Miami Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Hurricanes

Projected Starters

Chris Lykes

Lykes will be the point guard for the Hurricanes and is very aggressive. He likes to get to the rim and can finish. He averaged 9.6 ppg last year and will need to pick up his scoring for the team to be successful. He shot just 34% from threes last year and that is another area that will need to improve and will help his ability to drive. It will also help stretch the defenses for Hernandez down low. The Hurricanes will need him to control the offense and bring the consistency that they were lacking last year.

Dejan Vasiljevic

Vasiljevic will be relied upon to be the outside threat for the Hurricanes as he shot 41% last year from the outside. He has also shown the ability to get to the rim also. Miami will hope he and Lykes can be the threats they need to free up Hernandez inside. His slashing ability will hopefully present problems for opposing defenses. He showed he has the ability to score as he put up 17 against Berry in their exhibition game last week. He got to the free line seven times in that game which is big because he only shot 16 all of last year. Getting easy points will be key for Vasiljevic.

Anthony Lawrence

Lawrence is another guard for the Hurricanes that has shown flashes but has not had the consistency that they would have liked. He averaged 8.8 ppg last year and does have the ability to shoot from three-point range. He shot 43% last year from outside along with 47% inside the arc. At 6’7″ he has great size to work inside and if he can get even better outside is the mismatch the Hurricanes could exploit. He will play the three spot for Miami this year and needs to become more reliable in that spot if the Hurricanes expect to have any success.

Dewan Hernandez

With Walker and Brown gone, Hernandez will look to be the go-to guy for the Hurricanes. He averaged 11.4 ppg last year and shot over 57% from the field.  He is not much of an outside threat at all but is very skilled down low. He has good size at 6’11” and is tough to guard for opposing defenses. He is one of the main keys to how well the Hurricanes do this year. They need him to continue to produce with the loss of scoring.

Sam Waardenburg

Waardenburg brings back a little experience from last year but we need to step up into the starting lineup this year. He is a 6’10” forward that is not afraid to shoot the three. He did not shoot much last year when he did his chances to play and he may not be looked upon to be that much of a scorer this year. Miami needs him to be aggressive on the glass and be the guy to guard the other teams bigs. Defense will probably be his main thing this year and any points he can contribute will be a bonus.