Miami Hurricanes and Bensley Joseph will aim to ‘crush’ FIU
It’s easy to forget about Bensley Joseph … unless you’re the player he’s guarding, and we saw that go to play against UCF.
Bensley Joseph, a defensive-minded guard and perhaps the least-hyped member of Miami’s starting five, is set to lead the 13th-ranked Hurricanes (2-0) against visiting Florida International (0-2) on Monday night, tonight.
In Miami’s 88-72 win over visiting UCF on Friday, Joseph had an incredible stat line: a career-high 15 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocks.
“We want to create a lot of havoc on the defensive end,” Joseph said.
Joseph, who was Miami’s sixth man last season, certainly is doing just that.
He has moved into the starting lineup in place of Isaiah Wong, who is now in the Indiana Pacers’ organization as a second-round pick. Wong, who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year last season, is the better offensive player.
But Joseph, who is averaging 3.5 steals in two games this season, is the better defender. Joseph provides excellent pressure on ball-handlers, and he is hard to post up because of how strong he is at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds.
The other new starter is 6-7 wing Matthew Cleveland, a Florida State transfer and an ex-ACC Sixth Man of the Year. Cleveland, who is replacing NBA draft pick Jordan Miller, is averaging 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
Miami’s other starters are Wooga Poplar, who is averaging a team-high 22.0 points and shooting 71.4 percent on 3-pointers, Norchad Omier (19.5 points per game and a team-high 11.0 rebounds) and Nijel Pack (9.5 points, 6.0 assists).
Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga praised Poplar following Friday’s win.
“He’s an incredible 3-pointer shooter,” Larranaga said of Poplar, who is 10-of-14 from distance. “But he’s also great going to the basket and as a pull-up (mid-range) shooter.”
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
