The Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represents

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 ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

and competes in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC). Through the years, the program has produced many

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

players, among them are

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

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 ...

, 12× All-Star

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

, 1× All-Star

Jeff Teague Jeffrey Demarco Teague (born June 10, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player, who is the head coach for Pike High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for five teams between ...

, Sixth Man of the Year

Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Early life R ...

, and 1× All-Star

Josh Howard Joshua Jay Howard (born April 28, 1980) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the UNT Dallas Trailblazers men's basketball team. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. H ...

. The Demon Deacons have won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament four times, in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. Wake Forest has appeared in 23 NCAA tournaments, most recently appearing in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. The current coach is

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

, who was hired on April 30, 2020.

History

Dave Odom era (1989–2001)

In 1989, Wake Forest would name

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 ...

as its new head coach. During his 12 seasons, Odom led the Demon Deacons to back-to-back ACC men's basketball tournament championship's in 1995 where the team defeated

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and 1996 by defeating

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

would also win back to back-to-back ACC Player of the Year awards in 1996 and 1997.

Skip Prosser era (2001–2007)

Prosser began his career at Wake Forest in 2001 and led the Demon Deacons to the NCAA tournament in each of his first four years there. Prosser is credited for sparking participation in the Wake Forest student Screamin' Demons and increasing attendance with game-time antics, like having the Demon Deacon mascot enter Lawrence Joel on a Harley Davidson and filling the coliseum with Zombie Nation's "

Kernkraft 400 "Kernkraft 400" ( English: Nuclear Power 400) is a song performed by German techno musician Zombie Nation and the first single from the 1999 debut album, '' Leichenschmaus''. It is a remix of the SID track "Star Dust" by David Whittaker, from ...

" at tip-off and when the Deacons would go on a run. During Prosser's tenure as head coach, home season tickets sold out for the first time ever in 2004. During the 2004–05 season, the team was ranked #1 by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

for the first time in the school's history and won a school-record 27 games. At Wake Forest, Prosser won 100 games faster than all but two ACC coaches. In 2003, his Demon Deacons squad became the first from the ACC to ever lead the nation in rebounding. In the summer of 2007, Prosser had organized what was said to be a top-five recruiting class for the upcoming year. Every senior whom Prosser coached earned his degree in four years.

Danny Manning era (2014–2020)

On April 8, 2014, Wake Forest announced the hiring of

Danny Manning Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾 People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...

. Despite high expectations entering his first season, the Demon Deacons only finished with a 13–19 overall record and 5–13 record in the ACC. They would lose to

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

in the first round of the ACC tournament. In Manning's second season, Wake Forest's 2015 recruiting class added the commitments of John Collins, Bryant Crawford, and

Doral Moore Doral Lamont Larod Moore (born January 21, 1997) is an American basketball player who last played for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball at Wake Forest University from 2015 to 2018. Early life Doral L. Moore Jr. ...

. However, Wake Forest would have another disappointing season finishing the year 11–20 on the regular season and a 2–16 overall record in ACC play. During Manning's third year at helm, despite losing seniors

Codi Miller-McIntyre Codi Tyree Miller-McIntyre (; born June 1, 1994) is an American-born naturalized Bulgarian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the ABA League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Bulgarian national team internationally. He ...

and

Devin Thomas Devin Thomas (born November 15, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Michigan State Spartans, he was selected by the Washi ...

, Wake Forest started the 2016–17 season off very strong. Wake Forest entered the 2017 ACC tournament as the 10th seed and defeated

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in the first round of the ACC Tournament. On March 8, 2017, Wake Forest lost to

in the second round of the ACC Tournament. The team also earned a bid in the NCAA Tournament. Wake Forest finished 19–14 on the season and 9–9 in ACC play finishing 10th in the standings. Following the 2019–20 season, after six seasons with the team, Manning was relieved of his duties as head coach.

Steve Forbes era (2020–present)

On April 30, 2020,

was named as the new head coach for Wake Forest.

Coaches

Current coaching staff

* Head Coach –

* Asst. Coach – Jason Shay * Asst. Coach –

BJ McKie Bjorn "BJ" McKie (born April 7, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach at Wake Forest. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, McKie went to high school at Irmo High School and played for the University of Sout ...

* Asst. Coach – Demetris Nichols * Director of Basketball Operations - Frank Davis

Former head coaches

(2014–2020) *

Jeff Bzdelik Jeffrey Joseph Bzdelik () (born December 1, 1952) is an American professional basketball coach who most recently served as associate head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was head coach of the De ...

