Miami Hurricanes Add Sam Waardenburg

The Miami Hurricanes have inked Sam Waardenburg to a grant-in-aid agreement. Waardenburg will join the team immediately but is going to redshirt and will begin playing in the fall of 2017.

Waardenburg is a 6’9 205 forward. He has represented New Zealand in numerous international competitions. Waardenburg is the second current player to join the Hurricanes from Oceania. Freshman guard D.J. Vasiljevic has been a key contributor this season. Miami will also add Forward Deng Gak from Australia next fall.

Waardenburg had an impressive summer in 2016. He averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in five games at the Adidas Nations Tournament in Los Angeles. During the tournament he was 7-of-11 on three pointers and named one of the top 10 players of the camp.

The Adidas camp is also where current Oklahoma City Thunder Center Steven Adams first impressed American Scouts according to Stuff New Zealand. Waardenburg originally committed to Miami in September.

Per Hurricanes Sports, Waardenburg “Also played in the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 High School Basketball Camp in Virginia. He was also named the most outstanding player at both the Nike All Asia Camp in Beijing and the Basketball Without Borders Camp in Australia.”

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Waardenburg is a three-star player according to 247Sports. He scored out at 0.9182 in their rankings. He is listed as the 32nd best power forward and the 139th best player overall in the Class of 2017.

Miami Head Coach Jim Laaranaga said of Waardenburg:

“Sam is a very skilled player with a high basketball IQ…He has the ability to play both inside and outside. He has great international experience and has competed against some of the best high school players from around the world including in the United States. We’re excited about him joining us mid-year so he can make the adjustments to the American college game before competing next season.”

Miami loses forward Kamari Murphy and Wing Davon Reed after this season. Freshman Power Forward Dewan Huell has also discussed the possibility of leaving for the NBA after this season. Huell likely needs more seasoning before declaring for the draft.

At 6’11 220, Huell needs to add some bulk and he still needs work on his game, particularly on the offensive end. He is primarily a low post scorer. At this point of his development, he is going to have to fill out more and work on his jump shot.

Huell is averaging 7.8 points per game and 4.8 rebounds. He has not attempted a three-point shot this season.

Waardenburg will also have current freshman Rodney Miller and Sophomore Ebuka Izundu to compete with up front. Miller has had minimal impact this season. Izundu has battled some injuries but is averaging 5.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 1.1 Blocks.