Miami Basketball: Chris Lykes and DJ Vasiljevic obvious choice for ACC Operation Basketball

The Miami basketball program’s decision to send guards, senior Dejan Vasiljevic and junior Chris Lykes to ACC Operation Basketball in Charlotte on October 8 was the obvious choice.

The Miami basketball program is coming off of a 14-18 season. It was their first losing record in seven seasons under head coach Jim Larranaga. Guards, Senior Dejan Vasiljevic and junior Chris Lykes are the only double-digit scorers returning from last season. They will be the representatives for Miami at ACC Operation Basketball.

The 2019 ACC Operation Basketball event is Oct. 8 at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in Charlotte. Lykes, Vasiljevic and Jim Larranaga will represent Miami this season. It will be the first appearance at ACC Operation Basketball for both Lykes and Vasiljevic. CBS Sports picks Miami ninth in the 15 team ACC.

Lykes and Vasiljevic are the only primary starters back. Redshirt junior forward Sam Waardenburg started 11 games last season and averaged 5.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG. Waardenburg is likely to start with Vasiljevic, Lykes and redshirt juniors, guard Kameron McGusty, and center Rodney Miller.

Lykes led the Miami basketball team last season with 16.7 points and 3.2 assists per game. Vasiljevic is the second leading returning scorer at 11.8 PPG and led the Hurricanes in 2018-19 in three-point field goals made and attempted and in three-point percentage for Miami for players with 10 or more attempts.

CBS Sports projects Miami to finish ninth in the ACC during the 2019-20 season. Miami can exceed those expectations if the newcomers mesh. The lack of a true 2018-19 recruiting class is still hindering the Miami basketball roster. CBS considers the Hurricanes a year away because of that.

"“Hurricanes are a year away from busting back into the top half of the league. Weirdly, no program was hurt more from a recruiting-and-player-eligibility perspective by being associated with the FBI than Miami, which was subsequently cleared by the feds. It set the program back two years.For 2019-20, Jim Larrañaga’s still going to be shorthanded on his roster due to continued recovery of sophomore power forward Deng Gak. Chris Lykes is the star here, though. He’s like a 5-7 water bug who should jump his scoring average of 16.2 from a season ago.If you’re making a top-10 list of must-watch college hoops players, Lykes is on it.”"

The two most prevailing questions for  Larranaga, Lykes and Vasiljevic at ACC Operation Basketball will likely center in missing the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2015 and about all the new faces in Coral Gables for this season. Miami brings in the nation’s 30th ranked recruiting class and two transfers.

Freshman Guards Harlond Beverly and Isaiah Wong are expected to contribute. Forward Anthony Walker is more of a project in his freshman season. Florida transfer Keith Stone has one year of eligibility left. Stone will not make his debut to midseason after tearing his ACL with the Gators last season.

Miami also added center Nysier Brooks who transferred from Cincinnati. Brooks will sit out this season and have the 2020-21 season of eligibility remaining. Miami is still rebounding from not having a recruiting class in 2018-19.