Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Early grades for each teams 2023 offseason moves

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 16, 2023; Orlando, FL, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer looks on during the first half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2023; Orlando, FL, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer looks on during the first half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Harrison Ingram #55 of the Stanford Cardinal (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /

8. Wake Forest Demon Deacons – Grade: B

No ACC Basketball team has gone more “risk vs reward” this offseason than Wake Forest, who landed three underclassmen with high potential. One is Kevin “Boopie” Miller, an elite scorer from Central Michigan that missed most of the last season with an injury. The other two come from Gonzaga’s former five-star prospects, Efton Reid and Hunter Sallis.

Coach Steve Forbes has been known to turn transfers into all-conference stars and if he can do it with this group (Reid would need a waiver), they’ll become a contender in the league again. And while they did lose leading scorer, Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest managed to return all of the other eligible key pieces from the roster to give them a solid floor.

7. North Carolina Tar Heels – Grade: B-

UNC may have gotten an “F” for the past season but the roster has undergone some improvements. They’ve lost many rotation players but kept the two best in RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, surrounding them with familiar faces. Notre Dame sharpshooter Cormac Ryan replaces Caleb Love in the backcourt, while Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram is the all-around wing that’ll help in all areas outside of shooting.

A case can be made that the Tar Heels may have less talent overall but the pieces may fit better. They weren’t able to land the big splash that would make them a clear-cut top-25 team but they did enough to keep folks off Coach Hubert Davis’ back.