Sparked by the best and most efficient offense in the ACC, a lethal transition attack and timely defensive stops, the Miami Hurricanes made program history last season by advancing all the way to the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Still, for as good as Miami was, it was not perfect. Here are three areas of improvement for the Hurricanes as they shift their focus to the 2023-24 season.
Bench Production
UM ranked 328th out of 358 Division I teams in bench minutes per game last year. Sixth man Bensley Joseph, who is expected to fill a starting role next season, was Miami’s most reliable bench contributor. He averaged 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and two assists per game and was often a part of the Hurricanes’ closing lineups because of his tenacious perimeter defense.
Miami’s two other leaders in bench minutes, forward Anthony Walker and guard Harlond Beverly, transferred to other schools. Assuming Joseph starts and considering these two other departures, this creates a massive vacancy in a unit that was already subpar.
Rising sophomores AJ Casey, Christian Watson and Jakai Robinson are expected to take on bigger roles, and incoming freshmen Michael Nwoko and Kyshawn George are also contenders to receive early playing time on Miami’s bench.
While these aforementioned players are talented, the Hurricanes will be relying on potential and not proven production on their second unit unless more players join the team.
Fortunately for UM, it still has three scholarships remaining to add more experience to its bench. It can do this by acquiring graduate transfers, as the portal window rules do not apply to these players.
Last-Game Situations
While this issue was seemingly fixed during the latter parts of the season, there was a stretch of games in January where the Hurricanes surrendered late leads and coughed up would-be wins.
Miami lost three ACC road games during this month and held a lead under the three-minute mark in each of these defeats.
While the Hurricanes won multiple close games away from home as the season progressed, these avoidable losses likely hurt the team’s final NCAA Tournament seeding and prevented it from being the sole winner of the ACC regular-season championship.
Defensive Consistency
Miami’s defense stepped up when it had to last year, generating important stops and forcing key turnovers during its postseason run.
Throughout the entire season, however, the defense wasn’t as special and was plagued by inconsistency.
UM finished the year ranked 99th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric. While this is still in the top third of college basketball, it lagged behind Miami’s offense, which ranked sixth in the same advanced statistic.
The Hurricanes’ defense might improve next year because of Joseph’s inclusion in the starting lineup as well as the addition of lengthy FSU transfer Matthew Cleveland, who has All-ACC Defensive Team potential.
This defensive improvement will be necessary for Miami’s continued success if the offense fails to replicate its elite play from a season ago.
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