How a phone call from an NBA scout helped UM basketball team land Kyshawn George

University of Miami basketball coach Jim Larranaga gets phone calls all the time from people promoting potential recruits and he politely listens, even when he has a hunch the kid is not worth pursuing.

But when NBA scout and draft expert Jonathan Givony contacted Larranaga in September 2022 to alert him that there was a tall, smart, skillful Swiss guard playing in France that he might want to take a look at, the coach listened.

He’s glad he did.

UM freshman Kyshawn George, the 6-8 guard of whom Givony spoke, has proven to be quite the find. He started the past four games in place of injured Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar, scored double digits in all four games and led the Hurricanes with 21 points in an 86-82 overtime loss at Wake Forest last Saturday.

He will likely start again Wednesday at home against Louisville if Pack or Poplar can’t play.

“We had no idea if he was any good; you watch guys on tape and you don’t know how good the competition is, you don’t really know how tall he is,” Larranaga said Wednesday. “They say he’s 6-5 or 6-6, well, maybe he’s 6-3. We basically took a shot, and it worked out.”

After getting the call from Givony, Larranaga reached out to George, who had recently moved up to the first team of French team Elan Chalon after averaging 17.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.4 steals with the U21 team.

Despite playing for a pro club, he maintained his amateur status because he was interested in playing college basketball, following in the footsteps of his father, Deon George, a Canada native who played forward for Saint Francis (Pennsylvania) and went on to play professionally in Switzerland. Kyshawn was born in Switzerland and represented the Swiss U16 team when he was just 13 years old.

When Larranaga first reached out to the George family, they determined that UM associate head coach Bill Courtney had played against Deon George during Courtney’s playing days at Bucknell.

“As soon as we made contact with the young man and his dad, we hit it off right away,” Larranaga recalled.

They watched video of Kyshawn, liked what they saw and invited him to visit campus. The only time he could travel was over New Year’s Eve break, so he and his parents flew to Miami on New Year’s Eve. The Hurricanes’ flight back from their game against Notre Dame was late, so they didn’t get to meet the Georges until New Year’s Day.

“We picked him up, there were no students on campus because it was closed, so we just drove him around, met with him, showed him team video, and told him we thought he’d fit in very well with us,” Larranaga said.

George has also drawn interest from Illinois, LSU, Pittsburgh, SMU, Texas and Xavier. But Miami rushed to get him on campus, and it paid off. He signed in April.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play NCAA basketball since I was a kid watching March Madness games,” George said. “I always wanted to play in that atmosphere.”

He said he felt comfortable with the UM coaching staff and players during his visit, and called his decision “a no-brainer.”

He had a growth spurt the past few years, stretching from 5-8 to 6-5 during high school and then up to 6-7 by the time he arrived on the UM campus last summer. He grew another inch and bulked up 10 pounds to hit 200 by the start of the season.

“He’s gotten taller, heavier, stronger, and now we get on the court and see he’s an effortless shooter,” Larranaga said. “He has great range. He’s got a beautiful touch. But the best part is, he’s really smart. He really knows how to play. He’s played with older guys for a long time in Europe, where skills are really emphasized.”

The college game is much faster than what George was used to in France, but he has adapted and make big breakthroughs in the past month.

“He’s playing faster, stronger, with more confidence,” Larranaga said. “I’m still kicking him in the butt to play harder and faster and more aggressively.”

The coach had George in his office Tuesday working on his dribble. George said he is adjusting to playing at his new height and weight.

“Definitely I need to get better at playing physically, that will come with time,” he said. “I used to stay outside the 3-point line, that’s it. Coach was teaching me about pounding the ball and using my speed to run with the ball and get up the court faster. It’s all about habits and getting used to the physicality.”

Teammate Norchad Omier was surprised to see how had grown from January to July last year.

“When he first came on the visit, he was not taller than me,” said Omier, who is 6-7. “When he came back, I was like, `Wait, is this the same person?’ He was like three or four inches taller. We’ve already seen what he can do, and there is room for him to get way better so I’m excited to see what his ceiling will be by season’s end.”