NCAA Basketball: Takeaways from 2023 Charleston Classic results

6th Place – Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-3)

Takeaway: Lack of depth proving costly

Including the earlier non-con loss to Georgia, Wake Forest has a trio of defeats that aren’t too bad on paper. And they looked fairly good on them offensively, with four players scoring at least 15+ points. The problem for them is that with guard Damari Monsanto out with an injury and Gonzaga transfer center Efton Reid still waiting for a waiver, the team plays mainly six guys, including three playing nearly 45 minutes in the loss to LSU in overtime.

Transfer Hunter Sallis had 22 points against the Tigers and has been a breakout star, while Cameron Hildreth and Andrew Sarr are putting up nearly 20 ppg. But with the team playing below-average defense and the offense not capable of doing much better, this is a roster that needs to hope for a waiver for Reid to have any hope of being in the NCAA Tournament picture by the time ACC play comes.

5th Place – LSU Tigers (3-2)

Takeaway: Frontcourt needs to excel to make up for shaky guard play

After the upset home loss to Nicholls State, there was a question as to how LSU would fare in this event. But they managed to go 2-1, beating a pair of solid teams. The revamped frontcourt duo of Will Baker and freshman Jalen Reed has led the team each of the games. Meanwhile, the guards have struggled, between Jordan Wright’s inefficiency and Trae Hannibal and Carlos Stewart not giving them much, it’s set to be a glaring issue all year.

Assuming that Tulane transfer Jalen Cook doesn’t get the waiver appeal to play, the backcourt will be in some trouble. Freshman Mike Williams shows promise but the team can’t wait for him to develop. This team has potential to be competitive in SEC play but the backcourt got a lot of work to do.