Hurricanes land four-star combo guard Nisine Poplar

Photo credit: Jared Lennon

The Hurricanes basketball program bolstered their future perimeter offense with the commitment from class of 2021 four-star prospect Nisine Poplar, a combo guard out of Philadelphia’s Math, Civics, and Sciences Charter School (MC&S).

Standing at 6-foot-5 with an 180-pound frame, Poplar emerged as a high-profile prospect in his junior year of high school following a breakout offensive campaign in which he averaged 21.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition to his well-stuffed statline averages, Poplar was also named the Pennsylvania Class 2A Player of the Year and was the MVP in the MC&S Mighty Elephant’s first Public League championship victory.

According to MC&S head coach Lonnie Diggs, Poplar’s options for continuing his athletic career were by no means limited, and Poplar had received offers from a variety of Division 1 college basketball programs – including Auburn, Georgia, Maryland and Penn State – before ultimately deciding on his commitment to UM.

“At the end, he ended up with over 30 offers from Division I schools from all over the country. It was definitely a hard decision,” Diggs said in an interview with The Philadelphia Tribune. “There’s some great programs. Some great coaches reached out to him and his family trying to get him to be a part of their program, but ultimately, he felt the most comfortable with Miami.”

For Poplar, the allure of competing against competitive ACC schools and the “style of play” led by Hurricanes head coach Jim Larrañaga is what drew him to Coral Gables.

“I love the idea of playing against Duke, UNC and the Virginia schools like that in the ACC. Coach L recently gave [Isaiah] Wong and Harlond Beverly opportunities as freshmen and I feel like I can contribute in a big way as a freshman,” Poplar said in an interview with Rivals.com.

When he ultimately does arrive in Miami, Poplar will join the top-rated recruit out of Massachusetts in point guard Bensley Joseph and another pair of four-star prospects in shooting guard Earl Timberlake and forward Matt Cross to round out Miami’s current recruiting class ahead of the upcoming season.

With five seniors currently on the Hurricanes’ roster, there is a significant possibility that Poplar and the rest of Miami’s young stars will be given plenty of opportunities to make an impact next season.

Featured image by Jared Lennon