Miami freshman Kyshawn George, a projected first-round pick, will forgo his remaining college eligibility, hiring an agent, and submitted the paperwork to become eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday evening, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
George had his best game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, an 86-82 loss in overtime on Jan. 6th. He poured in 21 points in 42 minutes of work in that one. He also had 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds in an 80-76 loss against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
He averaged 7.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, while shooting 42.6% from the field this year. George also connected on 40.8% of his three-pointers.
The Miami Hurricanes had a really bad season this year, finishing 15-17 overall. They finished the year losing 10 straight games, starting with a 60-38 whipping they suffered at the hands of the Virginia Cavaliers (Feb. 5). Kyshawn George actually suffered an ankle injury minutes into their game vs. Virginia. He only played four minutes in that one.
It was the fewest points the Hurricanes had scored in a game since 1985. It was also the lowest number of points the program had ever scored in an ACC game, their previous low (40 points) on Feb. 25th, 2014, at Virginia.
The Hurricanes did find some positive momentum against No. 9 UNC, when they only lost 75-71 in Chapel Hill. George chipped in 14 points in the losing effort. Still, at the end of the season the Hurricanes’ basketball program seemed drastically worse from the one that made a brilliant run to the Final Four in 2023.
George opted to declare for the draft this offseason and two others have hit the transfer portal, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar. Those are two of the more critical pieces on the Miami roster.
The Hurricanes won 29 games a year ago, losing in the Final Four to the UConn Huskies, the team that went on to eventually win back-to-back national championships. Both Omier and Poplar played critical roles on their roster the past few seasons. It’ll be interesting to see where they end up.
In the 2023 cycle, Kyshawn George was rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 205 overall player in the country, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He played his high school basketball for Lycee Emiland Gauthey in France and he grew up in Monthey, Switzerland.
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