What Steve Forbes said about his future at Wake Forest, team’s potential NIT bid
Steve Forbes did not give any indication of how he felt about his future as head coach of the Wake Forest men’s basketball program after his team’s loss to Clemson in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday.
And that, of course, was by design.
“I never, ever, ever talk about my job security,” Forbes told a small scrum of reporters, just outside the interview room in the bowels of Spectrum Center in Charlotte. “Ever. I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way, but as a veteran coach for 37 years, I’ve never commented on job speculation, good or bad.
“Most of the time, it’s always been good. It’s not like this is my first rodeo.”
Forbes said this about an hour after Wake’s 71-62 loss to Clemson, a defeat that sealed the team’s fate of not making the NCAA Tournament. The program hasn’t been to the Big Dance since 2017.
Forbes arrived to Wake Forest in 2020. He’s strung together winning seasons in five of his first six seasons — including five consecutive seasons from 2021 to 2026, when he finished 17-16 after the regular season and conference tournament. Still, even amid that success, Forbes hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance.
In February, college basketball outlet Field of 68 reported that Forbes “has the support of (athletic director) John Currie and is expected to be the head coach next season for Year 7, barring something crazy happening.” Currie was in attendance Wednesday, seated behind the Deacons’ bench.
Even though he wasn’t forthcoming about his own future Wednesday, Forbes offered ideas about what’s next for his team — in the immediate and the long-term.
In the immediate? He wants to play in the NIT, if Wake is given a bid. The NIT bracket is revealed following the NCAA Tournament selection on Sunday.
“We’d like to play,” Forbes said. “They want to play. I like that about them. They want to play. They like playing. They like each other. I like coaching them. I don’t like not getting offensive rebounds or defensive rebounds, but I do like coaching them. So we’ll see. We’ll play if the opportunity presents itself.”
In the long-view, he told reporters Wednesday that he’s already had some conversations with some players about whether they ought to enter the transfer portal or not. He also said that he expects Juke Harris, the team’s best player and one of the best scorers in the country, to be invited to the NBA Draft Combine in May.
He also took some time to reflect on the season that might have just concluded. From the injuries to key players like starting point guard Nate Calmese, to the close games that were nearly within their grasp.
“Well, the positive is just how freaking together this team is and how hard they play together, how much they cared about each other,” Forbes said. “When they went through a lot of adversity ... they kept coming back. As a coach, that’s a really good feeling, right? You want your players to be a reflection of your personality. I’m not one to back down to anybody, and I kind of — I just feel like this team kind of embodied that.”
He added: “Did they play perfect? No. Did they win every game? No. I think it’s also going to be a season of what-ifs, right? We’ve talked about this ad nauseam about we had some really great opportunities early to beat Michigan, to beat Texas Tech. Didn’t get it done. One-point games. Didn’t beat Oklahoma.
“We’re not used to losing at home. We lost to Oklahoma at home and Vanderbilt at home. Had great opportunities there. Miami at home, had the game and just didn’t finish it. Those kind of things.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "What Steve Forbes said about his future at Wake Forest, team’s potential NIT bid."
