Miami Basketball: Hurricanes ranked No. 18 in ESPN Way-Too-Early Top 25
The Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team is getting some national love after its impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN ranked Miami at No. 18 in its way-too-early top 25 for the upcoming 2023-24 season.
Head coach Jim Larranaga and the Hurricanes shocked most of the men’s basketball world this last season after being picked to finish fourth in the ACC preseason polls. The Hurricanes shot all the way up to the No. 1 spot when the regular season ended and captured a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament where many thought No. 12 Drake Bulldogs would get the first-round upset.
The ESPN projected starting lineup for the Hurricanes has changed:
Nijel Pack (13.8 PPG)
Wooga Poplar (8.7 PPG)
Bensley Joseph (5.2 PPG)
Matthew Cleveland (13.8 PPG at Florida State)
Norchad Omier (13.3 PPG)
Notable ACC teams in the August edition of the way-too-early top 25 are No. 2 Duke and No. 15 North Carolina. Along with teams that we already know the Hurricanes will face next season. No. 17 Kentucky, No. 15 North Carolina, and No. 2 Duke Blew Devils.
Nijel Pack and Norchad Omier both tested the NBA draft waters but opted to return to Coral Gables, Florida. Those two will form one of the best inside-outside duos in the ACC next season. Jim Larranaga also replaced Jordan Miller with an ACC-proven forward in Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland, who should add more rebounding and paint production. The Hurricanes are still in the hunt for another guard to help fill Isaiah Wong’s shoes.
We are just a few weeks from school starting and just over two months until practice officially gets underway, this could be the most accurate glimpse we get of where the Miami basketball team will begin the 2023-2024 season in the national rankings.
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Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
