Miami Hurricanes
Overall Rank: #21
Conference Rank: #6 ACC
Miami heads into the 2019-20 season with high expectations as they return three starters and are coming off of a 25-win season a year ago. Head Coach Katie Meier and her staff will be looking to take Miami back to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive season. The next step for the Hurricanes in their growth as a program will be to make it to the Sweet 16 and beyond.
2018-19 Record: 25-9, 12-4
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Katie Meier
Coach Record: 277-172 at Miami, 353-217 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Emese Hof, Center, 14.2 ppg
Laura Cornelius, Guard, 10.1 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Beatrice Mompremier, Redshirt Senior, Forward, 16.7 ppg
Mykea Gray, Junior, Guard, 12.6 ppg
Kelsey Marshall, Junior, Guard, 7.8 ppg
Endia Banks, Junior, Guard, 3.8 ppg
Taylor Mason, Junior, Guard, 3.1 ppg
Jacaira Allen, Redshirt Junior, Guard (Transfer from Miss. State)
Destiny Harden, Redshirt Sophomore, Forward (Transfer from West Virginia)
Key New Players
Yasmeen Chang, Freshman, Guard
Brianna Jackson, Freshman, Forward
Kenza Salgues, Freshman, Guard
Sydnee Roby, Freshman, Center
Moulyana Johnson Sidi Baba, Freshman, Guard, Forward
Projection:
Beatrice Mompremier averaged 16.7 points, and 12.2 rebounds per game in 2018-19 and should surpass those averages this season if she can boost her free throw shooting percentage past the 60 percent barrier. Mykea Gray returns for her junior season and will need to pick up a little bit of the slack for the lost production of Laura Cornelius. Gray shot just under 40 percent last season and it will be important for her to create some easy shots for herself to get the field goal percentage up over 40 percent. Kelsey Marshall is a good outside shooting threat knocking down 37.4 percent of her three-point shots for the Hurricanes. The non-conference schedule will have three tests with a potential game with DePaul on November 23rd, along with home games against Oregon State and Indiana. As for the ACC schedule, Miami has a fairly balanced mix of tough games as they will host Louisville, Florida State, Clemson, NC State, Syracuse, and Duke. The toughest road games will be Florida State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Virginia Tech. If the Hurricanes can become a little more efficient offensively by making more free throws and reducing turnovers, they will be a problem for everyone they play. Look for another return trip to the NCAA Tournament for Miami with a potential opportunity to host the first and second rounds.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.6 (45th in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.5 (146, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.0 (24, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.2 (22, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.9 (89, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.8 (35, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.1 (226, 12)
Rebound Margin: 7.4 (21, 3)
Assists Per Game: 15.2 (67,6)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.8 (181, 8)
Madness 2019 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#43 Yasmeen Chang
#63 Sydnee Roby
#119 Brianna Jackson
