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Miami Hurricanes Basketball Getting Post Draft Deadline Top 25 Rankings

By Alan Rubenstein

Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Miami Hurricanes center Ebuka Izundu (15) walks off the court after the game against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Michigan State defeated Miami 78-58. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Miami Hurricanes center Ebuka Izundu (15) walks off the court after the game against the Michigan State Spartans in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Michigan State defeated Miami 78-58. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /
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The post NBA Draft deadline top 25s are continuing to be released. Several sites have the Miami Hurricanes ranked in their early pre-season top 25s.

Athlon Sports and the Big Lead both have the Miami Hurricanes ranked in their top 25 for the upcoming season. NBC Sports went even further, having the Hurricanes ranked number six for next season.

Media outlets are high on the return of Bruce Brown and the highly ranked recruiting class coming in. Athlon has the Hurricanes ranked number 15. The Big Lead has them ranked number 12.

The pairing of Brown and incoming Freshman Lonnie Walker will be the primary focus nationally when there is a discussion about Miami basketball. Those rankings are going to be hard to live up to if they don’t get maturation from players on their front line.

The biggest key player up front will be Power Forward/Center Dewan Huell. As the 2016-17 season commenced, Huell contemplated the possibility of leaving for the NBA after one season. His freshman season was inconsistent at best. Huell averaged just 5.8 points per game and 3.1 rebounds.

NBCSports ranking of the Hurricanes sixth seems to be high. If Huell or some combination of Ebuka Izundu, Rodney Miller, Deng Gak or Sam Waardenburg doesn’t step up, Miami would be more likely to toil in the back end of the top 25.

NBC is high on Huell and the combination of Walker and Brown.

"“Projected starting lineup: Ja’Quan Newton, Bruce Brown, Lonnie Walker, Anthony Lawrence, Dewan HuellLosing Reed and Murphy will hurt, but Bruce Brown was one of the best-kept secrets last year, Lonnie Walker is a big-time scorer and Dewan Huell is a former top 30 prospect in line for a big bump in minutes this year. Jim Larrañaga is exactly the coach to take advantage of this guard-heavy lineup, too.”"

Athlon is intrigued at the potential of the Hurricanes challenging for the ACC Championship this season:

"15. Miami HurricanesKey Returners: Bruce Brown, Ja’Quan Newton, Dewan Huell, Dejan VasiljevicDepartures: Davon Reed, (Somehow Athlon left out Kamari Murphy)New Arrivals: Lonnie Walker, Chris Lykes, Deng Gak, Sam WaardenburgBuzz: A top 10-ranked recruiting class joins an established corps of veterans at Miami, making for an intriguing dark-horse contender in next season’s loaded ACC race. Jim Larranaga scored his first major win of the offseason early, when Bruce Brown declared he would return."

Most of the national publication are underestimating the importance of Reed and Murphy to this past season’s team. Although Reed did more, Murphy could be the player the Hurricanes miss more. Both Brown and Walker should be able to fill all the things that Reed brought to the court for Jim Larranaga every night.

"12. Miami Hurricanes (21-12, 1st round of the NCAA Tournament): If you’re looking for a player to blow up next year in the ACC, keep an eye on Bruce Brown, who will be a big-time star for the Hurricanes. Jim Larranaga will have his best team in Coral Gables since Shane Larkin ran the show."

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While the out of town media seem to focus on Walker and Brown elevating them high in the rankings, it’s going to take production from several role players to make this team a contender in the ACC. Somewhere between Athlon’s ranking of 15 and 20 seems like an accurate spot for the Hurricanes in the preseason.

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