(2010–14) *

Dino Gaudio Dino Joseph Gaudio (born March 30, 1957) is an American former men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who was most recently an assistant coach at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. Gaudio was a longtime assistant under ...

(2007–10) *

Skip Prosser George Edward "Skip" Prosser (November 3, 1950 – July 26, 2007) was an American college basketball coach who was head men's basketball coach at Wake Forest University at the time of his death. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take three ...

(2001–07) *

(1989–2001) *

Bob Staak Robert John Staak (born December 22, 1947) is an American former college basketball and professional basketball coach. Early life Staak was born in Darien, Connecticut. He attended Darien High School, where he played basketball and became the al ...

(1985–89) *

Carl Tacy Carl Tacy (June 18, 1932 – April 2, 2020) was a college basketball coach at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He served as the head coach from 1972 to 1985 and compiled a 222–149 record, the second-most winning record at that time. Ta ...

(1972–85) *

Jack McCloskey John William McCloskey (September 19, 1925 – June 1, 2017) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He served as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and general manager of the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. ...

(1966–72) * Jack Murdock (1965–66) *

Bones McKinney Horace Albert "Bones" McKinney (January 1, 1919 – May 16, 1997) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'6" small forward who played at both North Carolina State University (2 seasons) and the University of North Carolina ...

(1957–65) * Murray Greason (1933–43, 1945–57; no team in 1944) * Fred Emmerson (1931–33) * Pat Miller (1928–30) * James A. Baldwin (1926–28) * R. S. Hayes (1925–26, 1930–31) * Hank Garrity (1923–25, simultaneously

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach) * Phil Utley (1922–23) * James L. White Jr. (1920–21) * Bill Holding (1919–20, 1921–22) * Irving Carlyle (1918–19) * E. T. MacDonnell (1917–18) * J. R. Crozier (1906–17)

Facilities

Game day

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum

The

Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial 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 ...

(also known as The Joel) is a 14,407-seat multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

. It was named after

Lawrence Joel Lawrence Joel (February 22, 1928 – February 4, 1984) was a United States Army soldier who served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. While serving in South Vietnam as a medic with the rank of specialist five assigned to 1st Battalion of the 503rd ...

, an

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

from Winston-Salem who was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

in 1967 for action in Vietnam on November 8, 1965. The memorial was designed by James Ford in New York, and includes the poem "The Fallen" engraved on an interior wall. It is home to Wake Forest's men's and women's basketball teams, and is adjacent to the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds. The arena replaced the old Winston-Salem War Memorial Coliseum, which was torn down for the LJVM Coliseum's construction. Banners hang in the rafters commemorating past players' retired numbers (including

, and Randolph Childress) and the late

. There are also banners recognizing the Demon Deacons' past NCAA and ACC successes. The arena is home to the Screamin' Demon student section. Wake Forest's black and gold tie-dyed apparel and "Zombie Nation" were both implemented upon Prosser's arrival at Wake Forest.

Practice

Miller Center

The Miller Center is the basketball team's on-campus home. It houses the players' locker rooms, team meeting rooms, coaches' offices, and the Dave Budd Practice Gym. The players utilize the Miller Center for practice, meetings, academic work, and relaxing with their teammates. The Dave Budd Practice Gym has a full-length court, six stand alone baskets, bleacher seating and banners honoring some of the best players to ever don the black and gold. The locker room includes a separate player lounge which features multiple large flat screen TVs, multiple entertainment systems (Blu-ray, streaming software, and gaming systems) plus the latest video software, as well as dedicated equipment and training rooms. On August 7, 2018,

donated $2.5 million to the Wake Forest basketball program.

Sutton Sports Performance Center/Shah Basketball Complex

The grand opening for the Sutton Sports Performance Center and the Shah Basketball Complex occurred in September, 2019 and provides Wake Forest with a state-of-the-art center for strength and conditioning and nutrition as well as providing space for coaches offices, team meeting rooms, and heritage areas that celebrate the success of Wake Forest's sports programs. Ben Sutton ('80, JD '83) donated $15 million for the construction of the Sutton Sports Performance Center. The four-level, 87,000 square foot facility provides strength and conditioning facilities for all of Wake Forest's student-athletes. Preliminary site work began in October 2017 and was completed in September, 2019. The facility connects to McCreary Field House and the Miller Center. The Sutton Sports Performance Center provides more than 10,000 square feet of dedicated strength and conditioning equipment for football. There is also space for strength and conditioning equipment for men's and women's Olympic sports. The third floor of the Sutton Sports Performance Center includes 17,000 square feet of meeting rooms, coaches offices and a heritage area for the men's and women's basketball program. The fourth floor has over 18,000 square feet for football coaches offices, team meeting rooms and a heritage area. Over 1,500 square feet comprises a customized nutrition center. The Shah Basketball Complex, named in honor of Mit Shah ('91) whose $5 million lead gift made the facility possible, includes 24,400 square feet that allows both the men's and women's basketball programs to have dedicated practice areas. The $12 million project features the addition a regulation court that allows both programs to have interconnected practice areas featuring two practice courts and a total of 13 baskets. The Shah Complex features 6,000 square feet of strength and conditioning equipment for both the men's and women's basketball teams.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Demon Deacons have appeared in the NCAA tournament 23 times. Their combined record is 28–23.

