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Canes Hoops lands huge boost in transfer Cleveland

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Peter Ariz said:
Former FSU basketball player and Atlanta native Matthew Cleveland has decided to transfer to the University of Miami, choosing the Hurricanes over Auburn and Missouri. The 6-foot-7, former five-star prospect was the No. 25 player in the country and the seventh-best wing coming out of Pace Academy in the 2021 recruiting class, as per the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is the first addition via the transfer portal for Coach Jim Larranaga this year.

Cleveland had a standout sophomore season at Florida State, averaging 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc. He started all 30 games he played for the Seminoles, who had their first losing campaign under longtime coach Leonard Hamilton since 2004-05. Cleveland earned the ACC Sixth Man of the Year award as a freshman, when he averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists off the bench. Cleveland made a significant jump from the 3-point line this season, shooting 35% behind the arc after posting a 17.6% mark during his freshman season.

The addition of Cleveland to Miami’s roster is a significant boost for the team, as coach Jim Larranaga has a strong record of success with transfers. The Hurricanes reached the 2023 Final Four, led by transfers Jordan Miller, Norchad Omier, and Nijel Pack. Cleveland's arrival essentially fills the gap left by Miller, who has exhausted his eligibility. Although the two bring different skill sets to the table, Cleveland’s length and versatility on the defensive end of the floor should be a major plus for the Canes. Cleveland was a projected first round pick by many outlets during his freshman season before deciding to return to school.

Miami's roster is in flux until Omier and Pack make their NBA Draft decisions, as both players have the option to return. Sources around the Miami program expect both to be back– the deadline to withdraw is June 1. If Cleveland is joined by returning starter Wooga Poplar and possibly Omier and Pack, Miami basketball will have an excellent foundation for the upcoming season – not to mention the return of Bensley Joseph, the addition of Michael Nwoko and Kyshawn George in the recruiting class, and continued development of young players such as AJ Casey, Christian Watson, and Jakai Robinson.
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Really love ❤️ this
 
Cleveland is supremely talented. He and Miller are at about the same place production-wise when they transferred to Miami, albeit, Miller was playing in the A-10. The question with Cleveland has always been about putting it altogether, and if they can get Miller-like development out of him the next year or two, he's a potential first round pick.
 
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Cane in Los Angeles said:
I’m glad we nabbed this dude out of the portal. Is this just a one year rental before he goes pro?
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He’ll be a True Junior this upcoming season, so theoretically he’ll have 2 more seasons of eligibility.

But you never know with some kids, if he has a great season & we go on another deep tourney run maybe he’ll test the waters.
 
Memnon said:





6’7 200 F from ATL, GA

13.8ppg 7.4rebs 1.8ast 44.5% from the floor 35% from 3 & 69% from the FT line

Athletic Forward that plays on Wing & has a Guard’s handle. Is a good scorer creating off the dribble & driving to the basket, but can also step back & knock down midrange jumpers. Has a solid 3pt shot that can improve, but isn’t a 3pt shooter by nature. Fits well within the offense as an Off-ball cutter & has + athleticism at the basket with both hand finishes.

Is a good rebounder & gives good effort on Defense, can guard 1-4. Is a good Offensive player who has the propensity to make the right pass & understands ball movement concepts; (Basically he isn’t a Ballhog & doesn’t take bad selfish shots). Will play the 4 spot for us, but is a versatile Wing that can play 3 & even 2 depending on certain matchups & lineup rotations.

Is a Royce O’Neale type, utility G/F that can score, defend, rebound & move with or without the ball.

Best Games:
- 20pts 5rebs 1stl vs Miami
- 19pts 12rebs 3ast & 2blk vs Cuse
- 15pts 10rebs 3ast 2stls & 2blk vs Louisville
- 18pts & 4rebs vs Clemson
- 11pts & 8rebs vs Pitt
- 14pts 16rebs 5ast & 1stl vs Notre Dame
- 10pts 10rebs & 3ast vs UVA
- 19pts 12rebs 1stl & 1blk vs Wake Forest
- 21pts 12rebs 2ast & 2stls vs GTech
- 18pts 10rebs & 3ast vs Duke
- 19pts 12rebs 3ast & 1stl vs Notre Dame
- 23pts 13rebs 2blk & 3stls vs ST Johns
- 20pts & 6rebs vs Purdue
- 17pts & 6rebs vs Nebraska
- 14pts 7rebs & 2stls vs UF

Very good pickup IMO
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Sounds like a Miller clone with a slightly better 3 pt shot.
 
