Who is Miami’s MVP at the Two-Thirds Point of the Season?

Jan 26, 2023 - 2:00 PM

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We are officially two-thirds through the 2022-23 Miami Hurricanes Men’s Basketball season. The guys are 16-4, 7-3 ACC. They have ten game to go, with matchups against Duke, UNC, Clemson, and Virginia Tech. This year’s Canes squad is one of the favorites to win the ACC. Those kind of expectations require talent. So, who’s the MVP on Miami’s most talented team since Shane Larkin and the boys in 2012-13? Let’s go through the candidates. Then, you decide!

Isaiah Wong

Stats: 20 games: 33.1 mins, 16.3 pts, 4.6 reb, 3.7 ast, 1.5 stl, 0.6 blk, 45% FG, 1.8 TO

Wong was the obvious choice a couple weeks ago. Isaiah looked like he had a chance to win ACC Player of the Year. An recent untimely sinus infection weakened him for a few games. He did bounce back, looking good against FSU. The Noles stink, but that game should act as a good confidence builder for him for the remaining ten ACC games. Isaiah Wong is absolutely the best player on Miami, but is he the most valuable?

Norchad Omier

Stats: 20 games: 29.3 mins, 13.7 pts, 10.5 reb, 1.3 ast, 1.1 stl, 1.5 blk, 59.7% FG, 2.2 TO

The Nicaraguan Nightmare has been incredibly important for the Canes this year. Without Omier underneath, what would Miami be doing? They’d be relying on inexperienced and physically thin young guys like AJ Casey and Favour Aire. Yikes. Norchad has ten double-doubles this season. His work on the offensive glass has been especially impressive. Omier has his flaws; 2.2 turnovers per game is not ideal. That said, he is Miami’s lone big man threat on both offense and defense. That is very valuable.

Jordan Miller

Stats: 20 games: 34 mins, 14.9 pts, 5.7 reb, 2.3 ast, 1.2 stl, 0.4 blk, 53.3% FG, 1.2 TO

Miller has increased his scoring by 5 points per game over last season, while still doing all the other things he does best: defend, rebound, be in the right place at the right time. Miller has also become a better shooter, bringing up his three-point percentage from 29% to 36.7%. As a loyal viewer of this team, I can say I feel good most of the time when I see him shooting from beyond the arc. Let’s finish with something extremely cliche: Isaiah Wong might be the best player on Miami, but Jordan Miller is the most important player.

Nijel Pack

Stats: 19 games: 30.8 mins, 12.3 pts, 2.5 reb, 2.5 ast, 0.8 stl, 0.2 blk, 41.3% FG, 1.7 TO

I know I know. The big-time Kansas State transfer has been underwhelming at times this year. He had a five-game stretch where he shot 16-53 (30%) from the field, including 7-25 (28%) from three-point range. Those games were against Rutgers, Louisville, Cornell, NC State, and Virginia. The Canes won all five matchups. Weird. Since the Virginia game, Pack is 34-77 (44%) from the field, including 25-53 (47%) from three-point range. Sure, Miami has lost some of those games. That happens during the course of an ACC season. The important thing is, Nijel Pack is getting better as the Canes hit the last third of the regular season, with a mad sprint towards tournament time. His shooting could be the difference come March.

GO CANES!