Last Year: 19-14; Eighth (10-10) in the Atlantic Coast Conference, No Postseason
Head Coach: Steve Forbes (Fourth Year; 50-40 at Wake Forest, with no NCAA Tournament appearances)
Projected Starting Lineup
| G Kevin ‘Boopie’ Miller – 6’0″, 175 – Sophomore |
| G Hunter Sallis – 6’5″, 185 – Junior |
| G Cameron Hildreth – 6’4″, 195 – Junior |
| F Andrew Carr – 6’10”, 235 – Senior |
| C Matthew Marsh – 7’1″, 250 – Junior |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Boopie Miller: 13.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.1 spg – 36.0% 3FG in 2021-22 @ Central Michigan
Hunter Sallis: 4.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.6 spg – 46.6% FG @ Gonzaga
Cam Hildreth: 12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.2 spg – 46.5% FG
Andrew Carr: 10.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.0 spg, 0.9 bpg – 48.9% FG
Matthew Marsh: 6.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.3 spg, 0.2 bpg – 88.3% FG (led nation)
Experienced Reserves
| W Damari Monsanto – 6’6″, 225 – Senior (5th) |
| C Efton Reid III – 7’0″, 240 |
| W Abramo Canka – 6’6″, 200 – Sophomore |
| G Jao Ituka – 6’1″, 196 – Junior – Likely redshirt |
| F/C Zach Keller – 6’10”, 228 – Sophomore |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
Damari Monsanto: 13.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 1.0 spg – 40.5% 3FG
Efton Reid: 2.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg – 62.2% FG @ Gonzaga
Abramo Canka: 1.5 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.2 apg – 44.4% FG @ UCLA
Zach Keller: 2.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.4 spg – 36.1% FG
Freshmen
| G Parker Friedrichsen – 6’3″, 195 – Freshman – Consensus Top 150 recruit |
| W Aaron Clark – 6’6″, 195 – Freshman – Consensus Top 150 recruit |
| F Marqus Marion – 6’8″, 210 – Freshman / Denmark |
Wake Forest has spent so much time on the NCAA Tournament bubble without a bid these past two years that you’ll have to forgive them if they’re a bit sore about it. At least two years ago, they were able to win a couple of NIT games to ease the sting. Last season, despite 19 wins overall and ten in Atlantic Coast Conference play, somehow even the NIT left Wake out in the cold. What had been a promising season ended with losses in nine of the Deacons’ final 14 games, and the disappointment was palpable around Winston-Salem. Then, head coach Steve Forbes lost his top scorer to graduation.
So he went out and signed one of the most talented groups of transfers of any coach in the nation. Wake is also bringing in a heralded group of freshmen. And gets a guy back from injury and a redshirt season who was anticipated to have been a key addition to last year’s team. This is, on paper, very possibly Wake Forest’s most talented team in a decade – and the expectation is Tourney or bust this winter.
Though the Demon Deacons lose star transfer Tyree Appleby and his 18+ points and 6+ assists per game, they return three guys who averaged double figures a year ago. Andrew Carr and Damari Monsanto are themselves former transfers, and Forbes has been money in the bank at luring highly productive, largely proven players to Wake the last couple of years. “Since the Covid restrictions were lifted, we’re eight for eight in bringing transfers to campus,” he told reporters on a conference call in June. This year’s additions look like the best bunch yet, and they didn’t come to Wake Forest just to endure another year of the Deacs missing out on their primary objective.
Demon Deacons fans are expecting a big year from last year’s breakout star, Cameron Hildreth. One of two British players on Wake’s roster these days, Hildreth is helping to lead the way in establishing a strong international presence in Winston-Salem. In his second collegiate season, Hildreth transitioned smoothly to the starting lineup, and showed off a very versatile skillset that should only be harder for opponents to deal with this year. Hildreth is all about creating opportunities on his way to the basket. For himself, for his teammates, and for free chances to score. He did the latter so well last year that Hildreth shot 130 free throws and sank 96 of them, ranking second on the team to Appleby in both figures. Hildreth loves to drive his defender into the paint and either bully him towards the goal or use his dribble to create space and an open look. Hildreth attempted more than half of his shots last year in close to the hoop, and made 55.4% of them, per Bart Torvik, a number which should rise now that Hildreth has a year’s experience playing nearly 32 minutes per contest in the ACC.
