Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Larrañaga encouraged by his team’s depth
But ’Canes coach knows players must stay healthy
After last year’s disrupted and injury-ridden season, the Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team is entering the 2021-22 season with optimism that the program will have greater success than it’s had in recent years.
The Hurricanes finished the 2020-21 season with a 10-17 (4-15 ACC) record after being without several key players during the stretch run of the year due to injuries.
“Last year, there was no way to anticipate what we were going to be dealing with in terms of injuries,” Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga said Tuesday.
“When Sam Waardenburg went down, I saw the foot injury. It looked like a mild sprain. It turned out to be a break and he’s out for a year. Chris Lykes sprains his ankle. Then Rodney Miller goes down, Kam McGusty gets hurt. There’s no way to anticipate who is going to get hurt, when they’re going to get hurt [and] how long they’re going to be out.
“When we’re completely healthy, I think we’ve got a deep team. [Monday], we had a number of guys who didn’t practice because we’re dealing with injuries. I’m optimistic we can get healthy and have a good team this year. We have to be healthy in order to be good.”
UM lost five players who were on last year’s team at one point during the season to the transfer portal: Lykes (Arkansas), Elijah Olaniyi (back to Stony Brook, where he transferred to Miami from) and Nysier Brooks (Ole Miss), Earl Timberlake (Memphis) and Matt Cross (Louisville).
But the Hurricanes brought back Isaiah Wong and McGusty after both guards declared for the 2021 NBA draft before deciding to return to Coral Gables, helping give Larrañaga confidence in his team despite the roster turnover.
“I love the way both of them are practicing right now, the way they’re giving it their all every single day,” Larrañaga said. “The NBA scouts let them know there are parts of their game they have to work on, mainly on the defensive end of the floor.”
Larrañaga identified improved rebounding from both Wong and McGusty as ways for Miami to improve its defense.
“We can’t give up the shooting percentages, the offensive rebounds we have,” Larrañaga added. “We’re not a very big team physically. We don’t have a lot of bulk. So it’s up to our guards to really help the big guys with rebounding. Kam and Isaiah are both very capable of averaging five, six, seven rebounds a game like Bruce Brown did.”
The Hurricanes also added Jordan Miller (George Mason) and Charlie Moore (DePaul) solidifying UM’s backcourt depth.
Moore, a sixth-year guard who’s also played at Kansas and California, averaged 14.4 points and 4.2 assists with the Blue Demons last year while Miller, who’s 6 foot 6, averaged 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds with the Patriots.
“Both guys have made a very smooth adjustment to the University of Miami basketball program,” Larrañaga said. “Charlie is clearly a point guard, but he’s also an excellent shooter. Miller, on the other hand, can stretch the [defense] and make some 3s, but he’s perhaps our best offensive rebounder as well. He’s very good in and around the basket.
“The two of them are certainly going to be in the rotation, and I expect them both to make major contributions.”
Among other additions to the team, Larrañaga said that he “loves” Miami’s true freshman guard trio of Bensley Joseph, Jakai Robinson and Wooga Poplar.
“Very clearly Bensley is a point guard, he likes to distribute the ball [and] plays hard-nosed defense,” Larrañaga added. “Poplar can really score, shoots from deep range. We had a 20-minute scrimmage, he had 20 points in 20 minutes. So he can really score, is about 6-4, 200 pounds. As a freshman he’s got a lot to learn defensively.
“And Jakai Robinson is a real warrior, really hard-nosed guy, can defend, rebound, shares the ball very well. Those three freshmen are going to get a good look early in the season to see who is ready to help us right away.”