Where Did U Come From?

Miami's, Rion Brown vs Florida State's, Okaro White

When one thinks of the Miami Hurricanes, you probably won’t go right to the court.  Miami is a football powerhouse in the ACC and is very often overlooked when it comes time to hit the hardwood. This year has been a little different though; this year has been special.


By Ron Schiltz


A year removed from two-sport superstar Jimmy Graham, Jim Larranaga was brought in from George Mason to get the program back on its feet. Larranaga was the coach of the 2005-2006 George Mason team that shocked the world in the NCAA Tournament by becoming the first mid-major school to make the Final Four in 27 years. It was that kind of coaching and leadership that The U was looking for.  

The Hurricanes started out strong in non-conference, winning their first four games.  That’s when things went crazy. The U dropped four of their next five and it looked like another disappointing season was headed to South Beach. The ‘Canes dropped games to Ole Miss, Purdue, Memphis, and West Virginia, and this was still in their non-conference games; They had yet to face the likes of Duke, UNC, and Florida State.

Then Jim Larranaga showed why he was hired. He led the team out of that funk and into the ACC season, winning 10 of their next 13 games. The only loss to a non-ranked team was a single digit loss to a scrappy NC State team. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, the Hurricanes had heard enough over the years from the Cameron Crazies. The U knocked off then #5 Duke at Cameron Indoor Arena, the second loss of the season for the Blue Devils at home. It looked like the Hurricanes were coming in full force to the ACC tournament and was looking to go dancing in March.

But then the team took another slide losing three of four to ACC opponents. The dreams of dancing Hurricanes looked as though it would have to wait another year as The U fell to 16-10 on the season. They would have to make a very strong case in the rest of the season to appeal on Selection Sunday. Well, even with leading rebounder Reggie Johnson suspended, the Hurricanes did not disappoint. They went into Tallahassee to face the heavily favored #16 Florida State, and straight up whipped them. The ‘Canes came out of the game with a 16 point victory on the road, but more importantly, a statement win.

Now I’m not Joe Lunardi, nor am I going to be in the room with the Selection Committee, but if you ask me now, especially after last night, Miami will be in the Big Dance. And not only are they in, but they will be a scary team for opponents to face. The ‘Canes have proven that they can be Giant Slayers and that is a quality that can be very dangerous come March.