1996–97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1996–97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Basketball Wake Forest University Athletic logo.svg Atlantic Coast Conference ACC 9 9 24–7 11–5 Dave Odom 8th Ricky Stokes Russell Turner Lawrence Joel Coliseum NCAA men's Division I tournament second round The 1996–97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented Wake Forest University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 8th year head coach Dave Odom, and played their home games at LJVM Coliseum. The Deacons finished second in the ACC regular season standings, but were unable to three-peat as champions of the ACC tournament. After a close win over Florida State in the quarterfinals, North Carolina eliminated Wake Forest in the semifinal round. The team was assigned the No. 3 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament, and earned a victory over Saint Mary's in the opening round before being upended by No. 6 seed Stanford in the round of 32. Wake Forest finished the season with a 24–7 overall record and, once again, a final ranking of No. 9 in both major polls. Senior forward/center Tim Duncan was named the consensus National Player of the Year, and repeated as ACC Player of the Year and a consensus First-team All-American. Duncan was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. Duncan's No. 21 jersey was retired after a February 25 victory over Georgia Tech.Duncan's Number Retired, His Game Isn't https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-26-sp-32593-story.html The Los Angeles Times February 26, 1997 July 4, 2023 Previous season Wake Forest finished second in the ACC regular season standings, then defeated Virginia, Clemson, and Georgia Tech to capture the ACC tournament crown for the second straight season. Wake Forest was assigned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. After defeating No. 15 seed Louisiana–Monroe, No. 10 seed Texas, and No. 6 seed Louisville to reach the Elite Eight, the team was blown out by No. 1 seed and eventual National champion Kentucky in the regional final. Wake Forest finished the season with a 26–6 and a No. 9 ranking in both major polls. Junior forward/center Tim Duncan was named ACC Player of the Year and a Consensus First-team All-American. Roster 1996 Wake Forest Demon Deacons y y Steve Goolsby 5 G 6 4 194 Jr Marietta, GA — Cureton Johnson 10 G 6 3 Fr — — Joseph Amonett 11 G/F 6 5 200 So Byrdstown, TN Pickett County Loren Woods y 13 C 7 1 245 Fr St. Louis, Missouri Cardinal Ritter College Prep Marc Scott 20 G 6 2 185 Sr Chapel Hill, NC — Tim Duncan y 21 FC 6 11 248 Sr Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands St. Dunstan's Episcopal C Tim Fuller y 23 G 6 4 Fr Woodbridge, VA Woodbridge Senior Jerry Braswell Jerry Braswell Jr. y 25 G 6 1 180 Jr Cuthbert, Georgia Randolph-Clay Tony Rutland 30 G 6 2 183 Jr Hampton, VA Bethel Rodney West 33 C 6 11 So Oneida, TN — Sean Allen 40 C 6 8 Sr Raleigh, NC — Ricky Peral Ricardo Peral Antunez y 44 F 6 10 230 Sr Valladolid, Spain — William Stringfellow 52 C 6 8 210 So Austin, TX Alief Hastings Ken Herbst 53 F 6 7 Sr Winston-Salem, NC — Dave Odom Ricky Stokes https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/wake-forest/1997.html March 24, 2020 Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=Wake Forest Demon Deacons white| Regular Season Nov 24, 1996 yes 3 VMI Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 92–63 1–0 Nov 25, 1996 yes yes 3 The Citadel McAlister Field House Charleston, South Carolina 86–52 2–0 Nov 29, 1996 yes 3 1996 men Davidson Wildcats Davidson Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 69–45 3–0 Dec 1, 1996 yes yes 3 1996 men Richmond Spiders Richmond Robins Center Richmond, Virginia 80–55 4–0 Dec 3, 1996 yes yes 2 1996 men Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State United Center Chicago, Illinois 74–43 5–0 Dec 7, 1996 yes 2 1996 men NC State Wolfpack NC State Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina 53–45 6–0 1–0 Dec 14, 1996 yes 2 UMass Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 71–47 7–0 Dec 21, 1996 yes 2 1996 men Campbell Camels Campbell Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 90–53 8–0 Dec 31, 1996 yes yes 2 Utah 7 Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 70–59 9–0 Jan 4, 1997 2 North Carolina 11 Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 81–57 10–0 2–0 Jan 8, 1997 yes 2 1996 men Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Georgia Tech Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia 73–63 11–0 3–0 Jan 11, 1997 yes 2 Duke 10 Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina 81–69 12–0 4–0 Jan 15, 1997 2 Virginia Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 58–54 13–0 5–0 Jan 19, 1997 2 Maryland 11 Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 51–54 13–1 5–1 Jan 23, 1997 yes 4 Clemson 2 Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina 65–62 14–1 6–1 Jan 25, 1997 4 1996 men Florida State Seminoles Florida State Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 61–58 15–1 7–1 Jan 28, 1997 yes 2 1996 men Virginia Tech Hokies Virginia Tech Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 61–44 16–1 Jan 29, 1997 yes 2 1996 men Wofford Terriers Wofford Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 68–51 17–1 Feb 1, 1997 yes 2 Maryland 5 Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland 74–69 18–1 8–1 Feb 5, 1997 2 Duke 8 Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 68–73 18–2 8–2 Feb 9, 1997 yes yes 2 Missouri Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri 73–65 19–2 Feb 12, 1997 2 Clemson 7 Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 55–49 20–2 9–2 Feb 16, 1997 2 NC State Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 59–60 OT 20–3 9–3 Feb 19, 1997 yes 4 North Carolina 12 Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina 60–74 20–4 9–4 Feb 22, 1997 yes 4 Virginia University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia 66–60 21–4 10–4 Feb 25, 1997 5 Georgia Tech Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC 71–55 22–4 11–4 Mar 1, 1997 yes 5 Florida State Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida 55–59 22–5 11–5 |- !colspan=9 style=Wake Forest Demon Deacons white| ACC Tournament Mar 7, 1997 yes yes 8 Florida State Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina ACC Tournament Quarterfinal 66–65 23–5 Mar 8, 1997 yes yes 8 North Carolina 5 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina ACC Tournament Semifinal 73–86 23–6 |- !colspan=9 style=Wake Forest Demon Deacons white| NCAA Tournament Mar 14, 1997 yes yes 9 3 W Saint Mary's 14 W McKale Center Tucson, Arizona First round 68–46Duncan, W. Forest stand tall in win Deacons center out-duels St. Mary's https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/03/15/duncan-w-forest-stand-tall-in-win-deacons-center-out-duels-st-marys-7-3-millard-georgetown-eliminated-west-regional/ The Baltimore Sun March 15, 1997 February 13, 2022 24–6 Mar 16, 1997 yes yes 9 3 W Stanford 21 6 W McKale Center Tucson, Arizona Second round 66–72 24–7 AP EST W West https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/wake-forest/1997-schedule.html 1996-97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Schedule and Results Sports Reference March 21, 2020 Rankings 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 1053–1054 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 Awards and honors Tim Duncan, ACC Player of the Year Tim Duncan, Naismith College Player of the Yearhttp://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T History Naismith Awards October 30, 2013 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090302160347/http://www.naismithawards.com/History/NaismithTrophy/tabid/58/Default.aspx March 2, 2009 Tim Duncan, USBWA College Player of the Yearhttp://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/awards/oscar/ Oscar Robertson Trophy United States Basketball Writers Association October 30, 2013 Tim Duncan, John R. Wooden Awardhttp://www.woodenaward.com/?p=1405 Michigan's Trey Burke wins 2012-13 John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's Wooden Award October 30, 2013 Team players drafted into the NBA 1997 NBA draft Wake Forest Demon Deacons Round Pick Player NBA Team 1 1 Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurshttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1997 1997 NBA Draft Database Sports October 30, 2013 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20120427033028/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1997&lg=N April 27, 2012 References Category:Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball seasons Wake Forest Wake Forest