NCAA Basketball: 2021 4-star G Brandin Podziemski announces top 5

Miami Hurricanes

The Canes have gone through a rather tough season to this point. The injuries came early on in the season, specifically to star guard Chris Lykes and freshman stud Earl Timberlake Jr. However, fellow freshman Matt Cross also decided early on to transfer away from the program further depleting the available bodies for head coach Jim Larranaga to utilize on a nightly basis. Cumulatively, Miami has not experienced much success on the scoreboard because of these issues.

With bountiful opportunities for other players to step up, sophomore guard Isaiah Wong has emerged as a very productive player. The NCAA’s ruling on extra years of eligibility as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic clouds the overall draft declarations and decisions for Wong and Lykes next season, but the Hurricanes are not really in a situation to be overly confident about turning players away. Miami is a very poor perimeter shooting team and doesn’t have a strong playmaking aspect to their production on the court.

Podziemski has the ability to help turn things around for the Canes, much like the same expectations that surrounded Timberlake when he joined the program. However, the on-court specifics are not the only reason to feel Miami could be a front-runner for his commitment.

Podziemski has previously stated to Eric Bossi of 247sports.com “…to see guys like Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown, their development into NBA players is positive…getting to the next level is important and there are lots of connections down there.”

Connections being the Miami Heat are in close proximity to the University of Miami campus. Their up-and-coming star Tyler Herro is a natural mentor for Podziemski and figure he can turn to navigate his collegiate career and the expected NBA Draft process. Even a step further, Podziemski would have access to other stars, Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, etc, to soak up as much information as he can to expand his repertoire and fulfill his potential towards reaching the NBA.

Winning head-to-head battles against programs like Illinois and Kentucky at this stage is hard to do, but Podziemski’s origins in Wisconsin, proximity to Tyler Herro on both a grassroots and professional level seems like the ideal path to reach his goals.