Hunter Sallis entering NBA draft
Deacons’ guard will maintain eligibility for a potential return
Hunter Sallis announced Sunday morning that he’s declaring for the NBA draft.
Wake Forest’s leading scorer this season, Sallis was reborn after two seasons coming off the bench at Gonzaga. His announcement expressed toward a lot of people at Wake Forest, and his gratitude toward the program was well-documented throughout the season.
The Gonzaga transfer is the third straight transfer guard to enter Wake’s program and become a first-team All-ACC player, joining Alondes Williams (2021-22) and Tyree Appleby (2022-23). The difference here is age and experience; Williams and Appleby were in their fifth and sixth seasons, respectively, of college basketball and didn’t have remaining eligibility after their lone seasons with the Deacons.
Sallis has another season, if he wants it. The key wording in his announcement is that he’s maintaining his eligibility.
Sallis was Wake’s leading scorer this past season (18.0 ppg). He also led the Deacons in 3-pointers (75) and attempts (185, 40.5%), and was the only player on the team to take at least 10 3s and shoot over 40% (eight players, including him, took at least 10).
The 6-5, 185-pounder started every game until he didn’t play in the Deacons’ second-round loss in the NIT. After the first-round win over Appalachian State, Sallis suffered an ankle injury that kept him out of the loss to Georgia.
Sallis’ explosion at Wake Forest came after two non-descript seasons with Gonzaga. He played in 68 games for the Bulldogs across two seasons, never starting and scoring in double figures six times.
The Omaha, Neb., native scored in double figures in 33 of the 34 games he played in for Wake Forest.
This year’s draft class is not thought to be deep. Sallis lands in the first round of some mock drafts and in the second round of others. Only first-round contracts are guaranteed, but some second-round deals can also be guaranteed.
The key dates moving forward are:
- May 12-19; NBA Draft Combine (in Chicago).
- May 29; NCAA’s deadline to withdraw from the draft and retain eligibility.
- June 16; NBA’s deadline to withdraw from the draft (to pursue other pro opportunities and reenter the draft process in a later year).
- June 26-27; NBA Draft.