NCAA Basketball: Early breakout stars to watch for 2022-23 season
By Shea Irish
Damari Monsanto
If you are a follower of the Southern Conference (SoCon), the name Damari Monsanto probably rings a bell. Two seasons ago he was at East Tennessee State, averaging 11.8 PPG and 7.3 RPG on his way to winning the 2021 SoCon Freshman of the Year Award. During that season he finished with six 20+ point performances; including a 23-point, 9-rebound game against Alabama in which he went 6-10 from beyond the arc.
Following the 2020-21 season, Monsanto decided to transfer to Wake Forest and play for Coach Steve Forbes, the former ETSU Head Coach that recruited him to play in Johnson City.
During off-season workouts, he suffered a devastating Achilles injury on June 9th and was expected to miss the entire 2021-22 season. Surprisingly, he miraculously recovered and was able to suit up for the Demon Deacons on January 19th, just seven months after his surgery.
Playing in 17 games after his return, the 6’6” forward was a part of the Demon Deacons’ season that resulted in 25 wins, the most for the school since the 2004-05 season when Chris Paul was still in Winston-Salem. He averaged 7.3 PPG and shot 39.5% from three, doing so in just over 16 minutes per game.
With performances of 17 points at Clemson, 13 points vs North Carolina, and 12 against Syracuse; Monsanto had a remarkable season for someone who wasn’t even a year removed from Achilles surgery. The rest of the ACC will have to watch out this upcoming season as he will be fully healthy and look to return to his 2020-21 form as a versatile forward with lethal shooting ability.