This is one is going to hurt. Wake Forest sophomore guard Juke Harris has announced his decision to enter the NBA draft and the transfer portal, essentially ending his time as a Demon Deacon.
Harris had a career
best season and one of the best seasons for a Wake Forest player in program history. The sophomore from Salisbury, NC finished the year averaging 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game—he was 3rd in the ACC in scoring, 12th in rebounding, 6th in 3-pointers made, 2nd in free throws and free throws attempted, and played the 2nd most minutes of anyone in the conference. Harris was awarded ACC Most Improved Player for improving his scoring average by over 15 points per game and was also named 2nd Team All-ACC. He scored in double figures in every game this season, including 20 games of 20+ points and 3 games with 30+ points. Harris moved into 2nd all time in Wake Forest program history in points in a single season with 750, passing Dickie Hemrick’s 746 points set back in 1955.
With all of that success this season, it was kind of a no-brainer for Harris to test the NBA draft waters and get evaluated by scouts in the combine. That said, entering the transfer portal at the same time is certainly a blow to the 2026-27 basketball season. Whether or not Juke returns to college or heads to the NBA will likely depend on the feedback he gets in the coming months from NBA teams. In some of the latest mock drafts, Bleacher Report has Juke going 3oth to the Mavericks and ESPN has him going 34th to the Nets. It’s hard to be mad at a guy for trying to fulfill the dream of playing in the NBA, but the thought of Harris suiting up for another NC team next season is a tough pill to swallow.
This one is going to be hard to recover from.
Go Deacs.
