UM basketball coach Larranaga to “reshuffle the deck” as transfer portal grows
The 2021-22 college basketball season doesn’t tip off until November, but summer training, which begins next week, is especially critical this year as coaches deal with massive roster changes. More than 1,600 players entered the transfer portal, an average of five per team.
“I look at college basketball now, from a coach’s standpoint, it’s like a game of poker where you reshuffle the deck after every season,” University of Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said in a Friday interview with beat reporters. “Players are kind of distributed throughout the country. Everybody’s roster is going to look very, very different.”
The Hurricanes have two transfers coming in – Charlie Moore from DePaul and Jordan Miller from George Mason. Moore will replace Chris Lykes, who graduated and transferred to Arkansas for his final year of eligibility. Miller will replace wing Earl Timberlake, who left for Memphis.
Miller, asked Friday for his first impressions of UM, said: “I’d give it an 11 out of 10.”
Other UM players who left are Elijah Olaniyi, who went back to Stony Brook, from where he came last year, Nysier Brooks (Ole Miss), and Matt Cross (Louisville). Guards Isaiah Wong and Kam McGusty are testing NBA possibilities, but will participate in UM’s eight-week skill development program while they await feedback from the league.
There are 12 scholarship players on the UM roster, and Larranaga said he hopes to add another big man by August to join Sam Waardenburg, Deng Gak and Rodney Miller. Incoming freshmen are Jakai Robinson and Nisine Poplar. Bensley Joseph committed but has not signed yet.