Miami basketball has used transfers to their advantage before portal
Jim Larranaga has used transfers to improve the talent on the Miami basketball roster since he arrived in Coral Gables in 2011. Both of Larranaga’s Sweet 16 teams at Miami were led by transfers.
A lot has been made of the eight transfers that Manny Diaz and the Miami football program have added in the 2019 offseason. Jim Larranaga and the Miami basketball program have used transfers throughout Larranaga’s tenure in Coral Gables. Both of Larranaga’s Sweet 16 teams at Miami have prominently featured transfers.
Three of Miami’s top four scorers on the Hurricanes 2012-13 team that won the ACC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament transferred to Coral Gables. Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji and Trey McKinney-Jones all joined the Miami basketball program from other schools.
Larkin received a medical waiver to transfer to Miami from DePaul before ever beginning the fall semester as a Freshmen with the Blue Demons, Kadji came from Florida and McKinney-Jones from Missouri-Kansas City. Larkin was named first-team All-ACC and Kadji second. Miami won the ACC regular season with a 15-3 record.
The Hurricanes then blitzed through the ACC Tournament. Miami won each of their conference tournament games over Boston College, North Carolina State and North Carolina by double digits. That season was Miami’s first ACC regular season and conference tournament titles.
No one could have predicted Miami would win a regular season and postseason ACC Titles in basketball before football. Larkin was the ACC Tournament MVP and McKinney-Jones was named to the second team.
Miami advanced in the NCAA Tournament with victories over Pacific and Illinois before losing to losing in the Sweet 16 to Marquette. Larkin left for the NBA after the season as a Sophomore and Miami lost most of the key players off the 2013 team. The next season Miami struggled to a 17-16 record.
Three years later the Miami basketball team was once again fueled by transfers. The Miami backcourt of Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan (now Mac) sat out the 2013-14 season together after transferring in from Big XII schools. They grew together in the 2014-15 season before another magical year in 2015-16.
Miami finished 13-5 in the ACC tied with Virginia one game behind North Carolina for the title. Rodriguez averaged 12.6 points per game, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals three years after transferring from Kansas State. McClellan arrived in Miami from Texas. He averaged 16.3 PPG, 1.0 SPG and shot 40.6 percent on three-point attempts.
Kamari Murphy was a key reserve on the 2015-16 team and a third Big XIII transfer for the Hurricanes. Murphy began his collegiate career at Oklahoma State.
Larranaga and his staff have continued to add transfers to improve their roster. After not signing anyone in the Class of 2018 because of the Adidas scandal the Hurricanes added three transfers. Graduate transfer Zach Johnson came from Florida Gulf Coast and became one of Miami’s seven iron men.
Anthony Mack gave Miami key minutes off the bench after arriving from Wyoming. Mack sat out as a Freshman in Laramie in 2017-18 because of concussions. That allowed him to be eligible at Miami immediately. The Hurricanes also added another Big XII transfer with Kameron McGusty from Oklahoma.
McGusty sat out for the 2018-19 season as is customary after transferring. He should be a key player for the Hurricanes in the backcourt and on the wing in 2019-20. McGusty was the 38th ranked player in the Class of 2015. That was about ten spots lower than former Miami players Bruce Brown and Dewan Hernandez.
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With four to five scholarships available for 2019-20 after signing two players to letters of intent in November, the Hurricanes are not likely to be finished adding transfers for next season. With the talent returning and coming in for 2019-20 Miami should be able to return to the NCAA Tournament.