2020–21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented Wake Forest University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Demon Deacons were led by first-year head coach Steve Forbes and played their home games at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2020–21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	6–16 (3–15 ACC)
Head coach	Steve Forbes (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Randolph Childress BJ McKie Brooks Savage
Home arena	LJVM Coliseum

2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 Virginia	13	–	4		.765			18	–	7		.720
No. 14 Florida State	11	–	4		.733			18	–	7		.720
No. 25 Virginia Tech	9	–	4		.692			15	–	7		.682
Georgia Tech †	11	–	6		.647			17	–	9		.654
Clemson	10	–	6		.625			16	–	8		.667
North Carolina	10	–	6		.625			18	–	11		.621
Louisville	8	–	5		.615			13	–	7		.650
Syracuse	9	–	7		.563			18	–	10		.643
NC State	9	–	8		.529			14	–	11		.560
Duke	9	–	9		.500			13	–	11		.542
Notre Dame	7	–	11		.389			11	–	15		.423
Pittsburgh	6	–	10		.375			10	–	12		.455
Miami (FL)	4	–	15		.211			10	–	17		.370
Wake Forest	3	–	15		.167			6	–	16		.273
Boston College	2	–	11		.154			4	–	16		.200
† 2021 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The Demon Deacons finished the season 6–16, 3–15 in ACC play, to finish in fourteenth place. They lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC tournament. They were not invited to either the NCAA tournament or NIT.

Previous season

The Demon Deacons finished 2019–20 season 13–17, 6–14 in ACC play to finish in a tie for 13th place. They lost to Pittsburgh in the first round of the ACC tournament. The tournament was cancelled before the Quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament and NIT were also cancelled due to the pandemic.

After the season head coach Danny Manning was fired after six seasons, where he posted a 78–111 record. On April 30, 2020, the Demon Deacons hired Steve Forbes as his replacement.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Brandon Childress	0	G	6'0"	195	Senior	Winston-Salem, NC	Graduated
Sharone Wright Jr.	2	G	6'5"	185	Sophomore	Florence, SC	Transferred to Morgan State
Torry Johnson	11	G	6'3"	175	Graduate Student	Chicago, IL	Graduated
Andrien White	13	G	6'3"	200	Senior	Richmond, VA	Graduated
Michael Wynn	20	G	6'6"	210	Sophomore	Albany, NY	Entered transfer portal
Chaundee Brown	23	G	6'5"	220	Junior	Orlando, FL	Transferred to Michigan
Olivier Sarr	30	C	7'0"	255	Junior	Toulouse, France	Transferred to Kentucky

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Jalen Johnson	2	G	6'6"	195	Graduate Student	Durham, NC	Tennessee
Daivien Williamson	4	G	6'2"	170	Junior	Winston-Salem, NC	ETSU
Ian DuBose	11	G	6'4"	225	Graduate Student	Durham, NC	Houston Baptist
Jonah Antonio	20	G	6'5"	195	Graduate Student	Perth, Australia	UNLV
Isaiah Wilkins	23	G	6'4"	220	Junior	Winston-Salem, NC	Virginia Tech

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Marcus Watson Jr. PG	Chicago, IL	Morgan Park High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Aug 20, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 79
Jaylon Gibson PF	Raleigh, NC	Grace Academy	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 2, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
Djimon Bailey SG	Raleigh, NC	Grace Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	May 6, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 78
Quadry Adams PG	Edison, NJ	St. Thomas Aquinas	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 8, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Wake Forest Demon Deacons". ESPN.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2020–21 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jahcobi Neath 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Crestwood Prep Toronto, ON F 1 Isaiah Mucius 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Brewster Academy East Patchogue, NY G 2 Jalen Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Wesleyan Christian Academy Tennessee Durham, NC G 4 Daivien Williamson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Winston-Salem Prep ETSU Winston-Salem, NC F 10 Tariq Ingraham 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Fr Bonner-Prendergast Philadelphia, PA G 11 Ian DuBose 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Ravenscroft School Houston Baptist Durham, NC G 13 Quadry Adams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr St. Thomas Aquinas Piscataway, NJ G 20 Jonah Antonio 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS South Plains College UNLV Perth, Australia G 23 Isaiah Wilikins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Mount Tabor Virginia Tech Winston-Salem, NC F 25 Ismael Massoud 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So MacDuffie School East Harlem, NY C 30 Emmanuel Okpomoy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Oak Hill Academy Jackson, MS F 31 Blake Buchanan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Voyager Academy Durham, NC F 33 Ody Oguama 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Woodstock Academy Raleigh, NC F 34 Sunday Okeke (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Greens Farms Academy Lagos, Nigeria G 35 Carter Whitt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Leesville Road Raleigh, NC G 45 Anthony Mathis Jr. (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Kentucky Country Day Louisville, KY F 52 Grant van Beveren (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Chattahoochee Alpharetta, GA G 55 Miles Lester (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Wilbraham & Monson Academy Rice Wichita, KS	Head coach Steve Forbes (Southern Arkansas University) Assistant coach(es) Randolph Childress (Wake Forest) Brooks Savage (Tennessee) BJ McKie (South Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 30, 2020