If someone else has a better shot along his path to the goal, Hildreth is adept at getting them the ball; his 17.3% assist rate last year belies how well Hildreth moves the ball towards open players both from the lane or while he’s on the wing. Composed with the ball and possessing good vision, Hildreth generally keeps unruffled when he is helping to run the show. Hildreth averaged 13.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals over Wake’s final 18 games, and after Monsanto went down, he did so while facing a bigger portion of the defensive attention from Wake’s opponents. He’s a tough-minded player who can rally his teammates by making plays at both ends of the court, and is ready to assume the mantle of leadership on this team with no seniors in the rotation. If Hildreth can improve his jump shot to go along with the attacking mentality he shows and his playmaking skill, he’ll emerge as an All-ACC performer.
Monsanto likes to shoot threes. A lot of threes. Remember Prince telling his buddy to “Shoot the J! Shoot it!”, during Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories? Monsanto watched that skit, picked up a basketball, and never looked back. A year ago, 215 of his 280 total field goal attempts came from deep; and he sank 87 of those tries at a 40.5% clip. His attempts and makes ranked second and third in the ACC, respectively; and he did all of that in just 26 and a half games. That’s because Monsanto tore the patella tendon in his knee after 17 minutes of action on the road at NC State, and missed the rest of the season after undergoing surgery. Forbes has said that he expects to have the sweet-shooting wing back on the court by the start of the season, but it remains to be seen if Monsanto is 100% ready to return to his usual role.
“Well, according to Dr. Damari Monsanto – I didn’t realize he had already become a doctor – he says he’s two months ahead of schedule. But according to the real medical people, that’s not the case,” Forbes quipped to reporters this summer. “I think he’s doing really well…He’s out in the gym shooting. He’s moving around. It’s just a process, but I do expect him to play in November right away; but we’ll see if he has any setbacks.” Wake will be significantly better once he’s back, because when Monsanto is ‘on’, he is on. Seven times last year he scored twenty or more points in a game, and nine times he hit four or more triples in one contest. With good length on the wing, Monsanto can be helpful and has worked hard to become a helpful overall player. He had no choice but to do so after Forbes sat Monsanto for a game in mid-December for not being dedicated enough in practice. “He played a pretty good floor game for a guy who’s hot like that,” Forbes told reporters after Monsanto went 6/7 from three for 22 points against Florida State in January. “He didn’t just go hunting every possession. He’s really matured in that area.” Monsanto is a weapon, and the Deacons are hoping for him to return to healthy, locked-in form.
Carr is also capable of knocking down triples, and the big man had great chemistry with Appleby in their one season together. A stretch big, Carr can score from all three levels, and a year ago Appleby and Hildreth often connected with him for bucket after bucket as Carr either popped for jumpers or rolled towards the rim to find prompt, precise passes hitting him in the hands. His shooting percentage slumped a bit from the outside last season, but the jump up in competition from Delaware to the ACC didn’t ruin Carr’s overall efficiency. He cashed in better than 69% of his tries around the rim, per Bart Torvik, and sank a solid 44.3% on all other two’s last year. Carr acquitted himself well enough that Forbes is excited to see what steps he can yet take, and whether Carr can become a more threatening perimeter marksman. While not the greatest defender you’ll see, Carr was actually better than advertised on that end of the floor a year ago. He won’t jump out of the gym, but keeps his feet moving and has both long arms and active hands. After adding bulk and doing a great deal of strength training this summer, Carr now weighs closer to 240 pounds than the lighter 220-or-less he played at last winter. He occasionally got into foul trouble a year ago, which was particularly troublesome once Forbes realized that Carr could operate at the 5 in a smaller, quicker lineup which was one of Wake’s best combinations. This year, Carr is looking to tighten up his game on both ends of the floor; and potentially, to make his first appearance on one of the All-ACC teams.
The trio of Hildreth, Monsanto and Carr is going to be buffeted by the arrival of four sought-after transfers; a group which Deacs fans hope will be led by former Gonzaga guard and five-star recruit Hunter Sallis. It’s easy to see why Sallis was so highly regarded coming out of high school. “Hunter Sallis is an outstanding all-around player,” Forbes commented when Sallis pledged to the Deacs. “He is terrific with the ball in his hands. He can make plays for himself, and he can make plays for his teammates in transition or in the half court off the drive or the ball screen. His length, speed, and quickness allow him to guard any perimeter player on the court, making him an elite defender.”
