Here is why University of Miami freshman Earl Timberlake is entering transfer portal
The University of Miami men’s basketball team lost its second highly regarded freshman.
Earl Timberlake, a 6-6 small forward who entered the program last summer as a Top 50 recruit, has decided to transfer, he told ESPN.
He had ankle and shoulder injuries all season and played in only seven games. He averaged 9.3 points, five rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Hurricanes, whose roster was depleted by injuries all season.
“I’ve been dealing with a whole lot this season as far as being away from home and ankle and shoulder injuries,” Timberlake said. “I wanted to be there for my teammates, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that putting my name in the transfer portal is the best move for my future. There’s nothing negative that happened. There’s no bad blood with Miami. I just want a fresh start. I love Coach L and the rest of the coaching staff. I just want to start over and get a fresh start somewhere else.”
Timberlake, a product of DeMatha Catholic High School in Washington, D.C., originally chose Miami over Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, and South Carolina.
“I’m not sure where I want to go,” Timberlake said. “I’m open to anything. I’m going in with an open mind. There are no favorites…I will not be entering the NBA draft. I need to get back to being the real Earl Timberlake before I can think of taking the next step in my career.”
UM coach Jim Larranaga said: “Earl is an extremely talented basketball player and an outstanding young man who unfortunately had to deal with a number of injuries this season. We look forward to seeing him return to full health and wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
The Hurricanes program parted ways with its other freshman, Matt Cross, earlier in the season. Larranaga and Cross both explained it wasn’t the right fit. Cross is transferring to Louisville. Miami is coming off its worst season in 27 years, but had an exciting run in the ACC tournament, becoming the first No. 13 seed to reach the quarterfinals before losing by four points to eventual champion Georgia Tech.
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 11:29 AM.