Jim Larranaga addresses who could replace Isaiah Wong in starting lineup next season

Isaiah Wong is off to the 2023 NBA Draft after leading Miami to its first Final Four in program history. Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga didn’t have enough great things to say about his star guard, but is already looking toward next season’s lineup without him.

“He’s certainly one of the greatest basketball players in Miami history. It’s about his tremendous, consistent work ethic,” Larranaga said of Wong. “He set a standard for everybody to emulate. He’s just a really hard-working guy. He’s never had a bad attitude or bad work ethic.

“He’s always calm. He’s a quiet leader. He just leads by example. He set the tone for us, hopefully, for many years to come. These last two years, we got to the Elite Eight and then the Final Four. He’s a huge part of both of those runs.”

When it comes to replacing Wong, it’s going to be more of sliding players in and playing a different brand of basketball. No one can emulate what Wong brought to the table, but a fluid rotation with proven players will more than makeup for Wong’s departure.

Larranaga named three players he expects to have breakout seasons in Miami’s offense without Wong’s involvement.

“We’ve got a very good backcourt. We normally play a three-guard offense. We have Nijel Pack, we have Bensley Joseph and we have Wooga Poplar,” Larranaga said. “Those three guys had great years this past season, and we expect them to even expand their role this coming year. We will have to add a guy to that group. We want to have not only a great starting lineup but a good rotation. It’s the same thing in the frontcourt.”

Larranaga went as far as to say that he is counting on the returns of Pack, Poplar and Joseph for the 2023 season. But, they are going to have big shoes to fill. Having the ACC Player of the Year depart your program takes time to adjust — but having experienced players that know Miami’s system breeds hope of a third-straight deep March Madness run.

Pack, Joseph and Poplar combined for 34 percent (27.3 of 79.4 points per game) of Miami’s average scoring total last season. Pack averaged 13.6 points, second only to Wong’s 16.2, while Joseph and Poplar combined for 13.7 points mostly off the bench. Those numbers are only expected to swell.

Barring any major portal additions, Pack will slide into Wong’s spot as primary ball handler, Poplar could average 10+ points for the first time in his career, and Joseph has the opportunity to see his minutes increased as well.