James latest to defend program
Hurricanes AD critical of Herbstreit’s comments about football team
The Miami Hurricanes may be in the midst of a bye week, but the criticism they received nearly two weeks ago from longtime ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit still lingers over the program.
During ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast that aired Sept. 25, Herbstreit cited issues in the athletic department as reasons why the Hurricanes haven’t been relevant in more than a decade, saying, “You have an athletic department that clearly is not really showing that this is something they are willing to try and make changes ... Until you get a president and an AD and a coach together on the same page, I guess football doesn’t matter.”
After coach Manny Diaz and university President Julio Frenk pushed back on Herbstreit’s comments since they were made, University of Miami athletics director Blake James was the latest to come to the defense of the university and football program.
“It wasn’t well-received because it’s inaccurate,” James said Thursday during an appearance on the ACC Network’s Packer and Durham. “When you look at what our program has done and the investments we have made under Dr. Frenk in football and athletics overall, it’s been significant.
“Can we do things at a higher level? Without a doubt. That’s college sports — the bar is always being raised. The statement was just inaccurate and it caught us by surprise.
“It’s frustrating to have something like that out there. We have great alignment.”
The scrutiny surrounding Miami (2-3, 0-1 ACC) has only intensified after its disappointing start.
Herbstreit’s comments came five days before the Hurricanes lost to Virginia in their ACC opener Sept. 30 at Hard Rock Stadium.
After entering the season ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, UM has dropped out of the Top 25.
Its lone wins are against Appalachian State, a Group of Five program, and Central Connecticut State, an FCS team.
The Hurricanes have lost their last five games against fellow Power Five teams, dating to last season.
“Do we need to win more football games? There’s no doubt about that,” James said. “Manny knows [it], I know it and Dr. Frenk knows it. Those are expectations we are focused on meeting.
“We’re at 2-3 right now, not the way anyone drew this up. With that said, we have seven games to
Eight men out, four left. “That’s crazy,” Herro said. “Everything that’s happened in the last two seasons, one year, just crazy. I think the team we put together is a great fit, and we’re trying to make another run. So this year, I think, we’re really well put together, a great mix of veterans and young guys.”
Not that the turnover hasn’t been a talking point.
“We were just talking about it, to start off training camp, just how transient this league is,” Robinson said.
“Things change year in and year out. I think one thing that is great about this organization, while there might feel like there’s a revolving door maybe of players, I think that we’ve always had guys that kind of fit what we’re trying to do. And the expectations here remain the same.
“I guess when you kind of look at it, it feels like a lot’s changed. But really, internally, we feel like the goals, the expectations are still the same.”
The four who remain from the 12 who appeared in the 2020 Finals were the Heat’s four leading scorers in that series, as well as the leaders in minutes per game in that series.
The Heat are not unique in their turnaround from the 2020 Finals. Of the 12 players who saw action for the Lakers during that series, only LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard remain, with Rondo and Howard having departed and then returned.
While Spoelstra stopped short of saying that change is essential, he said what is essential is bringing in players who mesh with what remains, and, as Robinson said, mesh with the franchise’s direction.
“I feel like we have our continuity, still,” Spoelstra said, “because guys have been in our program, know what we’re about and how we want to play. And the veteran players that we added are highly decorated.
“The guys know how to fit in, and help whatever program they’re in. So that helps.”