Scott Forbes details the emotions of getting suspended, hearing crowd chant his name

North Carolina baseball went through a roller coaster during the Chapel Hill regional. Having to go through the loser’s bracket, the Tar Heels were able to come all the way back and advance to the Super Regional. For two of the games, they did it without head coach Scott Forbes, who was suspended for two games.

Forbes returned for the Monday night winner take all matchup against VCU. After celebrating the victory with his team, Forbes discussed the emotions of missing two of the most important games of the season. The head coach said moving on as quickly as possible was the key but it was not easy.

“As soon as it happened, a big part of me was like ‘dang it’ because obviously, I did not want to get thrown out of the game,” Forbes said. “But the other part was — with this team, nobody makes it about themselves and I was like ‘I really don’t want to be the center of attention’ and I know that’s how sports work but I just felt like it was a huge moment in the game. What happened, happened. We have a saying in our family that sometimes it can be hard to forgive but you got to do it and you got to do it quick because those same guys could be out on the field. And sure enough, I walk up today and the same two. One that threw me out and then that put the two fingers in the air. But it was emotional.

When the NCAA suspended Forbes, he became a regular person, just like us, when it came to watching the action. He would not reveal exactly where he watched against Georgia and VCU but said the people around him made it an enjoyable experience.

“I will say, it’s a whole lot harder to watch on TV when you’re not in the dugout,” Forbes said. “I haven’t been so nervous for 18 innings, I don’t think ever but also, I surrounded myself with a group of people — can’t tell you where I watched because that’s a secret — but we had a good time and we were high fiving. So we made the most of it.”

Forbes will now lead his team into the Super Regional as they prepare to host Arkansas this weekend. Two wins would mean a trip to Omaha and the College World Series for the first time since 2018. North Carolina missed the NCAA Tournament during Forbes’ first season but has the chance to reach the promised land in Year Two.