Even with his quick on-ramp to college basketball, Carter Whitt didn’t feel his confidence waver. At least, for the most part.
Whitt went from a 2021 recruit for Wake Forest to a midseason enrollee for the 2020-21 season to a needed body for the Deacons. The last part came on rapidly, with Whitt playing 25 minutes of Wake Forest’s 70-62 victory Thursday against Catawba, the program’s first game in more than a month.
“I’ve been excited all week,” Whitt said. “Coming in this whole week, I didn’t think I was going to be nervous. Then this morning, I was pretty nervous. But as we got out there on the floor warming up, I felt fine.”
A rusty game for Wake Forest contained ribbons of Whitt’s promise during his 11-point, four-assist performance. He checked in for the first time with 15:30 in the first half, and the ball found him. He corraled a defensive rebound and pushed down the court before hitting Isaiah Mucius with a bounce pass for an easy layup.
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He worked in some pick-and-rolls with Ody Oguama — that lob connection could be fun as they season it a bit more — and pick-and-pops with Ismael Massoud. What Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes enjoyed most from Whitt’s night is he flashed some of the defining traits that drew the coach to the player in the first place.
“He’s got patience in his passing,” Forbes said. “A lot of guards that I’ve coached in the past, right or wrong, predetermine what they’re going to do when they come off a screen, when they get in transition.”
Whitt’s plan for Wake Forest this season was to enroll early. It was going to be his choice, Forbes said Thursday and before the season, whether he would actually play. At the least, it meant getting to practice for a chunk of the season and build himself up in a year that doesn’t count against his scholarship because of the NCAA waiver.
That changed a bit this month, when the Deacons lost guard Ian DuBose indefinitely for medical reasons. Forbes said he reached out to Whitt’s father, Scott, to get his son’s thoughts on potentially playing.
“The great thing is he’s going to get all this experience and not use a year of eligibility,” Forbes said. “He’s got a great attitude about it.”
Forbes said Whitt arrived with the team on Dec. 21. He has taken part in about six practices and was thrown into the game against Division II Catawba.
He’ll get that first experience of ACC play on Sunday when Wake Forest plays at Georgia Tech.
Daivien Williamson, Wake Forest's starting point guard, served as the guide to Forbes for all his new Wake Forest teammates as program activities started. He tried to provide guidance for Whitt, too, in this two-week crash course.
“The main thing I just emphasized to him, to be a player of Forbes’ liking, is to play hard,” Williamson said. “That’s what he wants more than anything. If you make mistakes, make mistakes going 100 miles per hour, playing as hard as you can.
“Because Forbes at the end of the day, he’s going to chew you out but he’s going to put you right back in the game as long as you’re playing hard.”
Whitt, a 6-foot-4 Raleigh native who played at Leesville Road, will learn so much this season, and there will be moments where he struggles as a player that should be either finishing up or getting ready to start his final high school season.
It was a big deal to Forbes that Whitt’s debut performance mirrored what he’s done in practice. That bodes well for the former top-100 recruit who quickly became an impromptu college player.
“He should be playing in the Bojangles or Chick-fil-A or whatever fast-food high school tournament that’s going on right now,” Forbes said. “But instead he’s getting ready to play in the ACC ... He missed everything. And he came out today and I thought he played with great poise."
Photos: Wake Forest 70, Catawba 62

Catawba's Carter Phillips (left) and Terrence Whitfield (right) pressure Wake Forest's Daivien Williamson (4) as they battle for a loose ball.

Wake Forest's Carter Whitt puts up a shot over Catawba's Taqwain Drummond (14) and Todd Burt (2) in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Carter Whitt (foreground) and Ody Oguama (background) battle for a loose ball with Catawba's Ben Bowen in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Carter Whitt shoots over Catawba's Larry McLeod in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Ismael Massoud gets past Catawba's Ben Bowen for a layup on Thursday at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem. This was Wake's first game since Nov. 27 after facing a 33-day break between games due to COVID-19 cases in the program.

Wake Forest's Daivien Williamson (left) is guarded by Catawba's Larry McLeod in the Deacons' 70-62 win Thursday at Joel Coliseum. Williamson scored 15 points and had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Catawba's Larry McLeod works his way to the basket under pressure from Wake Forest's Isaiah Wilkins.

Wake Forest's Daivien Williamson (4) changes directions as he is guarded by Catawba's Larry McLeod in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Catawba's Terrence Whitfield shoots over Wake Forest's Jalen Johnson in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Catawba's Larry McLeod gets past Wake Forest's Isaiah Mucius and Jalen Johnson to shoot a reverse layup in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Isaiah Mucius looks for help as he is guarded by Catawba's Larry McLeod in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes talks with his team as play stops for a timeout in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Isaiah Mucius is fouled by Catawba's Taqwain Drummond as he drives to the basket in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Carter Whitt (left) and Isaiah Wilkins battle with Catawba's Larry McLeod for a rebound in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Catawba head coach Rob Perron shouts instructions to his team as they take on Wake Forest in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Jahcobi Neath pulls down a defensive rebound in the Deacons' 70-62 win over Catawba in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Jalen Johnson sinks a three-pointer over Catawba's Carter Phillips in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Catawba's Taqwain Drummond and Wake Forest's Jalen Johnson battle for a rebound in the 70-62 loss to Wake Forest in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Davien Williams passes the ball outside as he is guarded by Catawba's Ben Bowen in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Walt Unks/Winston-Salem Journal)

Catawba's Larry McLeod drives to the basket past Wake Forest's Isaiah Mucius in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Daivien Williamson talks with assistant coach B.J. McKie during a timeout in the Deacons' 70-62 win over Catawba in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Catawba's Taqwain Drummond passes the ball in the 70-62 loss to Wake Forest in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Carter Whitt dribbles around Catawba's Taqwain Drummond in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wake Forest's Isaiah Wilkins shoots over Catawba's Todd Burt in the Deacons' 70-62 win in an NCAA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.