Why Wake Forest Won’t Hire ETSU’s Steve Forbes

He’s just not the right fit for their basketball program.

East Tennessee State head men’s basketball coach Steve Forbes is many things; personable, popular, successful.

But he is likely not going to be a North Carolinian. At least not any time soon.

Oh, speculation is rampant Forbes will be a top candidate at Wake Forest, who fired 78–111 Danny Manning this weekend.

And why not? Forbes comes off a 30–4 season at ETSU that had the Buccaneers just missing their first national ranking since 1991.

ETSU Men’s Basketball coach Steve Forbes has won 130 games in five years at the helm

Atlantic Coast Conference history is filled with successful men’s basketball coaches that came from ETSU’s Southern Conference; Norm Sloan, Lefty Driesell, Terry Holland, Bobby Cremins.

And Wake Forest athletic director John Currie was an administrator at the University of Tennessee when Forbes was there as an assistant coach under Bruce Pearl.

But Forbes relies heavily on junior college transfers. Five of the players on his roster last year came from JUCOs.

And since 1997, Wake Forest has had a grand total of one junior college transfer on their roster; Konner Tucker, who played seven games in 2009 before transferring.