It’s been a wild day for Miami Basketball, as the sudden retirement of head coach Jim Larranga has thrown the program into a tailspin. Many things will be happening in the coming weeks and months, including a coaching search for his replacement. But another thing that is triggered by the announcement is that a 30-day window has opened for players to enter the transfer portal.
Due to the timing, players won’t be eligible to play the second half of the season if they were to leave Miami. Plus, most of the players in the rotation are seniors with no eligibility left. But some notable names could be free agents for next season.
Here are five guys to watch.
SR Nijel Pack - 13.9 ppg and 4.3 apg
This is an intriguing situation as Pack is in his final year. HOWEVER, he’s been out the past few games with an injury and has only played nine games this season overall. So if he were to not play again, there’s a chance he’d quality for a medical redshirt and another year. And let’s be honest, there’s not much of a reason for Pack to return now.
FR Jalil Bethea - 6.7 ppg and 1.6 rpg
Bethea is a former 5-star prospect who has struggled at times as a freshman, shooting 39% from the field in 13 mpg off the bench. But while he’s not a first-round draft prospect yet, teams will still have plenty of interest if he were to find a new landing spot. He’s from Philadelphia so teams from there could be on the radar whenever he hits the portal.
FR Divine Ugochukwu - 5.2 ppg and 1.5 rpg
The 6’3 guard has started the last couple of games and, in limited minutes, is shooting nearly 70% from the field. Ugochukwu isn’t much of a shooter, but he’s a good athlete who can defend and would be a nice role player somewhere else in the future.
FR Austin Swartz - 4.5 ppg
Swartz is a former top-60 prospect whose role has grown in the past couple of weeks, including a 15-point effort against Charleston Southern. He’s shooting just 31% from the field and 23% from deep but has plenty of potential to work with.
SR Kiree Huie - N/A stats
One player on the roster who is yet to play a game is Huie, a 6’9 transfer forward from Idaho State who has been out with a hand injury. In his long D-I season, he averaged 11.3 ppg and 5.8 rpg, along with over a block a game.
We don’t know how good Huie is at the high-major level, but he’s another veteran body that could be available in the portal. Assuming he doesn’t play for Miami Basketball this year, look for him to try the portal again next offseason.