Miami hoping to make Carey feel at home

CORAL GABLES — Vernon Carey Jr. has probably made more trips to the University of Miami’s campus in Coral Gables than he can even count.

Born while his father, Vernon Carey, was still an offensive lineman for the Hurricanes, Carey Jr. toddled his way through the Miami locker room, mingling with his dad’s teammates, including Ed Reed, Santana Moss and Andre Johnson while his father watched proudly.

This weekend, Vernon Carey will watch his son make a different kind of visit to Coral Gables — on a recruiting trip, where the Hurricanes and men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga hope to convince the younger Carey, one of the nation’s top young basketball players, that the place he’s long known as his father’s alma mater will be the right fit for him.

His dad, for the record, hopes that will be the case, too.

“He was a Cane baby,” laughed Vernon Carey, who bookended his Hurricanes career by starring at Miami’s Northwestern High and then playing for the Dolphins. “We support each other, we ride or die for each other. This is home. I’ve been here all my life. I’ve been blessed to play high school here, college here and pro and I mean, everybody knows South Florida is beautiful. … It is what it is. It’s a private school, a small campus, a great education. Coach L is a great coach. He’s been to the Sweet 16, won the ACC. He’s a winning coach and I’m sure if he gets Vern, he’ll win some more.”

While Vernon Carey wouldn’t mind seeing his son wear the same orange and green he did, albeit in a different sport, Carey is determined to make sure the decision where Carey Jr. plays college basketball is one his son makes, and one his son is comfortable with.

The family has met with college basketball royalty during Carey Jr.’s recruiting process and the 6-foot-10, 275-pound center has options that include powerhouse programs Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State and North Carolina, among countless others.

And were Carey — ranked the nation’s top recruit by Rivals and the No. 2 recruit in the nation by 247Sports.com — to choose Miami, he’d instantly boost a class that already includes two top-150 prospects including four-star guard Isaiah Wong and three-star power forward Anthony Walker.

“Here at University School, he’s been a generational kid,” said University School coach Jim Carr of Carey. “Great talent, advanced offensive skill set for a kid his age. He very much has both a power and finesse game. … He’s been playing on the perimeter a lot more than he’s ever played, which is unusual for a kid that size in high school basketball, but with the game changing, it’s a skill set he needs to get. As a teammate, he’s tremendous, he never cheats you on effort during practice, he has a winning attitude. He carried us through certain games last year, a kid that always shows up in big games. He’s a tremendous kid, a tremendous player.”

Carey, who was last year’s Mr. Basketball in Florida and was also the Sun Sentinel Class 6A-1A Player of the Year, averaged 26.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks as a junior. He also helped lead University School to the 5A state championship, the school’s first.

The impact he could have at Miami, his father says, would only add to his already glittering resume.

“He’d be the man for that basketball program,” Carey said. “He’ll get that gym rocking and the hometown would come and support him.”

CARLINE JEAN/SUN SENTINEL Vernon Carey Jr., last year's Sun Sentinel Class 6A-1A Basketball Player of the Year, is one of the nation's top recruits. He's making his official visit to Miami this weekend and his dad, a former Hurricanes football star, is hoping ultimately, his son will be a Hurricane, too.