ACC Basketball: 5 biggest storylines of 2020 offseason

By Brian Rauf | May 2, 2020

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels shake hands before North Carolina's game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images) /

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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NOVEMBER 19: head coach Steve Forbes of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

4) Steve Forbes at Wake Forest

Wake Forest is the school that will likely be dealing with the most roster turnover, as the program has seen an exodus of players entering the transfer portal following the decision to fire head coach Danny Manning. Even though Manning didn’t have much success (78-111 in six seasons) and they hired a well-respected name in the industry in East Tennessee State’s Steve Forbes, many players are exploring their options.

Forbes was able to turn around ETSU pretty quickly, taking them from 16-14 to 24-12 during his first season. He then led them to the NCAA Tournament in his second year, and they had earned the SoCon’s automatic bid this past season as well before the tournament was canceled. That’s two NCAA Tournament bids and two conference championships during his five seasons with the school.

The turnaround at Wake likely won’t be as easy given the level of competition in the ACC and the roster he has. Forbes told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello that his top priority is trying to convince all those players that have entered the portal to return to Winston-Salem.

"“I talked to every player last night; I had an unbelievable visit with Olivier [Sarr], Ishmael [Massoud], all those kids we’re talking about. I think it’s one of those things that, there’s uncertainty at this time and they don’t know me, and we have to build a relationship. I told them over and over again, my number-one recruiting priority is to get everyone back. None of those guys – not one player I talked to last night – said that they did not want to return to Wake. They all have the desire to return; it’s just a matter of relationship.”"

If Forbes can achieve that goal and reduce the losses the Demon Deacons will sustain, it will make the actual on-court job much less difficult. He also has to worry about filling out the rest of the roster, too.

Virginia Tech’s Mike Young was in a similar situation last season when he arrived from Wofford, but he managed to surpass expectations – albeit low – in his first year. Forbes’ success this offseason may determine if he will be able to have similar success or not.