University of Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga has added Michael Gilmore to the Hurricanes’ incoming class of 2016, the school announced Tuesday.
Gilmore is a 6-foot-9-inch transfer from Virginia Commonwealth University. The 215-pound forward will sit out the 2016-17 season due to NCAA transfer rules, then will have two years of eligibility with the Hurricanes.
“We are excited to welcome Michael Gilmore to the Miami basketball program,” Larrañaga said. “We recruited him when we was in high school, and we loved his athletic ability and long-range jumper. Michael comes from a basketball family and he brings two years of collegiate experience to our team. He has a soft touch around the basket but can also step out and shoot the three. He is a true stretch four man with height and length.”
The native of Jacksonville, Fla., is a versatile stretch four who can run and score in transition. The transfer has a polished inside game and a smooth outside jumper. He is very active on the defensive end and can affect opposing offenses with his length and athleticism.
At VCU, Gilmore put up career-best numbers in his last game for the Rams, with 12 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes against Oklahoma in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. In that game, he was 4-of-4 from the field, hitting 2-of-2 attempts from long range. He was also perfect at the line, hitting both attempts.
In his sophomore campaign, he started 18 of the first 24 games, and hit 38.2 percent (13-34) from long range, averaging 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per outing. Gilmore averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 55 total games at VCU. He hit 47.9 percent (58-121) of his shots from the field and knocked down 35.3 percent (18-51) from three.
Coming out of Rickards High School in Tallahassee, Fla., Gilmore was ranked as the 76th-best player in the country and fifth-best in the state of Florida, by ESPN.com. In AAU ball, he averaged more than six points and nearly five rebounds per game for Each 1 Teach 1.
Michael is the son of Sabirah Ahmad and the late Earl Gilmore, and is the nephew of Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore.
Gilmore joins four new student-athletes on the 2016-17 roster in Bruce Brown, Dewan Huell, Rodney Miller and Dejan Vasiljevich. The group has been named one of the top 2016 classes in the country, with 247Sports ranking the class No. 9, Scout at No. 10, ESPN at No. 13 and Rivals at No. 13.