Update on former Miami basketball players from last year at their new college home

[Trinton Breeze]

Norchad Omier (Baylor): 15.9 PPG • 10.4 REB • 2.0 AST • FG% 59.5

Wooga Poplar (Villanova): 12.5 PPG • 6.3 REB • 1.4 AST • FG% 38.9

Jakai Robinson (Bryant): 5.7 PPG • 2.6 REB • 0.7 AST • FG% 50.0

Bensley Joseph (Providence): 12.5 PPG • 3.3 REB • 3.8 AST • FG% 42.1

Michael Nwoko (Mississippi St.): 4.6 PPG • 4.8 REB • 0.6 AST • FG% 61.5

AJ Casey (Saint Louis): 2.5 PPG • 2.5 REB • 0.0 AST • FG% 100.0

Christian Watson (Southern Miss): 12.3 PPG • 4.8 REB • 3.2 AST • FG% 38.6

 

[CANESCANES]

Definitely miss Norchad

 

[ejbaker1977]

Seven transfers....just crazy when you think about it.

 

[Gables Canes]

I think the only one from that list that could help this team is Omier.

Crazy how big of a bust AJ Casey is.

 

[casualcane]

Of the transfers, I always thought Watson had upside that just somehow never translated here

 

[hotshot]

I think the only one from that list that could help this team is Omier.

Crazy how big of a bust AJ Casey is.

He had no perimeter game, no mid-range game, no under-the-basket game. Hard to impress when you can't score from any level.

 

[passitback]

Norchad Omier (Baylor): 15.9 PPG • 10.4 REB • 2.0 AST • FG% 59.5

Wooga Poplar (Villanova): 12.5 PPG • 6.3 REB • 1.4 AST • FG% 38.9

Jakai Robinson (Bryant): 5.7 PPG • 2.6 REB • 0.7 AST • FG% 50.0

Bensley Joseph (Providence): 12.5 PPG • 3.3 REB • 3.8 AST • FG% 42.1

Michael Nwoko (Mississippi St.): 4.6 PPG • 4.8 REB • 0.6 AST • FG% 61.5

AJ Casey (Saint Louis): 2.5 PPG • 2.5 REB • 0.0 AST • FG% 100.0

Christian Watson (Southern Miss): 12.3 PPG • 4.8 REB • 3.2 AST • FG% 38.6

We can all appreciate this: "Joseph for the win. No good."

 

[Da_Lucky_One]

The most interesting part of the list is that the best player of the group is the kid from Florida.
Hopefully, that is the focus of the next coaching staff.
All of those Midwest kids that Bill Courtney recruited to Miami have struggled to make the transition to the high major level.
Early Timberlake also plays with Jak Robinson at Bryant, which means they were mid major kids and not high major kids.
Watson, Joseph, Poplar and Omier all averaging over 12 per game is interesting because with Cleveland, they would have been a good group.
The problem is obviously, no one wanted to play small ball anymore because Omier is playing the 4 at Baylor. I watched the Baylor/Kansas game yesterday.
Thank you @Trinton Breeze for posting this information.

 

[RBradleigh]

Wow, Bens is averaging 12.5ppg, good for him. I liked his effort on D & thought he was terrible on O.

 

[Da_Lucky_One]

He had no perimeter game, no mid-range game, no under-the-basket game. Hard to impress when you can't score from any level.

The only question I had was what did Bill Courtney see in him to give him a scholarship and what did Coach L see that made him accept his commitment.
Coach L and his staff sold us for years that these kids from the Northeast and Midwest were significantly better than the kids in the state of Florida. Yet, with all due respect, a large majority did not pan out (meet expectations).
Let's be fair, the top 2 or 3 might be better but once you get below the top 10, I never believed the 10th best kids in the Northeast not Midwest was better than a top 5 kid in Florida.
Now in 2026, that gap has significantly closed!