University of Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga has added Miles Wilson to the Hurricanes’ incoming class of 2017, the school announced Friday.
Wilson is a 6-foot-5-inch transfer from Mount St. Mary’s University. The 190-pound guard will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules, then will have three years of eligibility with the Hurricanes.
“Miles comes to the U after a very successful year at Mount St. Mary’s, where he helped them reach the NCAA Tournament,” Larrañaga said. “Miles has the size, length and athletic ability to be an outstanding defender; in addition, he has the shooting and ball handling skills to be a real threat at the offensive end. We love that Miles played for Pat Clatchy at Mount St. Joseph’s high school in Baltimore, Md., on of the best programs in the country and in one of the toughest high school basketball leagues. He will redshirt this year, which will allow him to make the adjustment to our program and the jump to the ACC level.”
As a member of the Northeast conference, the Mountaineers and Wilson defeated St. Francis University in the conference championship game to advance to its first NCAA Tournament since 2014, and for only the fifth time in their Division I history.
During the 71-61 victory against the Red Flash, Wilson stepped up in a big way during the second half comeback, after heading into the locker room trailing, 31-23. Scoring 12 of his 15 total points in the second half, he also pulled down 10 rebounds to record his first-career double-double.
Then, in the NCAA First Four, Wilson once again rose to the occasion in tournament play, as the freshman recorded his second consecutive double-double in a 67-66 victory over New Orleans. Wilson finished the evening with 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Mountaineers earned their second NCAA Tournament victory in their Division I era.
Saving his best for last, Wilson registered his fourth 20-plus point performance in Mountaineer uniform, tallying a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds against top-seeded Villanova.
Over the course of his freshman campaign, Wilson averaged 11.8 points per game, along with 3.9 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game over a 35-game season, and was named to the Northeast Conference All-Rookie Team. Starting in 24 contests, Wilson shot 45.4-percent from the field, 36.2-percent from beyond the arc and 74.8-percent from the charity stripe.
Prior to his playing days at Mount St. Mary’s, Wilson averaged 10 points and three rebounds as a junior for one of the best high school programs in Maryland at Mount St. Joseph.
Wilson will join a highly talented incoming freshman class, featuring three top-100 players ranked by ESPN, Lonnie Walker IV, Chris Lykes and Deng Gak, and Waardenburg who has been working out with the Hurricanes for the entirety of the 2017 spring semester.