From the Quad
3/7/2022 11:15:00 AM | General
Presented by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist
Dear Demon Deacon Nation:
A roaring Demon Deacons start to March calls for a special edition of From the Quad! After a bunch of wins in golf, men's and women's tennis and baseball over the last few days, the Wake Forest momentum continued with this morning's big announcement on ACC Network's Packer & Durham naming Coach Steve Forbes as the 2022 ACC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and Alondes Williams as the conference's Player of the Year! Additionally, "Man Man" garnered First Team all-league honors and junior forward Jake LaRavia captured Second Team All-ACC accolades.
This is the third time in program history that Wake Forest has earned Coach and Player of the Year honors in the same season. Coach Forbes is the fifth Demon Deacons head coach to earn the honor and the first since Skip Prosser in 2003. That same season, Josh Howard took home ACC Player of the Year honors, the most recent Deac to claim this award.
Coupled with Coach Dave Clawson earning ACC Coach of the Year accolade last fall, Wake Forest is the first ACC school since 2004-05 to sweep the football and men's basketball coach of the year honors. Overall, Clawson and Forbes are the seventh pairing to ever accomplish this feat in ACC history and the second Wake Forest tandem (1959-60 - Paul Amen & Horace 'Bones' McKinney) to do so.
Fittingly, we are also pleased to share the news today that Coach Forbes has signed a long-term contract extension furthering our mutual commitment for him to lead the Demon Deacons men's basketball program for many, many years to come!
Twenty-two months ago, amidst the uncertainty of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coach Forbes took on the task of rebuilding Wake Forest men's basketball and returning the Demon Deacons to the level of competitive excellence that has been the hallmark of our program's history. I couldn't be more impressed at how Coach Forbes, his family and his staff have poured themselves into reviving Wake Forest basketball.
With a student-athlete-first mindset and passion for helping players reach their full potential on and off the floor, Coach Forbes and his staff have done an incredible job of building a team that is fun to watch, featuring student-athletes who are succeeding in the classroom and as University and Winston-Salem community members.
The turnaround this season has been historic.
The Deacs 13 conference victories represented a 10-win increase from last season, setting an ACC record for the biggest year-to-year improvement in league history. Remarkably, Wake Forest (23-8) is also on pace to set an NCAA Division I record for the most-improved team from one season to the next. The current official record is 17 ½ games by Towson (2012, 1-31; 2013; 18-13). The Deacs have won 17 more games than in 20-21 entering this week's ACC Tournament in Brooklyn. Overall during the 2021-22 season, Wake Forest tied the single-season program record for ACC wins with 13 (2004-05, 2002-03) and home victories with 16 (2004-05, 2002-03).
But even more important is how we've seen our community come together for special moments such as Coach Forbes and his team celebrating the Jan. 22 win over North Carolina together on the court and on Hearn Plaza that evening. From the enthusiasm in Joel Coliseum for our huge Senior Night victory over NC State on March 2, to total student home game attendance exceeding 11,500 students inside LJVM Coliseum, which is the most since the 2008-09 season and up 144% from the 2019-20 season and 216% from the 2018-19 campaign.
Later this afternoon our No. 5 seed Deacs are headed to Brooklyn for the ACC Tournament and will take on the winner of the Pitt - Boston College game on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. inside the Barclays Center. This is the highest seed we have earned in the ACC Tournament since 2010, another mark of the renaissance of Demon Deacons men's basketball.
Click here to read our full press release, including Coach Forbes comments and more about the 2021-22 season of "most since" accomplishments!
I am deeply grateful for the commitment of President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and our University leadership for continuing to invest in the growth of Wake Forest Athletics and our core goals. On days like today, I also reflect on all the individual contributions and actions, known and unknown that accumulate to enact the result. As we embarked on this coaching search almost two years ago, our advisory committee of Provost Rogan Kersh, Dean of the College Michele Gillespie, Divinity School Dean Jonathan Walton, Faculty Athletic Representative Pete Brubaker, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and Counsel/Senior Athletics Strategy Advisor Pete Paukstelis, was determined to find the right person for Wake Forest and spent many hours meeting with candidates. Deacon legends Chris Paul and Tim Duncan. and Trustee Mit Shah took time out of their extremely-busy schedules to Zoom with our candidates.
Dozens of staff members both in Athletics and throughout the University helped onboard and acclimate our new staff to Wake Forest and Winston-Salem. Wake Forest's world-class faculty welcomed new student-athletes. Our ticket office and fan experience staff created new ways to support the Deacs. Our faithful LJVM Coliseum ushers and operations staff managed new COVID-19 entry requirements with surging and enthusiastic crowds while ensuring safe victory celebrations. And, Deacon Nation turned up the volume - in the Joel, online and everywhere DEACTOWN is celebrated! The list goes on and on, and the progress is testament to what is possible with a unified effort.
Today is a day to celebrate, but it is certainly not our ultimate destination. The support and engagement of all of Deacon Nation has helped make this historic announcement possible today, and your ongoing support and presence is critical. Remember the One More Rule - OMR - regardless of where you live, make plans to be in Joel Coliseum for at least one more game next year than you attended this year, and bring a friend! The 4th Quarter Drive continues in our quest to elevate the Demon Deacons World Class Student-Athlete Experience, and a big THANK YOU is due all Deacon Club members who continue to invest in Wake Forest student-athletes.
We are so glad that Coach Forbes, his wife Johnetta, and their children, Elizabeth, Christopher and Johnathon are Demon Deacons! Please join me in thanking them for their unwavering commitment to Wake Forest! As always, send me your thoughts, ideas and suggestions to wfuad@wfu.edu and …
Go Deacs!
