Is Miami in trouble with Isaiah Wong declaring for 2023 NBA draft
David Craig Miami heads into next season without their top two scorers in Wong and Jordan Miller, but the team's player development should help them stay at the top of the ACC.
MIAMI — Miami guard and ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong declared for the 2023 NBA draft on Monday, forgoing his remaining college eligibility and ending a tremendous college career with the Hurricanes.
Wong helped Miami to a share of the ACC regular-season championship, while also leading this team to back-to-back Elite 8 appearances and their first ever trip to the Final 4 last month.
Miami now heads into next season without their top two scorers in Wong and Jordan Miller, but Locked on Canes host Alex Donno believes the team's player development will help ease the pain and keep this program near the top of the ACC.
"It all comes down to development and players really maturing," Donno told Isaac Schade of the Locked on College Basketball podcast. "Now you need to see some of these guys really step into [that role] and live up to it next year."
Find the Locked On podcast for YOUR college sports teams!
The Canes return a huge chunk of their scoring from last year, even with Wong and Miller moving on. Nijel Pack and Norchad Omier both return after each averaging over 13 points per game last year, although Donno is most excited about Wooga Poplar, who could be a true breakout star next season.
"The guy that I'm most bullish on is Wooga Poplar," Donno said. "We saw [him] really start to make an impact as a starter this past year and I think he's the one who is kind of on that trajectory."
Miami coach Jim Larranaga is never a coach you want to discount, and there's little reason to doubt the Canes could be in another excellent position for the 2023-24 college basketball season.
