Miami hosts exhibition game versus Division II St. Leo
Jim Larranaga will have a chance to see his remade 2024-25 roster on Wednesday night for the first time this season as Miami hosts NCAA Division II St. Leo in an exhibition game. Miami has 10 new players to its 2024-25 roster with four freshmen and six transfers. Matthew Cleveland, Paul Djobet and Nijel Pack are the sole returnees.
Cleveland leads the Miami returnees with 13.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds. Pack averaged 13.3 PPG and shot 35.7 percent on three-point attempts. Pack missed seven games last season with various injuries. Djobet averaged 2.4 PPG playing 162 minutes over seven games.
Saint Leo returns Logan Ryan, who led the team in minutes per game in 2023-24 while averaging 10.2 PPG and shooting 44.3 percent on threes. Saint Leo likes to shoot the three. The Lions shot 39.9 percent on 622 attempts over 28 games. Expect Miami to focus on defending the three versus St. Leo.
Cleveland is questionable for the season opener versus Farleigh-Dickinson on Monday per CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein. With backup center Kiree Huie out indefinitely expect Larranaga to use a three-guard lineup for the exhibition game. Pack will be the only returning starter versus Saint Leo.
Miami's Matthew Cleveland (undisclosed) is questionable for next Monday's opener against FDU, per Jim Larranaga.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 29, 2024
Averaged 13.7 PPG and 6.1 RPG last season.
Idaho State transfer Kiree Huie (hand) --- who was projected to be MIami's backup center --- is OUT indefinitely.
Pack will likely start with Virginia Tech transfer center Lynn Kidd, Stetson transfer guard Jalen Blackmon and Samford transfer guard A.J. Stanton-McCray, forward Brandon Johnson who transferred to Miami from East Carolina. Five-star freshman Jalil Bethea and Djobet could also potentially be the fifth starter.
Yale transfer forward Yussif Basa-Ama should receive significant playing time versus Saint Leo with Cleveland and Huie out. Johnson might also receive time for Miami at center and Djobet has reportedly received time as a stretch four in practice. Larranaga could choose a four-guard lineup at times with one post player.
Miami and Saint Leo will tip-off at 7:00 PM on ACC Network Extra. The first three regular season games will also be broadcast by ACCNX. Miami will play versus Drake in the Charleston Classic with a noon tip off on either ESPN2 or U on November 21. Miami will play two subsequent games on ACCNX.
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