Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Larrañaga hopeful for Walker’s return
CORAL GABLES — It didn’t take long for Lonnie Walker to make an impression after his arrival in Coral Gables.
On the morning of the Hurricanes’ first men’s basketball summer workout, Walker — a 6-foot-4 guard widely considered one of the top prospects in the nation — knocked on his teammates’ doors, making sure they were ready to head to the gym with him to begin working with Jim Larrañaga and his staff.
During the fourth of those workouts, though, Walker tore the meniscus in his right knee. The freshman had surgery last week, but Larrañaga said Monday the Hurricanes are optimistic they’ll have Walker back in time for Miami’s season opener against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 10.
“Each individual is different,” Larrañaga said. “Right now, we’re planning on him being available by Game 1. But I kind of like to be optimistic when it comes to things like that.”
One reason for Larranaga’s optimism? The fact former Hurricanes star Davon Reed suffered a similar injury during offseason training in 2014 and bounced back relatively quickly.
Reed, who was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the second round of last month’s NBA draft, tore the meniscus in his left knee in September. Initially, doctors expected he would miss four to six months.
He played again in December that year, his recovery giving Larrañaga hope Walker will be as lucky.
“[Reed] worked so hard and his rehab went so well, with no setbacks and the doctors cleared him,” Larrañaga said. “He practiced and played that early in December. We’ll just have to wait and see how Lonnie progresses.”
A quick return would, no doubt, be a boost for the Hurricanes, who are expected to be a forced in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
Miami returns seven players from a team that went 21-12 last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. To that, the Hurricanes added one of their most decorated recruiting classes in program history, with Walker’s signing one of the highlights.
Walker, who hails from Reading, Penn., was both a McDonald’s and Jordan Brand Classic All-American as a senior. He was rated the No. 12 prospect in the nation by ESPN and is widely considered a prospect in next year’s NBA draft, something even Larrañaga alluded to on Monday.
He averaged 18.4 points to help lead Reading High to its first Pennsylvania state championship, and his skill set, Larrañaga says, will make it easier for him to transition to the college game once he’s healthy.
“He was at practice today. He was watching. He’s seeing everything that’s going on, and he’s a very bright young man,” Larrañaga said. “He has a lot of leadership qualities, so he understands the importance of him being there. Out of sight is out of mind, and he doesn’t want to be out of sight. He wants to be there. He wants to be working. He’s rehabbing right there while we’re practicing, so he gets a chance to observe and to work on his own on the things he needs to be doing. He’ll be behind, but not so far behind. … He’ll be fine.”
Recruiting a priority
Also Monday, Larrañaga said he and his staff are hoping to build on Miami’s recent recruiting success in the coming weeks, especially with the Hurricanes likely to lose Walker and Bruce Brown to the NBA and with guard Ja’Quan Newton set to graduate. Though Miami does not have any players committed to their 2018 class, their last class included Walker, point guard Chris Lykes and forward Deng Gak, a haul that earned the Hurricanes the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation, according to Rivals.com
That success with topnotch players, combined with Miami’s play in recent seasons as well as the development of several NBA prospects including Reed, Sheldon Mac and Shane Larkin, Larrañaga said, has more top-flight recruits considering the Hurricanes.
“We’re looking down the road to the Class of 2018 and ’19 to hopefully continue with the success we’ve enjoyed so far in the recruiting arena,” Larrañaga said. “My staff, Chris Caputo, Jamal Brunt and Adam Fisher are very, very busy right now getting us involved with some of the top players in the country. … Every basketball program in the ACC has the opportunity to recruit top-50, top-100 caliber players.”
Big men improving
Larrañaga also noted he’s seen progress in the development of Miami’s trio of sophomore big men, centers Ebuka Izundu and Rodney Miller and forward Dewan Huell, a former McDonald’s All-American.
Huell, he said, has been invited to the Adidas Nations event in August and has lead the team in scoring during several practices of late.
“We’re going to need him, Buka and Rodney Miller to really man that interior for us,” Larrañaga said. “Last year, those guys were all very young and very inexperienced. Now, I feel like they’re veterans. I see the improvement and it’s significant.”