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JZCane0825 said:
Cleveland is supremely talented. He and Miller are at about the same place production-wise when they transferred to Miami, albeit, Miller was playing in the A-10. The question with Cleveland has always been about putting it altogether, and if they can get Miller-like development out of him the next year or two, he's a potential first round pick.
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Don’t do this to yourself. Jordan Miller is much, much further along from a skill standpoint that Matt Cleveland. If you had seen Matt play in high school he would have looked exactly like the Matt Cleveland you saw play last season. Literally 0.00% development.
Now I lay the vast majority of the blame for this at Ham’s feet as they were a disaster last year and Ham seems to have checked out. And he seemingly destroyed Matt’s confidence to shoot a 15 foot jump shot.

Matt Cleveland can be great, and because of his athleticism, he has a higher ceiling than Miller. And I think our coaches will bring the best out of him.
But right now, Matt Cleveland is a far less productive player than Miller. Forget the stats and use your eyes.
My fingers are crossed that Matt gets right because I am a UM fan, and Matt is a good person. Coach L needs to work his magic and make this young man confident.
 
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AtlAtty said:
Don’t do this to yourself. Jordan Miller is much, much further along from a skill standpoint that Matt Cleveland. If you had seen Matt play in high school he would have looked exactly like the Matt Cleveland you saw play last season. Literally 0.00% development.
Now I lay the vast majority of the blame for this at Ham’s feet as they were a disaster last year and Ham seems to have checked out. And he seemingly destroyed Matt’s confidence to shoot a 15 foot jump shot.

Matt Cleveland can be great, and because of his athleticism, he has a higher ceiling than Miller. And I think our coaches will bring the best out of him.
But right now, Matt Cleveland is a far less productive player than Miller. Forget the stats and use your eyes.
My fingers are crossed that Matt gets right because I am a UM fan, and Matt is a good person. Coach L needs to work his magic and make this young man confident.
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Appreciate the first hand and info. This seems pretty clearly the truth, and if someone has strong disagreements with this assessment then they probably undervalued Miller last year. There weren’t 10 guys in the country like him as a producer, even though there are 100 guys as athletic. We can also forget Miller wasn’t the guy in 23 that he was in 22. It took time for him to develop.

I love Cleveland and am high on his upside, but give him time to develop before suggesting he’s a plug and play replacement for Miller.
 
gordonsolie said:
Sounds like a Miller clone with a slightly better 3 pt shot.
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He’s a better Rebounder & a little more athletic overall.

Jordan has a smoother game & is a more efficient scorer, he gets buckets with less effort.

Their 3 point shooting is mostly identical statistically, but from a variable standpoint that’s more of a matter of volume as a result of the offense than it is actual shooting ability.

Miller is a better Free Throw shooter, Defense should be around the same, but on paper Matt’s a pretty good Defender both on-Ball & guarding Bigger Forwards. But from a fit standpoint he’s basically like a right-handed Miller so he should be able to transition into the system pretty seamlessly.

Miller has great poise & clutch ability to hit big shots when we needed it most, he was never in a panic & just stayed within himself allowing the game to come to him, Idk exactly how we could measure Matt’s poise, but we’ll see how that goes.

Overall, he’s obviously not Miller & they’re different players with some overlapping similarities, but if he plays his best ball here that should be enough to supplement for what we’ll be losing from Miller from a Scoring & Rebounding standpoint. There’s no way to know what the impact will be from an intangibles & leadership standpoint, but we’ll still have some vets from last year’s squad that can take on that role.
 
Mackmiller974 said:
Do you think we're set if Pack and Omier come back?
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I'd like to see us add another big who can help Omier with interior defense, rebounding and just giving L a chance to rest Omier more during games. It's possible we have that player in Nwoko but .. hard to pin your hopes on a true frosh.

To turn your question around, we would be SOL if Pack and Omier don't return. Especially Omier.
 
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