Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Injury-filled campaign hasn’t thrown Hurricanes off course
While this season’s a struggle, future could hold some promise
Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga’s response to a simple “How are you?” to open his Friday web conference with reporters was a telling one.
“Me, I’m good, but my team is a different story,” Larrañaga said.
That’s been the case for much of the 2020-21 UM season, with the team 7-12 and 3-11 in ACC play heading into Saturday’s noon tip against Georgia Tech at Watsco Center.
A Hurricanes season that began with promise has been derailed by injuries — forward Sam Waardenburg out for season from the start; guard Chris Lykes yet to return since injuring his ankle two games in; center Rodney Miller out for the season five games in; and freshman guard/forward Earl Timberlake only getting seven games under him before being ruled out for the year. Lykes, who Larrañaga said will once again not go on Saturday, is now “unlikely that he’ll play this year again. But I wouldn’t say it’s impossible.”
“We basically have played with four of our top five or six guys not playing this year,” Larrañaga said.
It’s a good time to look ahead to what’s next for Miami beyond the final five games of this regular season.
Miami had a senior-laden roster, but that doesn’t mean the players will all move on. Because the season has been played amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not being counted against player eligibility.
Larrañaga said Friday he has spoken with Lykes regularly, as he and his staff have done with all their players. They, like other players across college basketball, will be weighing three options: remain at their school, turn pro or transfer.
“I don’t think it’s time yet for anybody to make a decision,” Larrañaga said Friday. “Sometime, probably in April, you’ll see a lot of names in the [transfer] portal. I’m not saying our players; I’m saying nationally.
“Every individual has to do what’s best for him, whether it’s return or leave to either go pro or to another school.”
The transfer market this offseason is expected to be robust.
“There’s going to be a major market,” Larrañaga said. “We’ll be looking in the transfer portal, and so will every Division-I school — and every player will probably visit with their families as to what the best options are for them.”
It brings Larrañaga solace to know that UM was one of only seven Power Five schools to not lose a player to transfer last season. Pending eligibility decisions for Lykes, Waardenburg, Miller, guards Kameron McGusty and Elijah Olaniyi and center Nysier Brooks will all play a role in how deep the Hurricanes will have to look into the transfer portal.
In the team’s 2021 recruiting class, the Hurricanes already have wings in four-star prospect Jakai Robinson and three-star Nisine Poplar signed while four-star point guard Bensley Joseph is committed but yet to sign.
Their infusion could complement a core of returning underclassmen led by the team’s high scorer, sophomore guard Isaiah Wong, who has stepped up in Lykes’ absence.
Regardless of what happens with the roster, Miami athletic director Blake James gave Larrañaga his vote of confidence this week amid a difficult season.
“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned about the direction of the program,” James said on Tuesday. “This has been a year unlike any other.
“When you take the COVID aspect out of it — which I think is much more wearing on the staff and the players than people realize when you’re not doing it day to day — but you combine in the injuries and it’s been one of those years.
“Coach Larrañaga has shown his ability to lead and his ability to coach, and I don’t think there’s a person that is a better fit for the University of Miami. And I think Coach L’s record shows that.”
Larrañaga’s response on Friday: “Here’s the way I look at my coaching career, and it’s been this way since I started: I love coaching. I love doing what I’m doing, and if the people here are happy with me, I’m going to continue to coach.
“But that was true wherever I’ve been. I’ve told athletic directors that I’ve worked for, the moment you don’t feel like I’m the right guy for the job, well, you know, just tell me. I’m OK with that.”