In the offseason, several players left the UM basketball team. At the time, many posters here thought it was an indication that the locker room was in dysfunction and they questioned how we would even field a team. Many thought that Coach L had lost his touch, and that he needed to be fired/retire.
Well, despite being picked to finish 12th in the ACC (out of 15 teams), Miami is 19-7 overall, second in the ACC at 11-4 overall and just one game behind ND and Duke, is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll, and is currently seeded as a 9 seed in the NCAA Tourney by ESPN and CBS.
Let's check to see how those heralded transfers have fared (wall of text warning)...
Matt Cross was a consensus 4 star recruit that played just 14 games at Miami before being asked to leave by Coach L. He transferred to Louisville, who is 11-14 and had their coach resign earlier in the season. Cross is averaging 19.6 MPG, 7 fewer than what he played at Miami, is shooting just 29.6% from 3, less than 70% from the FT line, and is averaging just 6.3 PPG. By nearly every statistical measure, he is having a worse season. In Wednesday's game against Miami, he played 7 minutes and the only stat he recorded was a turnover.
Earl Timberlake was also a consensus 4 star recruit, and one of Miami's highest ever rated basketball recruits. Coming out of high school, many thought he would be a one and done type player. But, due to injury, Timberlake played just 7 games last season. Facing the prospect of splitting time with Wong and McGusty, he transferred to Memphis, which, prior to a 6 game winning streak, was just 9-8 but now sits at 15-8 and is one of the last teams in according to CBS and ESPN. Earl hasn't been a major reason why, however. He is averaging just 5.4 PPG in 20.0 MPG, down from 9.3 in 27.4 at Miami. He hasn't made a single 3 and is shooting 57.1% from the FT line. In Saturday's big win at Houston, Timberlake played 6 minutes, scored 0 points, and had two turnovers. He has 4 games in double figures for the year, with a high of 14, and last did so on January 4th against 8-16 Tulsa.
Elijah Olaniyi came to Miami after 3 years at Stony Brook. He was a decent player for us, but not quite the scorer we had hoped. He transferred back to Stony Brook after realizing he preferred the smaller stage. Olaniyi only played a handful of games before suffering a knee injury. When he came back, it was announced Stony Brook would not be eligible for the conference's post season tournament since they are leaving the conference. Fed up with the "politics" of college basketball (his words), Olaniyi decided to leave the program and prepare for professional basketball. He played in just 7 games this season and recorded his worst statistics since his freshman year.
Chris Lykes played 4 seasons at Miami, though just 2 games last year due to injury. A fan favorite because of his diminutive size, he drove you crazy with his careless play and turnovers only to win you back with his hustle and fearless play. Lykes made a good decision to transfer to Arkansas, who is 20-6 and currently ranked #23. But the 23 year old Lykes is the team's sixth man, with just 2 starts in his 26 appearances and averaging just 19.4 MPG. Furthermore, he is shooting just 35.0% from the field and 28.6% from 3, whereas he shot 43.2% and 38.1% in his last full season (2019-2020). By nearly every metric he is having his worst collegiate season.
Nysier Brooks came to Miami after 3 seasons at Cincinnati. A true, back to the basket big man, the 7' Brooks wasn't the best fit for Miami's spread offense that utilizes athletic bigs that can shoot from 3. Brooks left for Ole Miss, who is just 12-14, but he is having his best statistical season with career highs in MPG (29.5), FG % (58.3), rebounds (7.8), steals (0.8), and points (9.8). Worth noting, though, that Brooks is 25 years old.
All told, Miami isn't missing much from this group. We could definitely use Brooks' interior presence, since that's where the team is weakest, but our style simply didn't fit his game. Other than that, Olaniyi is out of basketball, Matt Cross was in Coach L's doghouse and has been a non-factor at Louisville, and we've definitively upgraded at the PG position with Charlie Moore. Having Timberlake come off the bench would be a nice plus but he didn't want to do that, so he's doing that instead at Memphis. We effectively traded him for Jordan Miller, who has been a solid addition to the team and, due to COVID rules, has another year of eligibility.
