RedHawks ‘embracing the opportunity’ to open season
Miami slated to host North Dakota today at 1 p.m. to start 2020-21 season.
Like every other college basketball teamin the country, the Miami RedHawks have been anticipating the start of the 2020-21 season like high school seniors awaiting the prom.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, a necessary disclaimer in pandemic-cluttered 2020, Miami will start to dance Wednesday at 1 p.m. with its regular-season opener against the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Millett Hall in Oxford.
“We’re extremely excited to have the opportunity to play a game,” fourth-year Miami coach Jack Owens said on Monday during a Zoom media session. “Since March 12, it’s been hit or miss. We’re embracing the opportunity.”
The last time the RedHawks faced a teamwearing a different uniform, junior guard Nike Sibande scored a career-high 31 points to lead Miami — seeded 12th in the 12-team Mid-American Conference Tournament — to an 85-78 upset of fifth-seeded Buffalo at Buffalo. The RedHawks were preparing to meetfourth-seededNorthern Illinois in the quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland when theCOVID-19 pandemic shut down college basketball.
Since then, the 6-foot-4, 183-pound Sibande transferred to the University of Pittsburgh, leaving Owens andMiamiwithout their leading scorer from the 201920 season. Burly (6-8, 273pound) forward Bam Bowman graduated, but he and Sibande were the only two losses from a team that finished 13-19 overall and 5-13
in the MAC East Division.
The MAC is a 12-team, one-division conference this season. Miamiwas picked to finish ninth in a preseason poll of conference coaches. Thetop four teamsin the poll are Bowling Green, Ohio, Akron and Buffalo — all former East Division teams.
The RedHawks are scheduled to play 25 regular-season games, including one at Wright State on Dec. 5. They are due to play 20MAC games, starting with a home game against archrival Ohio on Dec. 29.
Game staff, media and players’ guests will be the only spectators allowed to attend.
Owens, 44-54 overall and 20-39 in the MAC in his first three years at Miami, likes having five seniors and five juniors on his roster. The RedHawks return 72 percent of their scoring and 66 percent of their rebounding fromlast season, led by 6-7 senior forward Dalonte Brown, who ranked second
behind Sibande last season with averages of 9.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Also back is 6-2 sophomore guard Dae Dae Grant, who ranked third on the team with an average of 9.3 points pergameonhisway to being namedto theMACAll-Freshman team, and 5-8 junior guardMekhi Lairy, last season’s team leader with 88 assists.
GrantandLairy areamong five returning players who played in all 32 of Miami’s games last season.
“We have a lot of guys returning who have played a lot of games,” Owens said. “We’re hoping the chemistry will help fromthe standpoint of winning games. The COVID issue is what it is. Everybody’s dealing with it. We’re just happy to have the opportunity to compete and play againstsomebody else.”
Owens also was looking forward to seeing newcomers such as 6-4 freshman guard Bryson Tatum and 6-11 freshman center Jackson
Ames, along with 6-8 redshirt freshman forward Javin Etzler, whowas limited by injury to only two games last season. Etzler led Crestview to the 2019 Ohio Division IV state championship while beingnamedfirst-team all-state and the Division IV Player of the Year.
“They’re a work in progress,” Owens said about Miami’s fresh faces. “Ames is a true center. He has his moments of being a player and his moments of being a freshman. Bryson’s playing behind some older guys. Javin is a guywho keeps getting better. We’re excited about him and his ability to shoot the basketball and whathecandofor the team.”
Miamigoesintotheopener with projected starter Milos Jovic, a 6-4 fifth-year senior guard, and 6-6 fifth-year senior forward Precious Ayah expected to be sidelined with injuries.
“Milos is going to be out 3-4 weeks,” Owens said.