Miami Basketball: Five things to look forward to heading into 2017-18

Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Bruce Brown (11) works around Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) during the second half in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Miami Hurricanes forward Anthony Lawrence Jr. (3) works around Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) during the second half in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /

2. More depth/balance

While Miami went seven or eight deep last season, Bruce Brown, Ja’Quan Newton, Kamari Murphy, Anthony Lawrence Jr. and Davon Reed were playing a significant chunk of the minutes. Freshman Dewan Huell was inconsistent, as was Ebuka Izundu, and Dejan Vasiljevic’s minutes fluctuated based on who was in the lineup and the match-ups.

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In 2017-18, the Hurricanes will have much more depth and balance, which should make them more competitive in the ACC.

Their starting lineup will likely consist of Newton, Brown, Lonnie Walker, Lawrence, and Huell with Vasiljevic, Izundu, Rodney Miller, Samuel Waardenburg, Deng Gak and Chris Lykes coming off the pine. On top of that Miami is looking to add an additional transfer.

It’s still to be determined how the young guys will contribute off the bench and how good Miami will be in the paint (they need Huell and Miller to step forward this year without Kamari Murphy), but it’s still promising to see that many players potentially battling for minutes in the rotation.

The competition will be awfully fierce in summer practices and it could get even better if Marcus Evans joins the group.

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