By ADAM ZAGORIA
Matthew Cleveland is transferring from one Florida school to another: Florida State to Miami.
The 6-foot-7 Atlanta native averaged 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds as a sophomore.
“I chose Miami because Coach L made it clear from the first day I was in the portal that I was his number one guy,” he told On3.com. “Their system fits me perfectly and I want to be a part of something special and they are building that there.”
As a freshman in 2021-22, Cleveland claimed ACC Sixth Man of the Year recognition, receiving twice as many votes as all other players combined. This past season, as a sophomore in 2022-23, he was a Top 10 Candidate for the Julius Erving Award, presented to the best small forward in the nation. He also hit a game-winning three point shot to beat the Hurricanes on Feb. 25, Miami’s only home loss this season.
“We are excited to welcome Matthew and his family to the Hurricane basketball program. He is an accomplished, experienced, versatile individual who has already proven he can excel at a high level in the ACC,” head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “Matthew not only possesses the talent, athleticism and basketball IQ we look for in a player, but his style of play fits our program extremely well. He is committed to winning and we feel he can make a major impact to help us do just that.”
Across two campaigns in Tallahassee, Fla., Cleveland averaged 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor. He scored double-digit points in 44 of 59 outings, including posting 20-plus points on six occasions, while leading his team in scoring 19 times and in rebounding 25 times.
Cleveland accumulated 13 double-doubles at Florida State, good for a top-25 mark in program history, and notched eight in a row during a 2022-23 campaign in which he started all 30 games he appeared in. He finished the season averaging a team-best 13.8 points, a team-high 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.6 minutes per contest, while connecting on 35.0 percent of his 3-point attempts.
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