The last time Matthew Cleveland played on the Watsco Center court, he sent Miami fans home in disbelief.
Then with the Florida State men’s basketball team, the 6-foot-7 guard unleashed a game-winning basket to cap a massive FSU comeback over the rival Hurricanes. But Cleveland traded in his garnet and gold for orange and green in the offseason, transferring from Florida State to Miami.
“I think he put that to bed,” Miami forward Norchad Omier said. “He’s a ‘Cane now. It’s nothing but love.”
Cleveland and three freshmen join coach Jim Larrañaga and the returning core of Omier, Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar as the Hurricanes, who open the season as the No. 13 team in the nation, look to surpass last year’s Final Four squad and bring the first national title to Coral Gables.
“The rankings don’t determine if you’re good or not,” Larrañaga said. “Everything is performance on the court and the performance not only by us, but by our opponent.”
Miami lost two key players from its Final Four team: guards Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller. Both are playing in the NBA now.
But guard Pack and Omier opted to return to the Hurricanes after considering their pro potential. Starting guard Poplar also returns, and much of the focus is on him after he ended the season strongly. He scored double-digit points in four of Miami’s seven postseason games while playing stellar defense.
“He’s fantastic,” Larrañaga said. “He’s got this year and one more, but I don’t know if we’re going to be able to hold onto him. He’s definitely an NBA prospect. We have a ton of NBA people at our practices.”
“Wooga is a great competitor,” Larrañaga added. “He’s worked really hard to become a heckuva defensive player. I love it when he rebounds because that adds another dimension. … But Wooga Poplar is a phenomenal 3-point shooter, and he may be the best pull-up jump shooter in the country.”
Cleveland was the biggest addition in the offseason, joining the team after two seasons with the Seminoles. Larrañaga said the staff is working on getting Cleveland to be more efficient, but he brings many quality aspects to the team.
“He’s got a lot of different skills, and we’ve encouraged him to use all of them, including passing,” Larrañaga said. “So you might see him handle the ball on the fast break some, you might see him shoot some threes. He’s very, very fast. You’re going to see him in the open court, get some layups. And he’s a very good defensive rebounder.”
The Hurricanes also signed three freshmen: center Michael Nwoko and guards Kyshawn George and Paul Djobet. George got the start in Miami’s preseason win over The College of New Jersey, while Nwoko played 16 minutes and Djobet played eight.
“They’re going to be huge for us,” Pack said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys that are going to play. Mike is super big on the boards. Obviously, he’s going to play a lot. We’ve got Kyshawn, who’s 6-10 but is a point guard. Obviously, he’s going to see a lot of time, as well. Every freshman has been really key for us this year. No matter what their role is going to be in the season, they’ve made huge contributions to us over the summertime.”
The Hurricanes open the season Monday at home against New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Howevre, Miami will celebrate last season and hang its Final Four banner before its home game against UCF on Nov. 10. But the team’s focus is not on its prior tournament run. It is on duplicating and surpassing it this year.
“It’s going to be definitely great to see (the banner raised),” Pack said. “All the hard work, to see the banner, something that’s going to be remembered in Miami history for the rest of time. Obviously, getting those rings, as well, is going to be fun. But we have to put that behind us now. It’s going to be great to see it. Enjoy the moment while it happens.
“But I feel like now, that Final Four banner looks really good up there, but I think it’s time for us to finally put a national championship banner up there. I feel like we have the talent and the ability to do it.”