More evidence as to why you should trust in Coach L.
Well, despite being picked to finish 12th in the ACC (out of 15 teams), Miami is 19-7 overall, second in the ACC at 11-4 overall and just one game behind ND and Duke, is receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Poll, and is currently seeded as a 9 seed in the NCAA Tourney by ESPN and CBS.
Let's check to see how those heralded transfers have fared (wall of text warning)...
Matt Cross was a consensus 4 star recruit that played just 14 games at Miami before being asked to leave by Coach L. He transferred to Louisville, who is 11-14 and had their coach resign earlier in the season. Cross is averaging 19.6 MPG, 7 fewer than what he played at Miami, is shooting just 29.6% from 3, less than 70% from the FT line, and is averaging just 6.3 PPG. By nearly every statistical measure, he is having a worse season. In Wednesday's game against Miami, he played 7 minutes and the only stat he recorded was a turnover.
Earl Timberlake was also a consensus 4 star recruit, and one of Miami's highest ever rated basketball recruits. Coming out of high school, many thought he would be a one and done type player. But, due to injury, Timberlake played just 7 games last season. Facing the prospect of splitting time with Wong and McGusty, he transferred to Memphis, which, prior to a 6 game winning streak, was just 9-8 but now sits at 15-8 and is one of the last teams in according to CBS and ESPN. Earl hasn't been a major reason why, however. He is averaging just 5.4 PPG in 20.0 MPG, down from 9.3 in 27.4 at Miami. He hasn't made a single 3 and is shooting 57.1% from the FT line. In Saturday's big win at Houston, Timberlake played 6 minutes, scored 0 points, and had two turnovers. He has 4 games in double figures for the year, with a high of 14, and last did so on January 4th against 8-16 Tulsa.
Elijah Olaniyi came to Miami after 3 years at Stony Brook. He was a decent player for us, but not quite the scorer we had hoped. He transferred back to Stony Brook after realizing he preferred the smaller stage. Olaniyi only played a handful of games before suffering a knee injury. When he came back, it was announced Stony Brook would not be eligible for the conference's post season tournament since they are leaving the conference. Fed up with the "politics" of college basketball (his words), Olaniyi decided to leave the program and prepare for professional basketball. He played in just 7 games this season and recorded his worst statistics since his freshman year.
Chris Lykes played 4 seasons at Miami, though just 2 games last year due to injury. A fan favorite because of his diminutive size, he drove you crazy with his careless play and turnovers only to win you back with his hustle and fearless play. Lykes made a good decision to transfer to Arkansas, who is 20-6 and currently ranked #23. But the 23 year old Lykes is the team's sixth man, with just 2 starts in his 26 appearances and averaging just 19.4 MPG. Furthermore, he is shooting just 35.0% from the field and 28.6% from 3, whereas he shot 43.2% and 38.1% in his last full season (2019-2020). By nearly every metric he is having his worst collegiate season.
Nysier Brooks came to Miami after 3 seasons at Cincinnati. A true, back to the basket big man, the 7' Brooks wasn't the best fit for Miami's spread offense that utilizes athletic bigs that can shoot from 3. Brooks left for Ole Miss, who is just 12-14, but he is having his best statistical season with career highs in MPG (29.5), FG % (58.3), rebounds (7.8), steals (0.8), and points (9.8). Worth noting, though, that Brooks is 25 years old.
All told, Miami isn't missing much from this group. We could definitely use Brooks' interior presence, since that's where the team is weakest, but our style simply didn't fit his game. Other than that, Olaniyi is out of basketball, Matt Cross was in Coach L's doghouse and has been a non-factor at Louisville, and we've definitively upgraded at the PG position with Charlie Moore. Having Timberlake come off the bench would be a nice plus but he didn't want to do that, so he's doing that instead at Memphis. We effectively traded him for Jordan Miller, who has been a solid addition to the team and, due to COVID rules, has another year of eligibility.
More evidence as to why you should trust in Coach L.
