As we approach the season's halfway point, Wake Forest is in the upper half of a weak ACC. Can its coach, Steve Forbes, lead Wake to the next level? Let’s look at why Forbes might or might not be able to move Wake to a higher level.
Talent Evaluation
It certainly helps to have talented players as a team strives to move to the next level. Forbes has brought in some talent through the transfer portal but has done little to retain talent or to get top-level high school prospects to attend Wake.
Just because there is talent doesn’t mean there is a good team mix. Currently, Wake seems to have some talent at all positions and seems to play fairly well together. There certainly have been times when the point guard and small forward positions have been up and down.
In-game results
In-game situations are always going to occur, and the better coaches are able to make the proper adjustments and keep their opposition off guard. I don’t see this much from Forbes. He seems to have a pretty set plan and doesn’t deviate much from it. Focusing on stopping the other team’s best players sometimes requires a modification to a set strategy, and I don’t see this much from Wake.
In games where you are favored, then it is up to the coach and his staff to have the team ready and not just “show up.” Wake seems to perform well against the better teams (maybe just at home) but has let lesser opponents outplay them on numerous occasions.
Certainly, a good coach is no better than his players' performance. A coach can do all he can, but no amount of coaching will totally fix a team's execution. However, quality preparation and coaching will mitigate the chances of poor execution. There have been times when Wake has seemed somewhat unprepared (examples are at Louisville and Clemson this year), and the results have shown that to be true.
In my opinion, Forbes has made a positive impact at Wake. Wake certainly had nowhere to go but up after failures from its last two coaches. However, I have serious concerns over his ability to take Wake to the next level.