ACC Basketball: Analyzing each team’s returning impact players for 2023-24

Wake Forest

There’s a reason that Tyree Appleby was ACC’s First team and second in Player of the Year voting. The loss of Appleby is arguably the biggest for any team in the ACC. Despite this, the Demon Deacons were able to preserve a large amount of the talent on their roster including Damari Monsanto, Cameron Hildreth, Andrew Carr, and Matthew Marsh.

Matthew Marsh was able to get the starting nod in 16 out of 30 games he played in last season. In 18 minutes per, the 7’1 Center averaged 6.1 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting a conference-leading 88 percent from the field for the season.

Andrew Carr is one of three double-digit scorers who made the decision to stay with the Demon Deacons for the upcoming season. Carr was one of only two players to start in every game for the team, and while doing so he averaged 10.7 points and a team-leading 6 rebounds. Carr did this while only attempting 8 shots per game, so with Appleby’s 13 shot attempts per game leaving this should open up the opportunities that fall into the hands of Andrew Carr.

As a sophomore, Cameron Hildreth made the jump that many expected he could after a freshman year that had some promising moments throughout. He jumped up over eight points and two rebounds in his second season with Wake Forest. In year two Hildreth showed much more potential and showed just the kind of player he could end up being for the team. In November, Hildreth dropped a rare triple-double when he recorded 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game that showed just how much damage he can do as a lead guard when given opportunities.

Prior to his season-ending Injury in late February Damari Monsanto had shown he could be everything the Demon Deacons expected and then some in his second year as a part of the program. He was shooting over 40 percent from three which had him in second amongst the entire conference.

With a majority of the offense run through Tyree Appleby, Monsanto showed that he could be a very viable first option in upcoming seasons. He averaged 13.3 points per game for the season and just under 15 points per game in conference play. As long as Monsanto is able to pick back up where he left off, Wake Forest has the returning power to surprise many unsuspecting ACC fans.