Sallis sees the floor well, and has proven that he can and will utilize the quickness and reach which Forbes loves to play terrific defense. It just…somehow, didn’t all come together for Sallis in Spokane. There were flashes of true brilliance from Sallis in a Zags uniform, but for every great play it seemed there would be a slick drive followed by a blown layup, or a nifty steal that turned into a turnover and then a foul. His outside shot never fell consistently either, and in the end Sallis saw inconsistent minutes and made barely more of an impact in his second season than his first. He’s looking to get comfortable in Winston-Salem, and find both his shot and the starring role that never materialized out West. If Sallis can get stronger and better absorb physical contact, his dynamic natural tools should shine. Sallis made 68.3% of his shot attempts around the basket in Spokane, and has both the nimble footwork and vertical to earn lots more good looks near the lane. Sallis did make some real strides as a ballhandler last year; he committed just 28 turnovers in 37 games, and should mesh well with Hildreth as facilitators who don’t need the ball in their hands constantly.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 76.6 – Points Per Game (40th) |
| +2.8 – Average Score Margin (115th) |
| 51.6% – Opponent Effective FG Percentage (240th) |
| 9.5 – Team 3FG Made Per Game (14th) |
| 8.2 – Opponent 3FG Made Per Game (287th) |
Center Efton Reid has joined the Deacs after playing for Gonzaga last year, too, and will battle Matthew Marsh for minutes at the pivot. That is, if he’s allowed to play. Because this is Reid’s second transfer and he has not yet graduated, he is awaiting a decision from the NCAA on his eligibility for this winter. Reid is a former heralded recruit who started every game for LSU two years ago before transferring to the Zags and not even averaging five minutes per game. So he has headed back to the South, and Reid is hoping to recapture the form that he showed in Baton Rouge. Reid is a talented offensive player who can get points at the rim or by facing up and drilling jumpers out to the three point arc. He also has made just 50% of his foul shots through two years and has committed one foul or turnover for every 3.9 minutes he has been on the floor. When you’re up against Drew Timme in the competition for playing time and your confidence falters, well, that’s a tough place to be. Like Sallis, Reid is hungry for a fresh start and a chance to make a role all his own.
Tyree Appleby only spent one season as a Demon Deacon, but that season was truly outstanding, and his is going to be a very difficult act to replicate. When Appleby was leading the quartet of Hildreth, Carr, Monsanto and big man Matthew Marsh, Wake’s lineup ranked as the ninth-most productive in the nation last year, per Evan Miya. “We just needed to get out in transition more. I think you saw when we got going, we were really good in transition,” Forbes has said. Given that Forbes likes his teams to get out and go – and that veteran contributor Daivien Williamson, who followed Forbes from East Tennessee State, is also gone – there’s a big void at the point. Kevin ‘Boopie’ Miller, a sophomore from Chicago, has the skills to fill that role and one day emerge as a star in his own right. Maybe even fairly soon. Miller had a sensational freshman year at Central Michigan in 2021-22. Primed to emerge as one of the best players in the MAC a year ago, he instead played just four games before tests revealed that he had been playing with a broken bone in his foot. The rest of his season was lost, and in March he entered the Transfer Portal. Just a few days later, he met Forbes and committed to the Deacons.
“We just needed to get out in transition more. I think you saw when we got going, we were really good in transition”
– Steve Forbes
“Coach Forbes kept it real with me, and I believe I can trust him,” Miller told 247 Sports upon committing. “This process was fun, but I found that Wake Forest was the best for me…I reached out to Tyree (Appleby), who told me all about coach Forbes.” Now, Miller is looking to team up with Sallis and Hildreth in an exciting new backcourt. Miller proved that he can score from all three levels as a freshman. He is adept at attacking defenses with his dribble, has great confidence with the ball, and knows how to get to the free throw line – he took 3.4 trips there per contest at CMU, and shot 77.8% on his freebies. Now that Miller is healthy and won’t need to be first, second, or even third scoring option on this team, he should settle in comfortably as the new conductor of the Wake Forest offense.
Rounding out the transfer class is former UCLA wing Abramo Canka. Originally from Italy, Canka has played with professional teams in Russia and Lithuania as well. He never really cracked the lineup consistently in Westwood, but has vast potential. Like Sallis, Canka is a rangy player who can guard multiple positions. While he isn’t the best shooter yet, Canka knows how to find his way to the rim and make things happen. Even as his offense develops, Canka should provide excellent perimeter defense and offers Forbes some options to play with lineup combinations. If Wake would like to apply full court pressure, they can now do so with nothing but players who stand 6’4″ or taller.