Schedule and results

Source:

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 4:00 p.m., ACCNX		Delaware State	W 111–51	1–0	19 – Ingraham	7 – Johnson	4 – DuBose	LJVM Coliseum (0) Winston-Salem, NC
November 27, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCN		Longwood	W 71–60	2–0	14 – Tied	4 – DuBose	5 – DuBose	LJVM Coliseum (0) Winston-Salem, NC
December 2, 2020*		Troy	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, NC
December 13, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ACCN		Presbyterian	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, NC
December 16, 2020 8:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 17 Virginia	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues					LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, NC
December 21, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN		VMI	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues					LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, NC
December 30, 2020 5:00 p.m., ESPN2		Syracuse	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues					LJVM Coliseum  Winston-Salem, NC
December 31, 2020* 3:00 p.m., ACCN		Catawba	W 70–62	3–0	15 – Williamson	7 – Tied	4 – Tied	LJVM Coliseum (77) Winston-Salem, NC
January 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN		at Georgia Tech	L 54–70	3–1 (0–1)	24 – Mucius	5 – Tied	4 – Williamson	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
January 6, 2021 9:00 p.m., ACCRSN		at No. 22 Virginia	L 61–70	3–2 (0–2)	14 – Tied	7 – Mucius	4 – Williamson	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
January 9, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN		at No. 21 Duke	L 68–79	3–3 (0–3)	17 – Tied	8 – Massoud	3 – Whitt	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
January 13, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN		No. 16 Louisville	L 65–77	3–4 (0–4)	19 – Williamson	8 – Mucius	4 – Williamson	LJVM Coliseum (71) Winston-Salem, NC
January 17, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 20 Virginia Tech	L 60–64	3–5 (0–5)	12 – Massoud	6 – Mucius	2 – Tied	LJVM Coliseum (89) Winston-Salem, NC
January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN		at North Carolina	L 73–80	3–6 (0–6)	27 – Tied	7 – Tied	5 – Williamson	Dean Smith Center (0) Chapel Hill, NC
January 23, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN		Pittsburgh	W 76–75	4–6 (1–6)	31 – Massoud	10 – Oguama	8 – Williamson	LJVM Coliseum (79) Winston-Salem, NC
January 27, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		at NC State Rivalry	L 67–72	4–7 (1–7)	22 – Williamson	7 – Massoud	3 – Neath	PNC Arena (25) Raleigh, NC
January 30, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN		Miami (FL)	W 66–54	5–7 (2–7)	16 – Williamson	12 – Oguama	3 – Neath	LJVM Coliseum (82) Winston-Salem, NC
February 2, 2021 5:00 p.m., ACCN		at Notre Dame	L 58–79	5–8 (2–8)	14 – Mucius	6 – Oguama	4 – Williamson	Purcell Pavilion (123) Notre Dame, IN
February 10, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN		at Boston College	W 69–65	6–8 (3–8)	17 – DuBose	10 – Oguama	3 – DuBose	Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA
February 13, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN		at No. 17 Florida State	L 85–92 OT	6–9 (3–9)	23 – Antonio	8 – Antonio	5 – DuBose	Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL
February 17, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN		Duke	L 60–84	6–10 (3–10)	14 – Oguama	8 – DuBose	2 – Tied	LJVM Coliseum (102) Winston-Salem, NC
February 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN		NC State	L 62–80	6–11 (3–11)	14 – DuBose	5 – Massoud	2 – Tied	LJVM Coliseum (116) Winston-Salem, NC
February 24, 2021 4:30 p.m., ACCN		Clemson	L 39–60	6–12 (3–12)	16 – Williamson	4 – Tied	2 – Whitt	LJVM Coliseum (70) Winston-Salem, NC
February 27, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN		at No. 16 Virginia Tech	L 46–84	6–13 (3–13)	12 – Antonio	7 – Oguama	4 – Williamson	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
March 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN		at Pittsburgh	L 57–70	6–14 (3–14)	17 – Williamson	7 – DuBose	4 – Williamson	Petersen Events Center (500) Pittsburgh, PA
March 5, 2021 8:00 p.m., ACCN		Georgia Tech	L 63–75	6–15 (3–15)	18 – DuBose	5 – Massoud	4 – Whitt	LJVM Coliseum (1,229) Winston-Salem, NC
ACC tournament
March 9, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN	(14)	vs. (11) Notre Dame First round	L 77–80	6–16	21 – Williamson	12 – Mucius	7 – Whitt	Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.