Miami basketball represented by veterans at ACC tipoff
Veteran guards Kameron McGusty and Isaiah Wong will join Head Coach Jim Larrañaga at the ACC basketball tipoff in Charlotte on October 12. McGusty and Wong are both entering their third seasons playing with the Hurricanes. McGusty transferred to Miami from Oklahoma and sat out the 2018-19 season.
McGusty has had his best seasons in Coral Gables averaging 13.9 points per game, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. An efficient scorer, McGusty has shot 42.7 percent from the floor, 34.3 percent on threes and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line. Wong has been the best player for Miami for the last two seasons.
Wong averaged 17.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.4 APG last season. Dating to the end of the 2019-20 season, Wong has scored in double figures 43 times in 50 games. Wong was named third-team All-ACC in 2020-21. Matthew Hurt of Duke earned 17 votes as the ACC’s Most Improved Player. Wong was second with 13 votes.
Expect Wong to receive multiple votes for preseason All-ACC in 2020-21. McGusty and Wong will form the corps of the Miami basketball team in 2021-22 to a roster with five new players. Miami also brings back center Rodney Miller and forward Sam Waardenburg who both missed the 2020-21 seasons with injuries.
ACC Tipoff will take place at the Charlotte Marriott City Center in Charlotte. The women will have their tipoff on October 13 at the same location for the first time. The ACC Network will be live in Charlotte with coverage on both days. Guards senior Mykea Gray and graduate student Kelsey Marshall will represent the Miami women.
The Miami men’s basketball team is coming off its third losing season. Miami finished 10-17 in 2020-21. Last year was the worst season for Miami since going 7-20 in 1993-94. The Miami women finished 15-11 in 2020-21. Gray missed the entire 2020-21 season with a torn ACL.
The Miami men’s basketball team added transfers, Charlie Moore, from DePaul and forward Jordan Miller from George Mason. Moore will help solidify point guard for Miami after Chris Lykes transferred to Arkansas. Moore averaged 15.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 5.5 APG in two seasons with the Blue Demons.
Miller averaged 13.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 1.4 APG. Four-star signees, point guard Bensley Joseph and small forward Jakai Robinson and three-star shooting guard Nisine “Wooga” Poplar signed with the Miami basketball program in 2021. The entire 2020 Miami recruiting class transferred in the last year.
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Larranaga has dubbed Poplar “Billy the Kid” after he scored 20 points in a 20-minute scrimmage. Guard Harlond Beverly and forwards Deng Gak and Anthony Walker also return for Miami in 2021-22. Beverly, Walker and Wong formed an excellent 2020 signing class for Miami. The Hurricanes will be experienced and deep this season.