Season drawing near with no word on Efton Reid III’s waiver

CHARLOTTE – Eleven days separate Wake Forest from its season opener and the Deacons still don’t know whether Efton Reid III will be cleared to play this season.

The news from the ACC’s preseason media event was that there is no news.

“We feel very confident about what we provided to the NCAA,” coach Steve Forbes said on Wednesday afternoon at ACC Tipoff from the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. “We provided over 100 pages of documentation. They asked for some more, we provided it.

“And so, we feel good about it. Listen, I feel good about the process.”

Reid is a second-time transfer. The immediate eligibility for transfers only applies for first-time transfers or graduate transfers; Reid spent one season at LSU and last season at Gonzaga and isn’t a graduate.

Reid played for LSU in his first season — coincidentally playing against the Deacons in the Emerald Coast Classic — and was at Gonzaga last season.

But waivers can be granted, and that’s where Wake Forest stands. It’s where it has stood for a while, waiting on the NCAA’s approval or denial. The Richmond, Va., native has said on the record that being closer to his mom was a factor in his decision to transfer.

“I’m just waiting to hear what they have to say, and we haven’t heard yet,” Forbes said. “When we do, we’ll deal with it from there. Hopefully he gets to play. And if he doesn’t, if there’s an appeal, maybe we’ll look at that.”

A few other second-time transfers across the college basketball landscape have had their waivers denied recently.

While that leads to speculation of why Reid won’t get his, Forbes doesn’t pay attention to other situations.

“We don’t know the intricacies of everyone,” Forbes said. “And you’re not going to, because they’re private. People have asked me, ‘Well, what about so-and-so?’ Well, I don’t know, I don’t care. I don’t know what their deal is.

“I feel good about what we’ve provided. We’ll see.”

Forbes feels confident about his team without Reid, but there’s an acknowledgement that he could be one of the Deacons’ best — or most-important — players if he’s eligible.

The 7-foot, 240-pounder averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds for LSU; he averaged 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds last year at Gonzaga.

“He’s incredible. Like, oh my God. Like a guy that fits in at Wake Forest, hoo,” Forbes said. “Unbelievable student, one of the best communicators I’ve ever coached on the floor. … Difference-maker for us, at the rim.

“He knows the deal. I mean, if he doesn’t, he’ll sit and have two years to play. But he makes our trajectory different this year. Way different.”

In the realm of ironic timing, less than an hour before Wake Forest took the stage in Charlotte, the Division I board of directors charged NCAA staff and committees to review existing transfer rules and waiver guidelines.

The story from the NCAA says that any modifications would be applied for players seeking immediate eligibility for the 2024-25 academic year.

In other words: This could be the only year that second-time transfers who haven’t graduated face this much of an uphill fight to be eligible.

"The Division I board continues to affirm that NCAA staff and the Committee for Legislative Relief are applying existing transfer waiver guidelines as intended by members," said Jere Morehead, chair of the Division I Board of Directors and president of the University of Georgia. "We continue to view student-athlete well-being and mental health as a priority for the Association and will continue to look at whether those priorities can be addressed more objectively and be better understood by members of the media and public."