John Currie
Dear Demon Deacon Nation:
A roaring Demon Deacons start to March calls for a special edition of From the Quad! After a bunch of wins in golf, men's and women's tennis and baseball over the last few days, the Wake Forest momentum continued with this morning's big announcement on ACC Network's Packer & Durham naming Coach Steve Forbes as the 2022 ACC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and Alondes Williams as the conference's Player of the Year! Additionally, "Man Man" garnered First Team all-league honors and junior forward Jake LaRavia captured Second Team All-ACC accolades.
This is the third time in program history that Wake Forest has earned Coach and Player of the Year honors in the same season. Coach Forbes is the fifth Demon Deacons head coach to earn the honor and the first since Skip Prosser in 2003. That same season, Josh Howard took home ACC Player of the Year honors, the most recent Deac to claim this award.
Coupled with Coach Dave Clawson earning ACC Coach of the Year accolade last fall, Wake Forest is the first ACC school since 2004-05 to sweep the football and men's basketball coach of the year honors. Overall, Clawson and Forbes are the seventh pairing to ever accomplish this feat in ACC history and the second Wake Forest tandem (1959-60 - Paul Amen & Horace 'Bones' McKinney) to do so.
Fittingly, we are also pleased to share the news today that Coach Forbes has signed a long-term contract extension furthering our mutual commitment for him to lead the Demon Deacons men's basketball program for many, many years to come!
Twenty-two months ago, amidst the uncertainty of the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coach Forbes took on the task of rebuilding Wake Forest men's basketball and returning the Demon Deacons to the level of competitive excellence that has been the hallmark of our program's history. I couldn't be more impressed at how Coach Forbes, his family and his staff have poured themselves into reviving Wake Forest basketball.
With a student-athlete-first mindset and passion for helping players reach their full potential on and off the floor, Coach Forbes and his staff have done an incredible job of building a team that is fun to watch, featuring student-athletes who are succeeding in the classroom and as University and Winston-Salem community members.
The turnaround this season has been historic.
The Deacs 13 conference victories represented a 10-win increase from last season, setting an ACC record for the biggest year-to-year improvement in league history. Remarkably, Wake Forest (23-8) is also on pace to set an NCAA Division I record for the most-improved team from one season to the next. The current official record is 17 ½ games by Towson (2012, 1-31; 2013; 18-13). The Deacs have won 17 more games than in 20-21 entering this week's ACC Tournament in Brooklyn. Overall during the 2021-22 season, Wake Forest tied the single-season program record for ACC wins with 13 (2004-05, 2002-03) and home victories with 16 (2004-05, 2002-03).
But even more important is how we've seen our community come together for special moments such as Coach Forbes and his team celebrating the Jan. 22 win over North Carolina together on the court and on Hearn Plaza that evening. From the enthusiasm in Joel Coliseum for our huge Senior Night victory over NC State on March 2, to total student home game attendance exceeding 11,500 students inside LJVM Coliseum, which is the most since the 2008-09 season and up 144% from the 2019-20 season and 216% from the 2018-19 campaign.
Later this afternoon our No. 5 seed Deacs are headed to Brooklyn for the ACC Tournament and will take on the winner of the Pitt - Boston College game on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. inside the Barclays Center. This is the highest seed we have earned in the ACC Tournament since 2010, another mark of the renaissance of Demon Deacons men's basketball.
Click here to read our full press release, including Coach Forbes comments and more about the 2021-22 season of "most since" accomplishments!
I am deeply grateful for the commitment of President Susan R. Wente, Ph.D. and our University leadership for continuing to invest in the growth of Wake Forest Athletics and our core goals. On days like today, I also reflect on all the individual contributions and actions, known and unknown that accumulate to enact the result. As we embarked on this coaching search almost two years ago, our advisory committee of Provost Rogan Kersh, Dean of the College Michele Gillespie, Divinity School Dean Jonathan Walton, Faculty Athletic Representative Pete Brubaker, Deputy AD Lindsey Babcock and Counsel/Senior Athletics Strategy Advisor Pete Paukstelis, was determined to find the right person for Wake Forest and spent many hours meeting with candidates. Deacon legends Chris Paul and Tim Duncan. and Trustee Mit Shah took time out of their extremely-busy schedules to Zoom with our candidates.
Dozens of staff members both in Athletics and throughout the University helped onboard and acclimate our new staff to Wake Forest and Winston-Salem. Wake Forest's world-class faculty welcomed new student-athletes. Our ticket office and fan experience staff created new ways to support the Deacs. Our faithful LJVM Coliseum ushers and operations staff managed new COVID-19 entry requirements with surging and enthusiastic crowds while ensuring safe victory celebrations. And, Deacon Nation turned up the volume - in the Joel, online and everywhere DEACTOWN is celebrated! The list goes on and on, and the progress is testament to what is possible with a unified effort.
Today is a day to celebrate, but it is certainly not our ultimate destination. The support and engagement of all of Deacon Nation has helped make this historic announcement possible today, and your ongoing support and presence is critical. Remember the One More Rule - OMR - regardless of where you live, make plans to be in Joel Coliseum for at least one more game next year than you attended this year, and bring a friend! The 4th Quarter Drive continues in our quest to elevate the Demon Deacons World Class Student-Athlete Experience, and a big THANK YOU is due all Deacon Club members who continue to invest in Wake Forest student-athletes.
We are so glad that Coach Forbes, his wife Johnetta, and their children, Elizabeth, Christopher and Johnathon are Demon Deacons! Please join me in thanking them for their unwavering commitment to Wake Forest! As always, send me your thoughts, ideas and suggestions to wfuad@wfu.edu and …
Go Deacs!
John Currie
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