Canes Hoops Adds One Of The Nation's Top Scorers In The Portal - All Hurricanes Skip to main content
Miami hosting Michigan State defensive tackles Derrick Harmon & Simeon Barrow together
Miami hosting Michigan State defensive tackles Derrick Harmon & Simeon Barrow together

Canes Hoops Adds One Of The Nation's Top Scorers In The Portal

Stetson's Jalen Blackmon Chooses The Hurricanes Over BYU, Cal, Northwestern and Villanova

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Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Miami got some great news with the announced return of Matthew Cleveland yesterday, but the Hurricanes had more in store this weekend with a significant portal addition.

As announced by multiple sources, Stetson's Jalen Blackmon has announced his commitment to Jim Larrañaga and the Miami Hurricanes. The 6-foot-3 junior comes off a season averaging 21.3 points per game (10th in the nation) and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Now with Blackmon committing, it shakes some things up with Miami's projecting starting lineup from just yesterday. Jalil Bethea looks to be the odd man out, as the five star freshman will have a pair of experienced guards in the backcourt ahead of him. Additionally, Miami could always play small with Bethea at the three and moving ECU transfer Brandon Johnson to the bench. Regardless, having too much depth is a good problem to have for Miami after last season.

In terms of what Miami is getting in Blackmon as a player, they are getting a bucket getter who finds his most success shooting from beyond the arc. With over 50% of his shots coming from behind the arc, he's a 38.1% shooter from there with significant volume. Blackmon had six games last season where he had over six three pointers made.

Blackmon's fit alongside Pack will likely force Pack to be the team's primary creator and ball-handler. Nearly 81% of Blackmon's threes were assisted, so the Canes will likely look to put him in spots coming off screens or in spot up situations.

Defensively, Blackmon's advanced metrics show that he's not much of a contributor on that end. With less than one defensive win share and a -3.7 defensive box plus minus, Miami will rely heavily on Cleveland's defensive abilities to assist their back court struggles there.

After two major pieces of news on the basketball front this weekend, Miami still has plenty of moves before they are solidified for next season. Expect them to pursue some size for depth and even still push for Javon Small.