Miami Basketball: Why Lynn Kidd is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

Recent years have seen history made at Miami, though last season was a departure from that. One year after taking the Hurricanes on their first trip to the Elite Eight, Jim Larranaga led this program to their first Final Four in 2023. Unfortunately, last year was a major rebuilding effort, as Miami finished below .500 and settled for just 14th in the ACC.

That team struggled but still boasted a talented starting five, though it’s been slightly trimmed in the offseason. Kyshawn George is now in the NBA while both Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar entered the Transfer Portal and are gone. However, there’s optimism for next season due to the returns of Matthew Cleveland and Nijel Pack, two juniors from last season with plenty of experience and potential.

In addition to those and other losses, Miami has added critical pieces to the lineup in the offseason, including revered freshman Jalil Bethea. Using the Transfer Portal, the Hurricanes added several key pieces, notably landing Brandon Johnson, a power forward from East Carolina and a few mid-major players, including Samford’s AJ Staton-McCray. This program actually attracted one of the top scorers in the Portal, nabbing former Stetson super scorer Jalen Blackmon.

However, we’re arguing that the addition of Lynn Kidd will be even more important for the Hurricanes this season. A 6’10 center originally from Gainesville, Florida, Kidd has intimate knowledge of the ACC. He began his career and played just seven games with Clemson before spending the last three years at Virginia Tech. This past year saw him emerge as a dominant starter for the Hokies, putting up 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in a massive emergence.

The first three years of Kidd’s collegiate career weren’t much to talk about, but he finally put everything together last season. His 66.8% field goal percentage led the ACC and was one of the best marks in the nation. He’s a force in the paint, an above average rebounder, and a perfect addition for these Hurricanes.

Miami already has great scoring potential with Cleveland and Pack and certainly added even more in luring Blackmon from Stetson, but the Florida native fills a vital role. Kidd slides into that space vacated by Omier’s departure, replacing someone who had been that important factor in the frontcourt during the Hurricanes’ Final Four run. Kidd might not match the exact production that Omier had these last two seasons, but he has the potential for great production and has really improved his game.

We’re a few months away from understanding just how Miami will approach this season, though we’re figuring this team will be a lot closer to that Final Four squad than last season’s underwhelming product. They had some big losses in the offseason, but Kidd becomes the perfect replacement for Omier and a catalyst for future success. In the end, did the Hurricanes do enough to put themselves back in the conversation in the ACC?