Head coach Jim Larranaga stated earlier this month that the Miami basketball program wants to add an experienced player in the backcourt. Kansas State rising junior transfer point guard Nijel Pack is a player Miami is pursuing through the portal. Transfers for Miami could depend on what guard Isaiah Wong decides.
Wong is contemplating whether to return to the Miami basketball program for a fourth season or to turn professional. Rising sophomores Bensley Joseph and Wooga Poplar and rising redshirt freshman Jakai Robinson are the current guards on the Miami basketball roster scheduled to return for the 2022-23 season.
Wing Jordan Miller who basically was the Miami power forward in 2021-22 is projected to have a bigger role for the Hurricanes next season. Miller averaged 10.0 points per game, 5.9 rebounds and shot 56.1 percent from the floor last season. Pack is looking for a program he can be the lead and point guard.
Pack visited Miami earlier this month according to Riley Gates of 247Sports.Com. As a sophomore at Kansas State last season, Pack averaged 17.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 assists, shot 45.5 percent from the floor, made 43.6 percent of his three-point shots and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line. Pack would be a huge addition for Miami.
Sources: Duke and Tennessee are now both showing interest in Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack. https://t.co/ZjAo4qv1Ud
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 5, 2022
"MIAMI“Kameron McGusty and Charlie Moore have both exhausted their eligibility, so Miami needs a difference-making guard. Moore and McGusty are both good 3-point shooters, but Pack is an excellent sniper. Miami loves to play four guards and ideally, Jim Larranaga would prefer a 5-man who can step outside and shoot 3s.It’s a dream scheme for point guards, and Pack could get buckets and run the Hurricanes. If Isaiah Wong returned, that’d be another ball-dominant guard, but you need multiple ball-handlers to win at a high level. Plus, Wong is more of a slasher, so Pack would complement him really well.Wong and Pack could be a deadly combination in the ACC.”"
Issac Trotter of 247 Sports broke down the potential for Pack to transfer to Miami. Miami is one of multiple programs that are recruiting Pack as a transfer. Larranaga can sell Pack on the scramble system that Miami played last season. Miami was a matchup problem last season with the four-out offense they played.
Ideally, Miami adds a guard who is an adept three-point shooter and a stretch five. The versatility of Miller can help Larranaga adapt to the transfers Miami is able to add. Miami signed four players in the Class of 2022. All of the 2022 Miami signees are at least 6’6. The Miami rotation will look vastly different in the 2022-23 season.