Marsh is the second English-born player on the Wake roster, and though he’s still coming into his own, Marsh does a few things quite well already. For starters, he led all NCAA players with at least 25 shot attempts by converting 88% of his two-point attempts at the rim, per Bart Torvik. At a strapping 7’1″ and more than 250 pounds, that’s exactly what Marsh should do, and he’ll look to build his offensive game out from the paint. Marsh really needs to improve from the charity stripe, though, as his trips to the stripe last year occasionally resembled a Taskmaster sketch. Not exactly fleet of foot, Marsh is nonetheless an effective defender in the paint, and he’s a solid presence on the boards and working to set screens. With Reid to push him for playing time and Forbes being fond of using Carr at the 5 to take advantage of mismatches, it will be interesting to see how the minutes in the middle shake out.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| N – Houston / Towson – November 17 |
| vs Florida – November 29 |
| vs Rutgers – December 6 |
| N – Utah – November 16 |
| @ Georgia – November 10 |
Like Miller, former transfer Jao Ituka is coming off of a season-ending injury and was really looking forward to a chance to prove his mettle. Voted Rookie of the Year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference two years ago, Ituka made a huge impact in his one season at Marist and then transferred up to the ACC. Unfortunately, he hurt his knee before Wake’s season began, and though he tried to play through the injury, he was shut down after six games and took a redshirt. Ituka had both rehabilitated his knee and reportedly gotten into terrific shape this summer, but then suffered a setback which has put pretty much all of this season in jeopardy as well. Zach Keller arrived in Winston-Salem as a Top 100 recruit last year, and he started six games as a freshman. There were also chunks of time when he didn’t play at all. A talented and mobile rebounder and post scorer who can knock down short jumpers, Keller will hope to show more physicality and defensive prowess this year. Especially if Reid isn’t able to play, Keller must make his move on this talented roster.
Three talented freshmen will also vie for roles on this team of young veterans. With the loss of Swedish forward Bobi Klintman, Forbes needs a new stretch big to develop. So he returned to Scandinavia and picked up a commitment from 6’8″ Danish prospect Marqus Marion, who also held offers from VCU, Dayton and Xavier. A versatile scoring forward whose range extends well out to the three point arc, Marion has played the past three seasons with a professional team overseas and has steadily improved his overall game. If he can defend against ACC bigs, Marion could see action in a variety of lineups. Forbes loves to play bigs who can keep the ball moving and face up to stretch defenses, so the young Dane will likely get his chance sooner than later.
Parker Friedrichsen is an outstanding shooter who should be able to find an immediate role off the bench if he can knock down threes right away, especially if Monsanto takes a bit to get back up to speed. He doesn’t figure to have the ball in his hands a great deal, but Friedrichsen is more likely to make his initial impact coming off of screens to shoot and adding energy off the bench defensively. Joining him on the perimeter is 6’6 lefty Aaron Clark, a confident scorer who can get buckets in a variety of ways. Clark’s handle is good, and he has the size to take smaller defenders towards the basket and finish at the rim. An attacking scorer to contrast Friedrichsen’s deep threat, Clark can also knock down jumpers and create for others. Throw in Marion, and this has the look of a rather complete recruiting class to help round out Wake’s roster.
Wake Forest hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game in more than twenty years. Outside of a loss in the ‘First Four’ in 2017, they haven’t even been invited to the tourney since 2010. After 25 wins and Alondes Williams winning ACC Player of the Year in 2021-22, it sure seemed like the Deacons might have gotten to end the drought. Forbes has bought himself a whole lot of goodwill from fans and boosters alike with the additions he’s made to the roster this spring, but that has also ratcheted expectations up a few notches.
If Sallis lives up to his vast potential, Monsanto and Carr are healthy, and Miller can run the show effectively, the Deacons should be very good. Their defense and depth failed them down the stretch a year ago, but now Forbes has added more contributors and addressed those deficiencies.
“The best thing to have is competition,” Forbes told the Greensboro News & Record. “This potentially could be my deepest team. We’ll see how it all plays out.” If Marsh and – hopefully – Reid can hold down the middle and the young guards can replace what Appleby gave the Deacs, there is no reason they can’t be ACC contenders all year. ‘Third time pays for all’, a brave little burglar once said. After two years of falling just short of the chance to fulfill their destiny, the Demon Deacons are through with waiting around for an invite. They’re loaded up, feeling audacious, and will be out to crash the Big Dance as only a hungry team can.
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