Raising Huell on court
Miami forward emerging as a strong team leader
CORAL GABLES — After the Hurricanes let a 13-point second-half lead against Duke slip away and after the Miami men’s basketball team had dropped three of its last four in conference play, Dewan Huell believed he had seen enough.
And so, the forward who had entered his sophomore year hoping to become one of Miami’s leaders, called his teammates to a players-only meeting.
While the Hurricanes discussed some of their issues — their lack of assists and late defensive breakdowns among them — Huell’s message was simple.
“I want to be a part of something successful, not a losing program,” the sophomore said. “And the guys were with me. We all want to win. We don’t want to be in the NIT. … I don’t think any of us want that.”
Four days after that meeting, the Hurricanes traveled to North Carolina State and put together one of their best performances early in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Miami shot 57.6 percent from the field against the Wolfpack and led for all but two minutes at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes were 10-of-19 from 3-point range, had a season-high 26 assists on 34 field goals, and though NC State pulled within five twice late, the Hurricanes were able to hold them off for a much-needed 86-81 win.
Huell, who is averaging a team-high 13.6 points, had a relatively quiet game, finishing with just eight points in 21 minutes, but his message had been delivered: to win as a team, the Hurricanes had to play as one.
“Our assists average had been going
“I want to be a part of something successful, not a losing program.” Dewan Huell, UM forward
down every game,” Huell said. “So we really talked about playing as a team and playing better defense to end games and defending the three better.”
The Hurricanes (14-4, 3-3) will look to do that all again Wednesday when they host Louisville (15-4, 5-1) on Wednesday at the Watsco Center.
After their tough January start, Miami dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, but the Hurricanes know if the wins keep coming, the ranking will return.
In the meantime, Huell says he’s determined to do his part, especially as the lone Miami native on the Hurricanes roster.
He arrived in Coral Gables in 2016 as one of the most decorated prospects in program history. As a McDonald’s All-American at Miami’s Norland High School, he led the Vikings to three state championships.
Many in the community expected he’d play a season at Miami and turn his focus to the NBA. Even Huell hinted at that possibility, one that seemed realistic early during his freshman year as the Hurricanes worked their way through their nonconference schedule.
Then ACC play began, and Huell’s eyes were opened.
“I knew right away I was coming back. [ACC play] is really aggressive and fast,” said Huell, who averaged just 17 minutes and 5.8 points per game last season. “In the beginning of the season, I didn’t really know what to do with the ball when I caught it. I tried to stick to the stuff I was doing in high school, just ripping to the basket or catching and finishing, but I wasn’t doing that well enough because everyone around me was athletic and stronger than me. It was a wake-up call.”
That wake-up call resulted in dozens more, literally.
After realizing he wasn’t ready for the NBA, Huell spent much of his offseason working with the Hurricanes’ training staff, often dragging himself out of bed before dawn to put up shots on his own before joining his teammates for full workouts.
He added bulk to his now 6-foot-11, 220-pound frame and he watched a lot of film, studying how ACC opponents were able to outmuscle him.
Huell vowed that wouldn’t happen again, and with the Hurricanes losing veterans Davon Reed and Kamari Murphy, he also set out to become one of Miami’s vocal leaders. His efforts have made a difference. “He’s shown his passion for winning,” Hurricanes freshman Chris Lykes said. “Even before the Duke game, he said, ‘We have to come out here and stop losing. I don’t like losing.’ He’s done a great job of trying to be a leader. He wasn’t pointing fingers, we all just talked about what we could do better as a team to make ourselves better. He’s done a great job of that.”
Added Miami coach Jim Larrañaga: “He is so interested in learning. He wants to do everything we’re trying to teach … He’s one of our co-captains and the reason we named him one of the co-captains is because of his willingness to do what we’re asking him to do. He really has embraced our philosophy so I want to give him a chance to bloom, to blossom in that regard. And he’s doing it.”