Miami Basketball Number One in CBS ACC Power Rankings
CBS Sports named Miami basketball as the number one team in its early power rankings for the ACC. The list came out last week before the MCL injury to Miami star freshman Lonnie Walker.
The 2017-18 Miami basketball team is loaded. They bring in the best recruiting class in school history. This comes a year after the previously determined best recruiting class in Miami history. Sophomore Bruce Brown and Walker could become the first two Miami players ever to be selected in the lottery next June.
Sophomore Bruce Brown and Walker could become the first two Miami basketball players ever to be selected in the lottery next June. Walker’s knee injury could stall that from happening.
CBS’s projections are that the ACC was the deepest conference in College Basketball in 2016-17. Matt Norlander wrote that the top of the league will be a “tick below” what is was last season. They also said the middle will be a bit “softer” and the bottom about the same.
Miami basketball only lost second round draft pick Davon Reed and forward Kamari Murphy. They return the remainder of the roster. Sophomore forward Dewan Huell is a player to watch for a big jump from his freshman to sophomore season.
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The loss of Murphy up front hurts Miami on the boards and defensively. Jim Larranaga needs Huell to grow for the Hurricanes to reach where they think they can be in 2017-18. Huell averaged only 5.8 points per game and 3.1 rebounds in 2016-17.
The Matt Norlander article listed Brown and Huell as two of 11 players in the conference listed under the biggest names returning. The Hurricanes are the only ACC contender that did not lose any players listed as “impact players who left”.
That can depend on how an impact player is defined. In terms of where a player is drafted that’s probably a fair observation. Reed and Murphy’s impact on Miami’s 2017 success cannot be understated.
Reed was the Hurricanes team leader and most versatile player. He was Miami’s leading scorer and best perimeter defender. Murphy was by far the Hurricanes best post player.
"Norlander’s take on Miami is:Hurricanes“Jim Larranaga has done it once before. The Hurricanes won the ACC’s regular season title in 2013, beating second-place Duke and third-place North Carolina. That will be repeated next season. Miami has the league’s best combination of talent and experience. Brown could be among the nation’s top 10 players. Freshman Lonnie Walker figures to make an immediate impact.”"
Despite the Hurricanes status as Norlander’s top team, he did not give the Miami one of the “Three biggest ACC headlines of the 2017 Offseason”. Norlander gave that to how probation will impact Louisville 2013 NCAA Championship, Grayson Allen’s return to Duke and to Pitt’s Cam Johnson transferring to North Carolina.
In spite of that, there is a lot to watch in the next four months before Miami plays its season opener in November. We can project three big stories to watch at Miami too.
Next: Mark Walton Named CFB’s 10th Most Dangerous Runner and Receiver
How will Bruce Brown take the mantle from Reed as Miami’s most versatile player and team leader? What is the time table on Walker’s return from his MCL surgery and where is Huell’s development at?