WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — As Wake Forest prepares for the ACC Tournament, Steve Forbes has his players ready to go, but just as this era of Wake Forest basketball starts to flourish, a different era at Wake Forest comes to an end.
"I feel like I’m part of the program, I don't think there’s any doubt about that," said Gary Strickland, who is the official scorer of Wake Forest men's basketball.
For the past four decades, Gary Strickland has had a seat on the court inside the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, as the official scorer for Wake Forest.
"The home team scorebook is the official," said Strickland. "It doesn’t matter what’s in the visiting book or what’s on the scoreboard. It's what’s in the official book. It's the score, fouls, timeouts, time of possession, and who’s in the game."
Wake Forest is a team that has always been a part of his life.
"I grew up in Winston," said Strickland. "I always wanted to attend wake forest and I did it’s a passion."
He didn't seek this job though.
While in school at Wake Forest, he was a student manager of the basketball team. When the school couldn't find someone to be the official scorer, Gary came to mind.
"I was asked to do it," said Strickland. "I had a small family at home. I said, I just don’t think so. I didn’t want to obligate myself. They said they couldn’t find anybody. I’m not sure they looked real hard. I told them I'll do it for one year and one year only."
One year turned into 42 years.
Strickland said the reason he kept coming back year after year was because of the relationships he's built.
"I've worked for eight head coaches and hundreds of assistant coaches," said Strickland. "I consider them all my friends, knowing the visitors coming in once a year, it's good to see those folks, and the banter around the press room, it’s something I’ve enjoyed."
After the 2022-2023 season, Strickland's calling it a career. He will retire as the longest-tenured ACC official scorer.
"I thought about hanging It up before now, but I wanted to see Wake Forest good again, which we are," said Strickland. "It’s just time to move on and let somebody else do it."
Strickland said he'll still come to games, he just won't have the same seat anymore.
"I told all the officials here, and they said, 'What are you going to do? Will I ever see you again?'. I said 'You may not see me again, but you’ll hear me again', because my family seats are on the third row. They’ll hear me. I’ll start hollering at them next year."
Strickland said he's working 9 games in the 2023 ACC Tournament and 4 in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament in Greensboro.
In retirement, he plans to attend his grandchildren's basketball games.