This past week was already an important one for Head Coach Steve Forbes and the Wake Forest basketball program, having received a commitment from 4-star point guard Carter Whitt on Monday. It got even better on Thursday when the number one player in the United Kingdom, Cameron Hildreth, committed to continue his basketball and academic careers as a Demon Deacon. Hildreth picked Wake Forest over a group of schools that included Xavier and Arkansas, among others.

Hildreth is known as a three-level scorer who plays well off the bounce. He has been commended for his scoring instincts, aggressiveness and creativity as well. These attributes should immediately give him a role within Forbes’ developing program. 

“I’m a hard-working guy that’s going to bring lots of energy and do everything I can to help the team win,” Hildreth said in a statement to the Old Gold & Black.

As a member of Great Britain’s U18 Team, Hildreth put his name on the map at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT) this past February. He was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 25.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and four steals per game. 

“The ANGT tournament was incredible for me … After the tournament, I had quite a few professional opportunities in Europe. However, as humbled and appreciative as I was to be hearing these offers, my dream and goal since I was able to walk was to play college basketball in America. To be able to say that I’m going to the most famous league, the ACC, playing the best of the best, within a wonderful program, excites me so much. It’s going to be a challenge, but I love competing, so I can’t wait for the season to start,” Hildreth said in an interview with ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Hildreth already has professional experience playing with the Worthing Thunder in the NBL D1 League, averaging 20.6 points, six rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He was also the MVP of the Southern Conference in the ABL, England’s school-level league.

Speaking with 247 Sport’s Les Johns, Hildreth explained: “Being 17 going into a men’s league when you’re going against players who are probably 27-years-old who have been playing for years, it was a bit of a scare at first, but after a few games I realized that I was capable of playing in that league. It gave me more confidence and things just kind of blew up from there.”

With Givony, Hildreth also spoke wonders of what Wake Forest has to offer.

“The main thing that stood out to me for Wake was the unbelievable staff members, from the education teachers to the team physio to the nutritionist and all the coaches … Wake Forest has an amazing setup for the ‘professional athlete,’ which I really wanted to experience,” he said 

Hildreth’s commitment marks the third for Forbes’ 2021 recruiting class, joining Whitt and Robert McCray. As a result, Wake Forest has vaulted to the no. 16 ranked recruiting class in the NCAA, per Rivals.com.