Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller open up on what the last two years have done for Miami's program

Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller have been as important as anyone to Miami, and they believe the program has been elevated over their time with the Hurricanes.

While the last two seasons have been fruitful — a run to the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, followed by a trek that came to an end on Saturday in Houston at the Final Four — that was far from normal for the program before Wong and Miller arrived. While Jim Larranaga had the Hurricanes on the rise, the results weren’t there in the NCAA Tournament until recently.

While the sting of a loss to Connecticut in the Final Four was still fresh, both players were able to reminisce a bit, speaking about how special the history-making last two seasons were to them.

“It’s been special each year. We found a way to make school history both years, which is very rare,” stated Miller. “I think the core of this team is very young. If everyone decided to come back, they could be very special again.

“We just tried to build what every Miami basketball team should try to reach each season. I think we did a good job of laying down that foundation. Obviously it didn’t end out the way we wanted it to, but regardless, at the end of the day, if you make history, school history, you’re a winner in some shape or form.”

Continuing, Wong echoed Millers’ sentiment, believing that they’ve laid the foundation for continued success into the future.

“I would just say for our last year and this year I feel like we started something big for the University of Miami and just for all the kids that’s coming out of high school, coming, just coming — they might come to Miami and try to just think of a winning attitude and have University of Miami as a winning school and just be in the March Madness every year,” added Wong.

“What we did for these past few years, it means a lot. And for the history of Miami and for the upcoming years for Miami, too.”

It remains to be seen what Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller choose to do with their basketball careers, but both athletes deserve their flowers from the program. In a crowded Atlantic Coast Conference, featuring teams like North Carolina and Duke, Miami is now in the upper echelon, hoping to stay for the foreseeable future.