NIT results

The Demon Deacons have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT) eight times. Their combined record is 13–7. They were NIT champions in 2000.

Awards and honors

Retired numbers

Coaches honored

Head coaches that have been honored with their names hanging on the Coliseum rafters:

Awards

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame: * Billy Packer – 2008 *

– 2017 John R. Wooden Award: *

– 1997 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award: *

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is an American former basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season care ...

McDonald's All-Americans *

- 1990 *

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

- 2002 *

- 2003 *

Al-Farouq Aminu Al-Farouq Ajadi Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player who played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represented the Nigeria national basketball team interna ...

- 2010 * Hunter Sallis - 2021 ACC Coach of the Year: * Murray Greason – 1956 *

– 1960, 1961 *

– 1991, 1994, 1995 *

– 2003 *

– 2022 ACC Player of the Year: *

Dickie Hemric Ned Dixon "Dickie" Hemric (August 29, 1933 – August 3, 2017) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player for Wake Forest University (1952–1955) and the NBA's Boston Celtics ( 1955–1957). Hemric played the first two ...

– 1954, 1955 *

Len Chappell Leonard R. Chappell (January 31, 1941 – July 12, 2018) was an American basketball player. He played for 10 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA) and was selected to one NBA All-Star Gam ...

– 1961, 1962 * Charlie Davis – 1971 *

Rod Griffin Rodney Griffin (born 5 January 1987) is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and forward for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup. He is a Papua New Guinean international. Background Born in Papua Ne ...

– 1977 *

– 1993 *

– 1996, 1997 *

– 2003 * Alondes Williams – 2022 ACC Rookie of the Year: *

– 1991 * Robert O'Kelley – 1998 *

– 2004 ACC Most Improved Player of the Year * John Collins – 2017

All-Americans

All-ACC players

* The players are all first team All-ACC, unless otherwise noted * (*) Denotes 2nd Team All-ACC * (**) Denotes 3rd Team All-ACC

Players in the NBA draft

Notable players

Demon Deacons in the Olympics

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

NBA Champions

Current NBA Players

* John Collins – Utah Jazz *

– San Antonio Spurs *

Ish Smith Ishmael Larry Smith (born July 5, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who is a pro scout for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Dea ...

– Charlotte Hornets *

Jake LaRavia Jacob Glen LaRavia ( ; born November 3, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana State Sycamores and the Wake Forest ...

– Sacramento Kings * James Johnson - Indiana Pacers *

Bobi Klintman Bo "Bobi" Klintman (born 6 March 2003) is a Swedish professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He was drafted by the Minneso ...

- Detroit Pistons

Current NBA G League Players

* Alondes Williams – Sioux Falls Skyforce

Current Non-NBA professional players

* Tyree Appleby - Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A * Brandon Childress - Hakro Merlins Crailsheim of the German Basketball Bundesliga * Bryant Crawford - Hapoel Gilboa Galil (Israel) * Ian DuBose - Caledonia Gladiators of the British Basketball League * C. J. Harris (born 1991) - basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

Jaylen Hoard Jaylen Hoard (born March 30, 1999) is a French-American professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Born in Le Havre, France ...

(born 1999) - French-American player for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

of the

- Saski Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague *

Dinos Mitoglou Konstantinos "Dinos" Mitoglou (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Ντίνος" Μήτογλου; born June 11, 1996) is a Greek professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. He played co ...

- Panathinaikos Greece *Isaiah Mucius -

BC Luleå BasketballClub Luleå is a professional basketball club from Luleå, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the we ...

of the Swedish Basketligan *

–

Ostioneros de Guaymas The Ostioneros de Guaymas were a professional baseball team based in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. The Ostioneros played in the Mexican Pacific League and used the Estadio Abelardo L. Rodríguez as their home ballpark. During its existence, the club wo ...