ETSU's Forbes Replaces Manning As WFU Basketball Coach

Wake Forest has hired Steve Forbes of East Tennessee State to be its next head basketball coach.

The search for Danny Manning's replacement took less than a week. Forbes is coming off his best season yet. His ETSU team won 30 games before the abrupt end to the postseason caused by the pandemic.  

In five years as head coach of the Buccaneers, Forbes compiled a record of 130 wins and 43 losses.

"Coach Forbes has an incredible track record of success, matched only by his reputation for building strong and lasting relationships,” Wake Forest Athletic Director John Currie says. "He operates with a high level of intensity and is not only an effective coach on the floor, but a great recruiter as well." 

He'll take over for a Deacon squad that has struggled to escape the depths of the conference standings for a decade now. During that time the team has been dogged by high turnover, with several players leaving to pursue other options.

Forbes was an assistant at Tennessee when the school earned its first Number One ranking and was also on the coaching staff of a Wichita State team that won 35 straight games. 

Manning was dismissed last week after six seasons. Forbes will be the Deacons 23rd head coach and the sixth since 2000.

“I'm extremely excited for the opportunity,” Forbes says. “Coming to Wake Forest presents an opportunity to be a part of a special brand and a chance to impact our student-athletes' lives in a positive way while competing for championships. My highest priority is spending time and developing relationships with our current student-athletes, alumni and the young men who will make up the future of Demon Deacon Basketball."