Takeaways From Miami MBB’s Foreign Tour

The Miami Hurricanes dominated in each of the three games of their foreign tour to France earlier in August, winning each contest by an average of 26 points.

This slate of off-season games provided an opportunity for newcomers to gel and returnees to compete in larger roles. Here are three takeaways from these matchups.

1. Wooga Poplar has lead-scoring potential.

Poplar had a breakout 2022-23 season, emerging as an every-game starter for the Hurricanes and increasing his scoring average from 2.3 to 8.4 points per game from his freshman to sophomore campaigns.

If his showing in France is a sign of things to come, Poplar could make another major leap this upcoming season. The 6-foot-5 junior guard averaged a team-high 20.3 points, as well as 6.3 rebounds per game. He had 25 points, nine rebounds, three steals and a block in an 87-69 win over ​​AC Golfe Juan-Vallauris.

Head coach Jim Larrañaga raved about Poplar in a pre-tour media availability, comparing his potential future contribution to that of Isaiah Wong in his junior and senior seasons.

“Wooga continues to add to his game. I think he’s headed towards a great season. I’m hoping and will encourage him and the media to pay attention to his defense because I think he’s become a truly outstanding defender: on-the-ball, off-the-ball,” Larrañaga said. “His offensive game is very complete. He can really shoot the three. He’s now taking more pull-up jumpers off the bounce, which he’s very good at. He’s doing more utilizing [of] ball screens. We may play him a little bit at the point, letting him run the offense because we like him to be a little bit more versatile. He’s gonna be a major contributor this year, similar to what Isaiah Wong did in his junior and senior years.”

2. Matthew Cleveland is making an early impact with his new team.

Cleveland, coming off a 13.8-point, 7.4-rebounds per game sophomore season at Florida State, was Miami’s most notable off-season acquisition. 

The transfer guard showed in France why he was considered to be one of the most coveted guards in this year’s transfer portal, averaging 16 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Considered by many to be a high-ceiling defender, Cleveland swatted away two shots in Miami’s French debut against Parisian Select.

3. AJ Casey is a rising sophomore to watch out for.

Casey played the most out of any UM freshman last season but struggled for much of it. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 0.9 points and a rebound per game in 29 contests and only shot 33.3% from the field.

In perhaps a larger role than what he played in his freshman campaign, Casey averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game during the tour. He also shot 7-of-9 from the field in the last two contests.

With Anthony Walker, who was last season’s primary off-the-bench forward for Miami, transferring to Indiana, Casey might take on more responsibilities this upcoming year.