Deng Gak, Rodney Miller announce they will return to UM basketball team. Here’s why
Finally, some good news for the University of Miami men’s basketball team. Centers Rodney Miller and Deng Gak announced Friday that they will be returning for another season, along with forward Sam Waardenburg, who had already decided to come back.
Like many teams around the nation, the Hurricanes lost players to the transfer portal this spring as the NCAA lifted its sit-out-for-a-season rule. More than 1,200 players chose to transfer, including Chris Lykes, who is going to Arkansas; Earl Timberlake (Memphis), Nysier Brooks (Ole Miss) and Elijah Olaniyi (Stony Brook, from where he came last year).
UM coaches are in talks with several transfers to restock their roster. The return of Miller and Gak was welcome news.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic … and me tearing my MCL, I felt overwhelmed,” Miller wrote in a statement the team released on Twitter. “Add in our difficulties as a team this year due to our many injuries and it led to me being at a low point for a bit. I was confused and unsure of what to do next.
“I don’t want to be someone who transfers. I came to the ACC to play basketball. I feel like it’s the best league. So, I’ve made the decision to come back. I want to be a winner and I want to be a winner at UM. I want to go out with a bang alongside my friends in a place I know and call home.”
Gak wrote: “This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve made in my life, but I’ve determined I want to come back to Miami. I know we’ve struggled the last few years, but the way we ended this season in the ACC tournament proved to me we can turn this thing around. I really want to be part of getting Miami basketball back to where it was.
“Although I am 22, I consider this past year like my freshman campaign since I played only 15 games over my first three seasons, mainly due to injury. I’m now playing with more confidence, so I’m looking to just expand on what I did this year.”