The 1996–97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

in the

1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1996 and concluded in the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Arizona Wildcats ear ...

. The team was led by 8th year head coach

Dave Odom George David Odom (born October 9, 1942) is an American retired men's college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of the East Carolina Pirates, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and South Carolina Gamecocks. Playing career Odom began h ...

, and played their home games at

LJVM Coliseum The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (also known as LJVM Coliseum, Joel Coliseum or simply The Joel) is a 14,665-seat multi-purpose arena, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Construction on the arena began on April 23, 1987, and it opened ...

. The Deacons finished second in the ACC regular season standings, but were unable to three-peat as champions of the ACC tournament. After a close win over Florida State in the quarterfinals, North Carolina eliminated Wake Forest in the semifinal round. The team was assigned the No. 3 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament, and earned a victory over Saint Mary's in the opening round before being upended by No. 6 seed Stanford in the round of 32. Wake Forest finished the season with a 24–7 overall record and, once again, a final ranking of No. 9 in both major polls. Senior forward/center

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

was named the consensus

National Player of the Year National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, and repeated as ACC Player of the Year and a consensus First-team All-American. Duncan was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto R ...

. Duncan's No. 21 jersey was retired after a February 25 victory over Georgia Tech.

Previous season

Wake Forest finished second in the ACC regular season standings, then defeated Virginia, Clemson, and Georgia Tech to capture the ACC tournament crown for the second straight season. Wake Forest was assigned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. After defeating No. 15 seed Louisiana–Monroe, No. 10 seed Texas, and No. 6 seed Louisville to reach the Elite Eight, the team was blown out by No. 1 seed and eventual National champion

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in the regional final. Wake Forest finished the season with a 26–6 and a No. 9 ranking in both major polls. Junior forward/center

was named ACC Player of the Year and a Consensus First-team All-American.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=9 style=, ACC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA Tournament

Rankings

Awards and honors

*Tim Duncan, ACC Player of the Year * Tim Duncan,

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

* Tim Duncan,

USBWA College Player of the Year The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1959. It is one of the oldest national player of the year awar ...

* Tim Duncan,

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and rec ...

Team players drafted into the NBA

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Men's Basketball Team Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball seasons Wake Forest Wake Forest