Van Dyke wants players to have fun, swagger
DeMarcus Van Dyke’s promotion last week to Miami Hurricanes cornerbacks coach instantly reminded him of what — at least to that point — had been the biggest professional moment of his life.
“It felt like I was getting drafted again,” he told WQAM’s Joe Zagacki of being selected in the third round in 2011. “It felt like Hue Jackson was calling to draft me again to the Oakland Raiders.”
When Manny Diaz called recently to ask him to move from assistant recruiting director to a full-time coaching position — a job Van Dyke wanted — “I said, ‘Heck yeah, coach. I’m going to take it.’ [Diaz] was ecstatic. My family was ecstatic. It is a dream come true to be coaching my alma mater. It’s a huge blessing.”
Van Dyke originally was expected to join former UM assistant coach Ephraim Banda’s staff at Utah State, where Banda was recently named defensive coordinator.
But that changed when Diaz decided to have Van Dyke replace Mike Rumph, who was reassigned to a recruiting role.
Van Dyke takes over an experienced room with five returning players, one incoming freshman (Malik Curtis) and former Georgia cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, a key addition from the transfer portal.
“He’s going to bring a different element to the defense,” Van Dyke said of Stevenson. “We wanted him in high school and we felt he was probably one of the best high school players in the state coming out, but we didn’t get him. But now we have a second chance. He’s home now, back where he belongs. He played some meaningful games in the SEC. He’s a long corner. Good speed, very aggressive, good ball skills. I’m excited for him. That group is a good group.”
Van Dyke addressed UM’s other cornerbacks in a chat with Zagacki:
On Te’Cory Couch:
“T.C. is a good player. I call him ‘Little Pitbull.’ He’s very fast, quick. He’s good at the line, has good ball skills. I’m excited about him and his next step in his development as a cornerback in his junior season.”
On Al Blades Jr., who is expected back from a cardiac issue (Diaz said it was related to COVID-19) that sidelined him late in the season: “I saw a huge growth in Al Blades. Al Blades is a tremendous ing and he was enjoying my success, Duncan [Robinson’s] success and it was his turn, so we’re just going to enjoy his success and just keep feeding off of that. He’s a spark for us. It’s good to see him out there getting back to himself.”
Returning to form for Nunn means getting back to who he was for most of last season, when he made the All-Rookie First Team and finished second in the voting for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.
Nunn started in each of his 67 regular-season appearances last season and was one of the NBA’s top rookies before the season was suspended in March. He averaged 15.6 points on 44.8 percent shooting from the field and 36.2 percent shooting on threes, 2.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 62 games before the pandemic paused play.
But after recovering from a COVID-19 diagnosis in July, Nunn couldn’t pick up where he left off when the Heat’s season resumed in August in the Walt Disney World bubble. His offensive efficiency dropped off and he was leader. He’s a good warrior on the field. He’s got everything you need from a cornerback. He’s going to do good things for us. I’m excited to have him back whenever he comes back because he’s an excellent player. We need him down the stretch and he’s going to lead this pack for us.”
On DJ Ivey: “I think DJ Ivey is a great player. He’s going to go out there and compete. He’s a good kid. He has all of the attributes, all of the measurables.
He’s going to do good things this year. He has got to keep playing with confidence, keep playing how he’s playing. He’s going to be OK.”
On 2020 freshmen moved to a bench role in the playoffs, as he averaged 6.1 points on 39.1 percent shooting, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15 games last postseason.
“I just want to stay consistent, play a full season,” Nunn said of his goals for his second NBA season. “That’s the postseason, as well. Just staying consistent with my game throughout and just continue to be myself and bring my strengths to the game, and that’s scoring and playmaking and getting stops defensively.”
Nunn has looked more like the pre-bubble version of himself lately. It’s a small three-game sample size but an encouraging development for the Heat, nonetheless.
“K-Nunn has incredible competitive character. He really does,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He has a grit and a perseverance to him. Not only do you have confidence that he’ll be able to respond with this kind of adversity. But you respect him so much that you’re like really rooting for him and you really want it for him. It was great just to see all the
Isaiah Dunson and Marcus Clarke: “Those guys gained a lot of valuable experience. It also started on the practice field with those guys going against our receivers and our tight ends, Brevin Jordan, and it kind of translated to the field during the game. I’m excited for those two guys. They had a good freshman year. Marcus came in the Duke game and made a play on the ball and Isaiah made some good plays with him locking his guys down, also on special teams.”
Van Dyke has one season of coaching experience; he coached cornerbacks at ASA College in Miami in 2017 before joining UM’s football front office.
His message to players? “I just want them to have confidence, all the guys that played here from Antrel Rolle to Philip Buchanon. We’re going to play relentless, with good technique.
“I want them to go out there, have fun, and play with swagger and play with confidence. As a cornerback you’re going to get beat, but you got to have to have that short-term memory. I want guys to realize that if we give up a catch it’s next play up, don’t worry about the play before that. I’m going to preach — you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. So every day let’s get better at something and let’s go show what we’re about.”
Van Dyke credited former UM coach Randy Shannon for helping him get to this point: “The guy that got me into coaching. He influenced me a lot. To this day, he still gives me advice.”
He said former UM defensive backs coach Wesley McGriff, who recently moved from Auburn to Florida’s staff, “also helped me out with a lot of things and I’m going to lean on [him for] a lot of advice.”
He expects defensive success next season because “Coach Diaz is one of the great DCs in the nation. He’s going to show it this year.”
Diaz will make the calls on game days this season, but Blake Baker will retain the defensive coordinator title.
Van Dyke played six
NFL seasons for the Raiders, Steelers, Chiefs, Vikings and Falcons. He had 17 tackles and an interception in 25 games; all four of his NFL starts came as a rookie.
EARLY ENROLLEES
Nine UM freshmen are set to enroll in classes next week: quarterback Jake Garcia, tight end Elijah Arroyo, receiver Romello Brinson, offensive tackle Michael McLaughlin, defensive end Thomas Davis, linebacker Deshawn Troutman, safety Kamren Kinchens, striker Chase Smith and kicker Andres Borregales.
The 12 other freshmen will enroll in the spring or summer.
Three transfers also enroll next week: Stevenson, former Oklahoma receiver Charleston Rambo and ex-Tennessee defensive end Deandre Johnson.