Hunter Sallis commits to Wake Forest
Deacons land Gonzaga transfer and former 4-star recruit
Steve Forbes said Wake Forest needed to get more length on the perimeter after the Deacons lost to Miami in the ACC tournament.
Adding Hunter Sallis, who committed to Wake Forest on Wednesday, checks that box.
Sallis is a 6-5, 180-pound guard who played the last two seasons at Gonzaga. He played in each of the Bulldogs’ 68 games in the past two seasons, which concluded with trips to the Sweet 16 last year and Elite Eight this past season.
Sallis was No. 37 in the Rivals150 for the Class of 2021 with a recorded 31 offers, including North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky and Alabama. He’s from Omaha, Neb.
He didn’t start a game for Gonzaga in the past two seasons, but it’s worth noting that he was part of the Bulldogs’ best five-man lineup, per evanmiya.com (minimum 50 possessions). That lineup, along with Rasir Bolton, Malachi Smith, Drew Timme and Anton Watson, scored 141.9 points per 100 possessions and allowed 99.7 per 100 possessions.
For comparison’s sake, Wake’s best lineup last season scored 134.3 and gave up 97.0 per 100 possessions (the lineup was Tyree Appleby, Cameron Hildreth, Damari Monsanto, Bobi Klintman and Matthew Marsh).
Sallis scored 4.4 points per game across his two seasons at Gonzaga, playing 15.0 minutes per game. He made 15 of 61 3-pointers (24.6%) and 49 of 65 free throws (75.4%). His career high came in the third game of his college career, when he scored 16 points against Alcorn State.
Sallis’ commitment to join Wake Forest is the second transfer pickup of the cycle for Forbes, joining point guard Kevin Miller from Central Michigan.
The Deacons have one uncommitted scholarship for next season and one that’ll be held while Klintman goes through the NBA draft process. He has until midnight of May 31 to decide if he’s staying in the draft pool or returning to Wake Forest for his sophomore season.