Damari Monsanto was held out of Wake Forest’s game against Appalachian State about a month ago because he wasn’t meeting the standard and expectations of coach Steve Forbes.

Monsanto’s standard in the five games since has been a boost for the Deacons.

The fourth-year wing from Pembroke Pines, Fla., is averaging 16.4 points in the five games since his return to the court. He’s made 18 of 46 3-pointers in that span, and is fourth in the ACC in both 3-point percentage (38.4%) and 3s per game (2.87).

“Listen, we have a good relationship,” Forbes said last month. “But you can’t coach kids correctly if you don’t have a good relationship with them.

“He understands what was up.”

It's been an added dimension for Monsanto to show an increased willingness to put the ball on the floor and get to mid-range shots. He’s made three 2-point shots in each of the last two games; in Wake’s first 14 games, he made three 2s in one game (at Wisconsin).

He attempted fewer than three 2s in eight of those first 14 games.

Forbes has noted how good of a catch-and-shoot weapon Monsanto is, and other ACC teams have taken note. That opens things up for Monsanto to create off the dribble, which he’s done more of in the last few games.

“Hopefully, you know, he’ll continue to grow and become a better player,” Forbes said last month.

According to evanmiya.com, Monsanto has been Wake’s most valuable player.

His Offensive Bayesian Performance Rating on evanmiya.com is 2.77, which is second for the Deacons behind Tyree Appleby (3.18). OBPR reflects the offensive value a player brings, measuring both individual efficiency stats with offensive strength of other players on the court with him.

With Monsanto’s DBPR (defensive) rating at 1.23, the best mark of any Deacon, his total performance rating of 3.99 tops the team.

Forbes noted that Monsanto — along with Cameron Hildreth and Appleby — played sped-up in Wake’s loss at UNC last week.

What came next, though, was the important part — and the part that winds up playing a big factor in Monsanto’s 21-point game at Louisville.

“It’s not for lack of playing hard, it’s not for lack of trying hard,” Forbes said of Monsanto after the UNC game. “You can’t let their pressure affect your pace on offense. I mean, he’s got a ways to go.

“But he had 17 points and seven rebounds and if not for that, we wouldn’t have been in the game.”

Putting that into a bigger picture, it’s likely Wake Forest needs Monsanto to keep playing at this standard to be in games and to win them, as was the case when he had 21 points against Louisville on Saturday.