Charlotte, NC – Wake Forest has been selected as one of six teams to participate in the Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout, as the Deacons will take on the Charlotte 49ers in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. on Dec. 17, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced on Thursday.
Wake Forest will take on the 49ers as part of a triple header at the home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, which will also feature games between East Carolina and Liberty, Virginia Tech and St. Bonaventure, and NC State against Richmond.
Wake Forest is the only ACC school with a Charlotte center. The Wake Forest University Charlotte Center offers a wide range of degree, non-degree and pre-college educational programs in the Queen City. Wake Forest University, Wake Forest Baptist Health, and Atrium Health recently announced the development of a second campus for the Wake Forest School of Medicine on a 20-acre site in Uptown Charlotte, bringing a medical school to North Carolina’s largest city. Additionally, Wake Forest will welcome continuing education students to the new Charlotte-based School of Professional Studies in 2022.
“On behalf of Wake Forest University, we are delighted to partner with Greg Procino and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Charlotte Hornets and Charlotte AD Mike Hill and Coach Ron Sanchez to bring Demon Deacon basketball to the Queen City in December,” director of athletics John Currie said. “We are excited to showcase Wake Forest men’s basketball on a national stage in Charlotte and spotlight the amazing accomplishment of Tim Duncan being inducted in the Hall of Fame. Wake Forest is the only ACC school with an academic campus in Charlotte and we look forward to painting the Queen City Black and Gold for this event!”
“Our staff is excited to play in Charlotte and I have a lot of respect for Coach Ron Sanchez and the program he is building at Charlotte,” head coach Steve Forbes said. “It is special to be associated with the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and I was lucky enough to be in attendance to see the best power forward of all time be inducted a few weeks ago. Wake Forest is proud of Tim Duncan and excited for this matchup in December.”
This year’s Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout will be the first-of-its-kind event in Charlotte, as the 2020 edition of the Shootout was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wake Forest Sports Hall of Member and former men’s basketball All-American Tim Duncan was recently inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020 on May 15, 2021. The consensus 1997 National Player of the Year and 15-Time NBA All Star is the first ever Demon Deacon to be enshrined in Springfield.
This December’s meeting will be the 12th contest between Wake Forest and Charlotte, with the Deacs entering the matchup holding an 8-3 advantage in the overall series. The 49ers won the most recent battle between the two schools, taking a 67-65 win at Halton Arena on November 17, 2019.
Wake Forest most recently played in the Spectrum Center on November 22, 2019, when the Deacs defeated the Davidson Wildcats 82-70 in a road matchup.
Ticket information, game time and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.