What To Make Of This Miami Basketball Team Through Three Games?

AllHurricanes' Liam Willerup Breaks Down Miami's Positives and Negatives To Start The Season

While it wasn't a pretty game against the FIU Panthers, Miami got it done and now moves to 3-0 ahead of the Baha Mar Hoops tournament this weekend.

Now with a few games under their belts against a variety of competition, we are starting to see just what this Miami Hurricanes team is capable of as they'll face two ranked opponents before ACC play begins.

With that being said, what has been see so far from Miami on the positive and negative side:

Positive: Wooga Poplar Is Everything And More Than Was Advertised

Jim Larrañaga and many others saw the jump of Wooga Poplar coming this season, but it's hard to imagine they saw this level of efficiency coming through three games.

2023-24 Stats (three games played): 20.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 57.1% FG, 70.0% 3PT

At first glance you'd think Poplar wasn't shooting that many threes with such a high percentage, but in fact he's leading the team in makes and attempts.

Wooga Poplar is currently tied for 2nd in the nation in made three pointers (14).

In terms of attempts, he’s tied for 43rd (20).

A LIGHTS OUT shooter through three games at 70%, he’s arguably the best shooter in the country at this moment.

— Liam Willerup (@theleftyliam) November 14, 2023

Poplar hasn't done a ton of on ball creation, but playing alongside such other great talents has allowed for him to get to his shots rather easily.

Obviously the efficiency is going to drop, but scouts are starting to see that Poplar has NBA range and ability from behind the arc. If Nijel Pack is able to get his jump shot dialed in, it will only make it easier for Poplar going forward.

Negative: Miami's Problem Rebounding Is More Prominent Than Previously Imagined

While this was a problem last year as seen against UConn in the Final Four, it appears to still be a issue through the first three games.

In their first three games, Miami has only out-rebounded one of the teams they've faced (NJIT). With Norchad Omier dealing with foul trouble against FIU, reserves Michael Nwoko and AJ Casey struggled on the glass contributing to 16 offensive boards for the Panthers.

Matthew Cleveland did do well as the team's second leading rebounder, but he is much better when he's flying down the court in transition. The Hurricanes will need Omier to watch his fouls and the reserves need to zone in on their rebounding. If Miami can't sort this out in ACC play, teams like UNC and Duke will dominate them.

Positive: Bensley Joseph Has Become A Legit 2-Way Threat

Before this season, many looked at Bensley Joseph as nothing more than a pesky defender who'd bring the energy off the bench. He was able to show more of his offensive game last season, but now he's reached a whole new level.

Benz put on a show tonight 🔥 @BensleyJoseph_ pic.twitter.com/t3MVotl3m3

— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) November 11, 2023

2023-24 Stats (three games played): 14.0 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG, 64.3% 3PT

Joseph had his breakout game against the UCF Knights, as he was just one block shy from the illustrious 5x5 game. He's also been the second best three point shooter on the team, filling for where Pack is typically. Maintaining these numbers will be difficult, but it's clear now that Joseph is coming into his own.

Negative: Miami's Bench Has Been A Non-Threat Offensively

If you take away the NJIT game, Miami is averaging just six points per game off the bench. While Kyshawn George is experiencing a rocky transition period right now in terms of efficiency, all of the other players off the bench aren't doing well either.

Casey and Christian Watson will be looked at to turn it around first, as the sophomores have now had over a year of experience in Larrañaga's system. It goes to show that if one of Miami's starters is to miss time, it could be detrimental to the team's success.

It doesn't need to be much, but Miami's core of Joseph, Anthony Walker and Harlond Beverly did the job last season. With some "feeler" games still on the schedule for the Hurricanes, don't be surprised if Larrañaga opts to play his bench more then to figure out the problems ahead of ACC play.

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2023-24 Miami Hurricanes Basketball Schedule

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