Jim Larranaga discusses impact of Wooga Poplar, Harlond Beverly on defense

Miami‘s three-game winning streak has been highlighted by fantastic play on the offensive end of the floor, as the Hurricanes now rank first in the ACC in field goal percentage shooting 48.1%. But they’ve also had a handful of strong defensive performances, including their most recent win where they held Duke to just 59 points.

In their last two games, the Hurricanes have held the opposing team’s leading scorer below their average number of points. Which Miami head coach Jim Larranaga gave guard Wooga Poplar some recognition for following their game versus Clemson.

“Wooga Poplar is a young man, he’s a sophomore, who has been gradually improving his defense to the point that we’re now assigning him the best player on the other team,” Jim Larranaga said.

Clemson’s leading scorer Hunter Tyson got off to a hot start versus Miami with 11 points in the first half, but then was shut down for the remainder of the game with just 13 points.

“He’s taking on that challenge and Hunter did not score those 11 points on him, he actually scored most of them when he was not in the game and someone else was guarding him,” Larranaga said. “But even if he scored those, the defense on him was outstanding, and Wooga Poplar and Harlond Beverly deserve all the credit.”

Poplar came off of the bench in his freshman season averaging 8.6 minutes per game. But this season for the Hurricanes he’s started all of Miami’s 24 games, and lately has been providing more than just defense. He has commonly been tasked with guarding the team’s best scorer on the defensive end of the floor, but on offense, he’s actually been one of the team’s most efficient scorers.

In his last two games, Poplar has had 14 points in each, shooting 75% and 80% from the field in each contest. On the season he has seven games where he’s scored in double figures, and with one of the team’s best field goal percentages at 49% on the year, you could make a case that he could be taking more shots for the Hurricanes.

Beverly has also played his part on the defensive end of the floor for Miami, most recently having a phenomenal performance versus Duke where he recorded four steals in just 18 minutes of action. He too has been efficient with his shot attempts, missing just three shots in the Hurricanes’ last three games.

The Hurricanes are trending upward and the lights-out, two-way play of their guards from the top to the bottom of their roster could be a major key in their continued success moving forward.