Who says you can never go back home? DePaul’s forward Donnavan Kirk, once a member of the Miami Hurricanes 2009 class, is heading back to Coral Cables for his senior season.
Miami has picked up DePaul transfer Donnavan Kirk, per source. Big man can play his final year ASAP.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 12, 2013
Rated the 88th best player coming out of high school, Kirk officially played just one season at Miami. He received a medical redshirt after appearing in four games his freshman year, but then left midway through his second season.
He transferred to DePaul and was able to play without sitting out a season due to a loophole, yet after two years as a Blue Demon, Kirk still hasn’t lived up to his high school hype. The most points he’s ever scored in a season was 6.2 last year, grabbing just 3.9 rebounds.
Kirk does have good size and is a solid athlete. He’s known for his defense and shot blocking ability. However, he’s limitations on the offensive end are noticeable. In fact, despite playing over 25 minutes per game last year, Ken Pom has him listed as “nearly invisible.”
For those of you not familiar with Kem Pom, that’s not a compliment.
He has no offensive moves or back to the basket game and he rebounds like a scared guard. Last year he made a shift to the outside, putting up 31 three-point attempts (although he did hit a decent 38.7 percent of them).
Yet, despite the limitations, Jim Larranaga will take him with arms wide open. With the departure of their entire front court, the Hurricanes are desperate for size. In fact, Kirk could potentially start next season.
Right now, the only players Miami has that stand over 6-8 are sophomore Raphael Jekiri (who averaged seven minutes per game last year) and senior Raphael Akpejiori (who saw just five minutes of action last year). I have these two penciled in one-two at the center spot.
This leaves the four-spot wide open. Larranaga can go super-duper small and put four guards on the floor, with 6-6/200 Rion Brown holding down the four. He could also slide in incoming transfer James Kelly, who is a little taller (6-7), but a lot stronger (about 240). However, I have no idea what Kelly can do at this level, so Kirk could be the better option at the starting power forward spot.
