Wake Forest is 3-0 this season, but the best part might be seeing the possibilities of what lies ahead.
The next chance to assess that will come against South Carolina Upstate (1-2) on Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Already, Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes sees progress.
“We felt like we had to get tougher to win these kinds of games,” Forbes said after a 72-70 comeback victory against Michigan on Sunday. “When you can experience that early, it helps as the season goes on.”
The Demon Deacons will play Wednesday in their third home game after going to nearby Greensboro to defeat the Wolverines in a neutral-site game.
The schedule can be worth savoring.
“We’ve got to fit them in since we start league play in early December,” Forbes said of the nonconference outings.
Wake Forest had good defensive stretches against Michigan, which didn’t have a field goal in the last 3 1/2 minutes and had a scoring drought of more than five minutes in the second half.
“We turned them over 16 times, and our defense was consistent,” Forbes said. “You don’t have to score a lot to win. You have to defend, rebound, and play tough.”
Hunter Sallis had a team-high 18 points for Wake Forest, which on defense will have to pay attention to South Carolina Upstate guard Mister Dean, who has led his team in scoring in each of the first three games. He was named the Big South Conference’s Freshman of the Week after averaging 19.7 points a contest. He is shooting 75.8 percent from the field this season.
The Spartans will be in their third clash with an Atlantic Coast Conference team following losses at North Carolina State and Virginia Tech. They played their first three games across five days, with a rout of Piedmont in between visits to ACC sites.
The early schedule is something South Carolina Upstate is embracing as well.
“That will be fun for our guys, those environments,” coach Marty Richter said.
Other positives might be brewing for Wake Forest. Freshman guard Juke Harris scored 11 points off the bench against Michigan. He was the only player in the game for either team to reach a double-figure total in the first half.
“I think you’ve just got to put him in and see,” Forbes said of Harris. “He has a lot of confidence in himself. He’s still learning, but I think he’s going to be a crowd favorite.”
