WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Former Gonzaga Bulldog and five-star guard Hunter Sallis committed to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Tuesday, giving coach Steve Forbes another outstanding transfer guard to elevate to the next level.
Sallis joined Gonzaga as a five-star guard out of Nebraska, but was unable to crack the starting lineup after two years in Spokane. He played behind Nolan Hickman and Rasir Bolton last season, showcasing elite athleticism and defensive chops but not getting many opportunities on the offensive side of the ball.
After averaging 4.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 16.7 minutes last year, Sallis will now join a Wake Forest team in need of a replacement for Tyree Appleby, who joined the team last year as a transfer from Florida and made the All-ACC team by averaging 18.8 points and 6.4 assists per game.
Locked on College Basketball host Andy Patton believes Sallis can continue the trend of guards peaking after transferring to Wake Forest - which has happened quite a bit just in the last two seasons.
"I can't think of a spot that would have been a better fit for Sallis than Wake Forest and Steve Forbes," Patton said. "Because Steve Forbes has done this before. This is not new to Steve Forbes to take a guard who wasn't a good fit at their previous school, bring them to the Demon Deacons, and watch them explode."
Appleby was the latest example, but the year prior Forbes and the Deacons had two guards on the roster who ended up playing in the NBA after transferring to Wake Forest.
First was Jake LaRavia, who spent two seasons at Indiana State before joining Forbes, posting big numbers, and getting picked 19th overall in the 2022 NBA draft.
LaRavia was teammates with Alondes Williams, who spent two years as a rotation player at Oklahoma before winning ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest in 2021-22, averaging 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists.
Sallis has elite athleticism, pedigree, defensive instincts, and untapped offensive potential. Can Forbes once again mold a guard from another program into an All-ACC caliber performer? Time will tell, but the pieces are all there for this to be a perfect match in 2023-24.