Seniors aim to leave hoops program in even better shape
CORAL GABLES Adrienne Motley had no idea what to expect when she made her first visit to Miami.
The Virginia native figured it would probably be warm. There might be some nice palm trees on campus.
But when it came to the Hurricanes as a whole, or Miami’s women’s basketball team in particular, Motley didn’t know a lot. The same applied for Keyona Hayes and Nigia Greene.
As the three prepare to play their final regular-season home game as Miami hosts Georgia Tech today, though, a lot has changed. And all three say they now understand what fellow senior Jessica Thomas — the younger sister ofHurricanes football great Lamar Thomas — has known pretty much her whole life.
There’s something different about being an athlete at Miami, and it has little to do with sports.
“My brother would always walk around with his national championship ring. He always had his ‘U’ gear. … The way he carried himself, he learned that at Miami, and when he came out of Miami, you could tell how much he had grown,” Jessica Thomas said.
“So to be able to say I’m part of ‘The U,’ the family here, the foundation here, it’s mind-blowing. It really is. It’s been nothing but a blessing.”
Added Motley: “It was always the team aspect that set Miami apart from every other school. Itwas just the way they were a family here. That was what I alwayswanted, especially if I was going tomake the decision to be far away from home. …
“And I realize now, I really did make the best decision. I don’t think I could have gotten this family anywhere else.”
As they prepare to play the final regular-season home game of their careers, the Miami seniors say they have forged bonds they weren’t quite expecting theywould when arriving on campus four years ago.
Hayes and Greene relied on those bonds — with their teammates and coaches— when each dealt with season-ending injuries.
Thomas needed them as she struggled through the ups and downs of transitioning to college basketball her freshman year.
AndMotley experienced just how strong those bondswere earlier this season, when her grandfather died. Everyone from Miami athletic director Blake James to some of the fans from the Watsco Center signed cards and sent comforting messages.
“Itwas hardtocope with for a while, but the people around here really helped me,” Motley said. “And just having that, they helpedme make that year about more than just basketball.”
Miami’s group of four seniors will take all of that with them when their careers are done.
But they’ll leave their mark in Coral Gables, too.
Motley, a two-time AllACC pick, enters today sixth on Miami’s all-time scoring list with 1,778 career points after her 26-point effort against Virginia Tech on Thursday. And both Thomas and Hayes topped the 1,000-point threshold this season, marking just the second time in program history the Hurricanes have had three 1,000-point scorers on the same team.
And the team — which has been ranked in the AP Top 25 all season and has now won 20 games for the seventh time in eight seasons — is once again a lock for theNCAATournament. The Hurricanes seniors will leaveMiamineverhaving missed the postseason and could, if current projections hold, even host at least one tournament game on their home floor.
“I think this particular group of seniors has just played in so many big-time basketball games — I don’t know the stats on this — but as many games as they’ve had, we’ve been ranked,” Hurricanes coach Katie Meier said. “That might be themost in school history. I’m not sure. But they’ve really steadied this program.
“We had to rebuild, and thenwe broke through, but then this class comes through, and they’re probably averaging 20 or so wins and they steadied it. They kept us relevant nationally. … Just a special group for what they’ve accomplished, and they’re making their marks in the record book, which makes me happy. They’ll always be in the Miami record book. … And then it’s the people they are.”
Miami’s seniors expect their last regular-season homegame will be an emotional experience, and each of them is determined to savor it in her own way, especially as they run out of Miami’s famed smoke one last time before their pregame introductions.
Then, when the game is finished, they intend to continue adding to their legacy by helping the Hurricanes reach new heights in postseason. Theultimate goal? To leave the program better than they found it when they arrived on campus.
“Everybody came here wanting to be great. Everybody had a goal in mind. Everybodywanted to make Miami better in every way possible,” Thomas said. “And I think people will realize that once this senior class leaves and goes on, they’ll know that Jessica Thomas, Nigia Greene, Keyona Hayes and Adrienne Motley all had a plan to make Miami better. And they tried whatever they could to do that.”
ccabrera@ sun-sentinel.com; on Twitter@ChristyChirinos