still don't think I'm shooting to my full potential, but I'll get there.
"Everybody can play. We can split teams up in so many different ways in practice and we just go at it. It's good to have depth and a lot of options. You have to be deep to win big games. It will help us a lot."
He's looking forward to the days to come where the crowds return en masse to Joel Coliseum to see the Deacs become once again one of the top teams in the ACC.
"We have to keep building," Whitt said. "We have a team that can win some games this year, and people will start coming back. We just have to keep building off of it. You have to work every day and that's how you get it back to the way it used to be."
Not yet a subscriber or know someone who would like to receive these stories in their email inbox? Click here for the DSX subscription link - share it with your friends!
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballWake Forest Men's Basketball Highlights vs Cal (March 7, 2026)
Monday, March 09
Wake Forest Track: ACC Indoor Track Cinematic Recap
Friday, March 06
Wake Forest Athletics: Women's History Month Trailer
Friday, March 06
Wake Forest Baseball: Stanford Trailer
Friday, March 06