Miami followed up the two greatest seasons in Canes Hoops history with a 15-17 record and a second-to-last place finish in the conference. What happened? 247’s Luke Chaney joined Peter and I on the CanesInSight Daily Podcast to discuss:

DMoney: Luke, what went wrong?

Chaney: On paper, this team should have worked. This team made sense just looking at the starting five. They didn't gel at all offensively or defensively. This team lacked the leadership that Jordan Miller and Isaiah Wong brought. Just an overall lack of cohesion.

Ariz: I look back early in the season, there were two games that were really alarming. That FIU game where the Panthers hung tough. You could see Miami was kind of overwhelmed in that game for a large portion of that second half. The Canes ended up getting the win, but it was not a good FIU team this year. Then you lose at home to a Louisville team that was historically on one of the worst runs in ACC history. Their program is in shambles right now. Looking back on those two games, that was kind of the beginning of the end for this team.

DMoney: Luke, I'm going to go through some stats and then you'll give me your overall reaction. The obvious one is that we were 9th nationally in offensive efficiency last year. 129th in offensive efficiency this year. But let’s dig deeper than that. This one blew my mind: last year, we were 150th in three points made. This year, we're 36th in three points made. On paper, a huge improvement. But you have a massive drop in offensive efficiency.

Last year, 43rd in two-point percentage. This year, 129th in two-point percentage. Our assist per possession dropped from 60th to 106th. Clearly something happened that caused us to stop getting easy buckets and points in the paint. What did you see watching the games?

Chaney: Offensively, this team just lacked bucket getters. No real isolation scores on this team. You don't have those Isaiah Wongs, those Jordan Millers, who can turn nothing into something and give you a basket when you really need one. Jim Larranaga’s offensive system is very reliant on players making plays. It gives his players the autonomy and the freedom to make stuff happen on their own. It’s not very action-heavy. So it put players who are not necessarily isolation guys into situations where they weren't comfortable.

Nigel Pack, for example, is a great second guard to have on your team. He excelled playing off Isaiah Wong last year. This year, when he was the primary guard with the ball in his hands, he didn’t have the separation-creating ability to get his own shot at a consistent level. Wooga Poplar, hints here and there (especially in non-conference play), but he doesn’t have a tight-enough handle to get to his own shot. Guys like Matthew Cleveland, Norchad Omier, they're more straight-line drive type guys. So you had players trying to fit this isolation-heavy system who are not necessarily isolation players.

DMoney: I want to talk about Kyshawn George. This is a Kyshawn George fan podcast. Me and Pete did one right after the UCF game early in the season. He had five points and we were saying “NBA player.” We love Kyshawn George and have always been intrigued by his talent and what he can become. But, for me, to project him as a top 15 pick in the NBA, I struggle to see what he can do on an NBA floor right now. I’m talking about contributing next year. He’s a very talented shooter, but I don't think he moves well enough without the ball to get those shots in the NBA. We know his ball handling and his finishing is limited at the college level. We can project his defense to be good down the road, but he can’t be defending NBA players right now. He's still growing into his body, and he's never been that kind of lead decision maker.

So my position is he should come back and then become that player that we all think could go into the NBA and succeed. As opposed to being a top 15 pick and getting a nice initial payday, but going to a bad team and possibly floundering. What do you see from Kyshawn George as he weighs the pros and cons of his decision?



Chaney: Just to give some background, this staff viewed Kyshawn George as a potential one-and-one guy from the jump. This is when he came in at 6'6", and then he grew another two inches or three inches. He could be up to 6'9 now. So the staff always saw this in Kyshawn George, whether it was gonna be at the end of this year or maybe next year.

One of the things that could lead Kyshawn to declaring this year, which I don't completely think he should from a skill or body perspective, is that this is a very, very weak draft class. This is probably the weakest draft class since 2013 when Anthony Bennett was picked #1 overall. Not a whole lot of talent relative to other draft classes, especially next year, which looks like it'll be a very talented one. I could see an argument of, “Hey, let's say there's a team picking the mid-lottery or mid-first round, late first round team [that will pick him].” Maybe like the Thunder, which would be a good fit for him. He’s a 6'8 guard, can handle the ball a bit, can shoot the heck out of the ball off the catch, can do a little bit off the dribble, has the foundations of being a good defender. Someone who needs to just add some more functional size.

I could see a team viewing Kyshawn like, “Hey, maybe he won't contribute to our team next year, but 2-3 years down the line, he could be a very, very useful NBA player for us.” So that could be what leads to Kyshawn George declaring for the draft.

But if he were to stay, he would have a full offseason under a collegiate strength and conditioning program, which he really hasn't had yet. If he's able to add some more functional strength, it would make him a more effective driver and finisher at the basket. That is something that he really struggles with. He gets pushed off his driving path quite often because he doesn't have that functional strength. He can contribute on a better team, which I think Miami will be next year, which could improve his draft stock even more.

But I do see the argument either way for him. Declaring this year because it’s a weak draft class or declaring next year because he might be better as a player. Scouts do value George a lot, so we'll see what happens.

DMoney: What’s your overall last word on where the program is right now and what you hope to see in the next couple of months?

Chaney: I still think this program's in a good spot. Starting from the top with Jim Larranaga to the assistants. They have a terrific coaching staff ranging from Bill Courtney, who is just such a great assistant coach and recruiter. Deserves the credit for a lot of Miami's best players over the past three years. Going to Kotie Kimble and DJ Irving. Really good coaching staff.

Is this going to be what 2018 through 2021 was where Miami had three straight losing seasons and they looked to be on a downward spiral? I don't think it will be at all. You have to remember when Miami was going through that tough time from 2018-2021, the portal wasn't a thing.

Next year, you could have a team that's returning key starters, that's adding a top 10 recruiting class, and that has 3-4 incoming, play-now transfers. Given all this context, I think Miami will likely be in a good spot next year. I trust their efforts in the transfer portal. And I think that next year's team will be deeper.