Miami basketball Forward Dewan Huell announces return for Junior Year

Huell was a McDonald’s All-American and the 22nd ranked recruit in the nation in 2016 according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Brown was 23rd in the class. McGusty who is transferring from Oklahoma to Miami was 47th per 247.

Huell’s return is important upfront on a frontline that does not have a lot of experience. Lawrence is more of a wing than a post player. Miami also returns rising Senior Ebuka Izundu, rising Junior Rodney Miller, rising Sophomore Sam Waardenburg and Redshirt Freshman Deng Gak.

Izundu is by far the most experienced of the backups. Waardenburg received valuable minutes in the second half of last season. Miller was used sparingly.

Huell improved significantly from his Freshman to Sophomore season. He came off the bench during most of his Freshman season. Huell backed up then Senior Kamari Murphy and forward Davon Reed. Murphy spent last season in the G-League with the Long Island Nets.

Huell averaged 5.8 points per game and 3.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game as a Freshman. He improved that to 11.4 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game in 25.4 minutes this past season.

Huell’s scoring went down, but his rebounds and minutes went up in ACC play. He averaged 10.1 PPG and 6.9 RPG in 26.8 MPG in conference play. His shooting percentage also went down from 57.6 percent to 52.9 percent against ACC opponents.