Miami basketball one of five programs with multiple elite transfers

The Miami basketball program made headlines by signing point guard Nijel Pack and post Norchad Omier as transfers during the 2022 offseason. Pack signed an $800,000, two-year Name, Image and Likeness deal that was national news. As an international student, Omier cannot sign an NIL deal.

Omier provides the Miami basketball program with the low post scorer they did not have last season. As the 2021-22 Sun Belt Player of the Year at Arkansas State, Omier averaged 17.2 points per game and 12.2 rebounds. Wing Jordan Miller led Miami averaging 5.9 rebounds per game in 2021-22.

Miller returns to the Miami basketeball program next season. Omier and Pack could potentially make Miami a better team in 2022-23 than last season when Miami reached the NCAA Tournament regional final for the first time in program history. Miami will be more balanced offensively with the additions of Omier and Pack.

Miami was named one of “College basketball transfer portal: Teams that landed multiple elite players” in an article written by Kevin Flaherty of 247 Sports on Monday. Illinois, LSU, Texas Tech and West Virginia were the other four programs named by Flaherty with multiple elite transfers on their 2022-23 rosters.

"MIAMIForget the headlines about NIL money and all of that. Because at the end of the day, it’s about what a team is putting on the court. And Miami could hardly have done better with its top targets.The headliner is Kansas State guard Nijel Pack, a first-team All-Big 12 pick who averaged 17.4 points per game and shot 43.6% from 3 despite every team knowing he was one of the Wildcats’ lone real offensive options.But while Pack is the No. 13 transfer in BPR (Bayesian Performance Rating), it’s Miami’s other transfer who is more highly projected, with Arkansas State’s Norchad Omier ranking just outside the top five in BPR, at No. 6. Omier is a high-level athlete who just moves differently at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds.He averaged at least 12 rebounds in each of the last two season(s), put up 17.9 points per game last year and produced almost five stocks (steals+blocks) per 40 minutes.With Pack and returning guard Isaiah Wong locking down the backcourt and Omier impacting games in transition, on defense and on the glass, perhaps Miami doesn’t fall off much from this year’s team that reached the Elite Eight."

Miami should have its best inside-outside balance since the 2017-18 team that had guards Bruce Brown and Lonnie Walker and center Dewan Hernandez. Brown and Walker missed signficant portions of that season and Miami never truly was able to realize its full potential. Miami can compete for an ACC Championship next season.

The return of Wong will be critical for the Miami basketball team next season. Wong entered his name into the 2022 NBA Draft with the possiblity to return. Players have before midnight on Thursday to withdraw from the 2022 NBA Draft. Pack and Wong would provide Miami with one of the best backcourts in the country for 2022-23.