South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Cristobal praises hoops team for historic Elite Eight run
CORAL GABLES — The Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team made history early Saturday morning, beating Iowa State and earning a spot in the first Elite Eight in program history.
Miami’s performance impressed his football coach Mario Cristobal, and the first-year UM coach heaped praise on his basketball counterpart.
“It’s incredible,” Cristobal said. “The whole world’s better when Miami’s kicking ass. That’s what it is. Coach L — what can you say about him and all those players? I’ve never been and seen a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight in person, but I’ve got to imagine — just watching it through the screen, the juice, the energy is incredible and it affects everybody.”
Cristobal said the basketball team is a big topic of conversation with the football players.
“It affects our players,” Cristobal said. “Our players are talking about it nonstop.”
Miami will look to continue its Cinderella run when it faces top-seeded Kansas at 2:20 p.m. on
Sunday in Chicago.
“It brings everybody together, so we’re super happy for those guys, proud to be a member of this university, always proud to be a Cane,” Cristobal said. “I’m looking forward to them maintaining and keeping that streak going.”
Mallory expected back for fall
Veteran Will Mallory is expected to miss the remainder of spring practice with a shoulder injury, but Cristobal said Thursday he expects to have the rising fifthyear senior back for the season.
“I will say is that when we play this season, he’ll be playing with us,” Cristobal said.
Mallory was the Hurricanes’ leading tight end in 2021, notching 347 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 30 catches. He has 1,006 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his UM career.
Hurricanes host big-name coaches
Miami had national title and Super Bowl winners on campus Friday and Saturday for a coaching clinic the Hurricanes hosted.
In addition to Hurricanes coaches, former Miami and Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay and former LSU coach Ed Orgeron were among the speakers at the clinic.
McVay spoke to the Hurricanes at the end of Saturday’s practice.
“He was cool,” quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said. “Some of the words he had to share with us — he was pretty inspiring.”
More than 400 coaches attended the clinic, giving the Hurricanes’ staff a chance to build relationships with the coaches in attendance.
“First and foremost, you want to be able to build trust in people and confidence, and the only way someone can trust you is if they know you,” Cristobal said. “And the only way they can know you is if you spend time with them, you invest time in them, so for us — we want to make sure that we invest in them and their programs. Help their programs get better.”