Takeaways From Miami Hurricanes Hoops Media Day, Open Practice

Miami men's basketball team held its media day on Thursday and opened a portion of practice to reporters. Here's what All Hurricanes saw.

Photo: Isaiah Wong; Credit: Luke Chaney

After its first Elite Eight run in program history, Miami's men's basketball team is looking to advance even further in what will be head coach Jim Larrañaga's 12th season at UM.

The Hurricanes held their media day on Thursday and opened up the first hour of practice to the media. Here are three takeaways from the day.

1. Wooga Poplar is in line for a starting spot

Four of Miami's five starting spots figured to be locked up already. Guards Isaiah Wong and Nijel Pack are expected to start in the backcourt together. Returning starter Jordan Miller, officially listed as a guard, and Arkansas State transfer Norchad Omier will most likely hold down UM's frontcourt.

There is one vacancy in the lineup, small forward, and through watching Miami's initial rotations in practice, it appears sophomore Wooga Poplar could be in line to fill the open spot on the wing.

Poplar is an explosive athlete who showed promising flashes in his freshman season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game with a high of 12 points in 17 minutes against Florida Atlantic. He told All Hurricanes that he's worked on improving his defense over the course of this past offseason.

2. Transfers to make an immediate impact

The Hurricanes made a pair of splashes this season, as Pack and Omier, who were all-conference players at their previous schools committed to playing at Miami for the 2022 campaign.

Pack is expected to start at point guard this season after playing mostly shooting guard last year at Kansas State. The 6-foot scorer lit the Big 12 Conference on fire with the Wildcats last season, averaging 17.4 points per game and shooting an efficient 45.5 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from deep.

Omier, who is listed at 6-foot-7, plays way taller than his size might indicate. He averaged 12.4 rebounds per game last year with the Red Wolves, which ranked fourth in the country. The forward also scored 17.9 points per contest, establishing himself as one of the premier inside scorers in all of college basketball.

Nijel Pack really doesn’t miss.

Shot 44% from three last season at Kansas State. @AllHurricanes pic.twitter.com/gI9LewLZWg

— Luke Chaney (@lukechaney247) October 20, 2022

3. Christian Watson has the potential to be Miami's "best defender"

Larrañaga has loved what he has seen so far from freshman guard Christian Watson, whose mix of shot-making along with defense and athleticism made him a worthy prospect that was also offered by the likes of Florida, LSU and Illinois.

While his scoring is inconsistent, according to Larrañaga, Watson has tremendous upside on the defensive end.

"He may become our best defender," Larrañaga said to reporters. "He's gotta work at that, but at [6-foot-7], he's quick enough to guard point guards and big enough and strong enough to guard inside guys."

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