The Miami Basketball program picked up its first commitment of the 2021 class Monday. Four-star point guard Bensley Joseph committed to the Hurricanes via twitter.
After the Miami basketball program wrapped up its 2020 class with top 100 commits Earl Timberlake and Matt Cross, Jim Larranaga and his coaching staff secured yet another top 100 recruit in point guard Bensley Joseph for its 2021 class. The PG ranks as the 92nd best overall player nationally and the 14th best point guard.
The Arlington, Massachusetts native received 14 different offers, including one from ACC foe Boston College. Despite that, six of the seven 247 Crystal Ball predictions correctly anticipated Joseph’s move to the Hurricanes. BC, along with Georgetown, Marquette, and Providence were the other finalists.
Joseph played his high school ball at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts, but he’s transferring to Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut for his senior season. With a 6’1 build and a point guard acquisition for the Hurricanes, Joseph could become the next man up to senior point guard Chris Lykes.
The Hurricanes leading scorer from the past two seasons will have departed by the time Joseph arrives in Coral Gables. A lot of what went into Joseph’s decision was the development of Hurricane point guards under Larranaga. Point guard Shane Larkin was the backbone for the best Miami team in program history in 2012-13.
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To earn that role however, Joseph will have to compete with combo guards Isaiah Wong and Harlond Beverly for minutes. Wong showed some promising flashes near the end of the 2020 season. Both guards will have two full years under their belt by the time Joseph is on the roster.
The Hurricanes will also have Stony Brook transfer guard Elijah Olaniyi, the third and final member of Miami’s 2020 class, who will be available for the 2021-22 season. It’ll be some interesting decision-making to see how Coach L balances and rotates the four.
With the departure of Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty after the 2020-21 season, this commitment is a promising addition and that also brings more depth. Welcome to the U, Bensley Joseph.