FSU Upsets #4 Florida, and Haith's Triumph

One reason despite my longtime love for College Football that I prefer College Basketball is that upsets are more common and that every underdog has a fighting chance to win a big game. (That and the fact that College Basketball has a playoff system.) Obviously the Miami game was emotional given the tragic death and subsequent national media coverage of Frank Haith's nephew's tragic shooting death on his wedding day. I want to apologize to the Hurricane family for my criticisms of Coach Haith made on the Canesport.com last week. I was aware of the tragedy but neither the circumstances nor the national attention for the killing in the minutes following Miami's loss to Northwestern. I did not realize the NYPD had shot Haith's nephew without just cause and without any reason. Frank Haith coached his worst game at Miami that night and I took him to task on the message boards. My criticisms of his coaching that night were valid, but I should have been more sensitive to what he and by extension the team were going through. I am also sorry so many Canes fans gave me a "that a boy" after, and piled on by comparing Haith to Perry Clark and Anthony Harris to Darius Rice. (Both Clark and Rice are dirty words for Miami Basketball fans) It seems at times some of us only care about winning, and that isn't the most important thing by a longshot. I am proud of Miami's gutsy effort tonight to win the ACC opener against a highly rated Georgia Tech squad even without the injured Anthony King, and after Raymond Hicks and Jimmy Graham fouled out with lots of time left in the 2nd half.

Some other thoughts:

• I probably watch more FSU Basketball than just about anyone in the nation and tonight was the first time I recall seeing Jason Rich and Isaiah Swann play well together. If this duo can become more consistent and give Tony Douglas some backcourt relief, FSU will be dancing come March.
• Al Thornton as we discussed in the preseason should be an All American candidate. If he played for someone other than FSU in the ACC, anyone other than FSU (even Miami or Clemson) he'd be getting more props.
• Despite winning a National Championship last season, Florida still bothers me. Not only do they play in weak league where they don't get tested every night but the late game decision making of Taueren Green is baffling. I am positive Billy Donovan did not want Green taking that crazy shot at the end of the game tonight. A National Champion point guard has to know when to shoot, when to drive and when to pass. Green despite winning a title thanks largely to a supporting cast of studs still doesn't get it.
• It was nice to see Anthony Harris finally break out of his year long slump. Harris last played a decent game for the Canes in a big win last year in Atlanta versus Tech. Today he put the ball on the floor, drove to the basket and put the game out of reach in Miami's favor.
• Joakhim Noah is still the most intense and most exciting player anywhere in America.
• Florida State needs to figure out its inside game situation before the ACC season starts. The makeshift lineups and 3 guard look will only work for so long. Ryan Reid needs to be the guy to step up in the frontcourt.
• Fox Sports was building up Jack McClinton of Miami as the ACC's Leading Scorer. While this is true, he also takes about a million shots a game, so it's natural he'd be leading the league in points per game.
• Dwayne Collins is still a raw Freshman, but today he showed what an impact he can make for the Canes. He blocked a shot, had two great put back dunks late and swatted the entrance pass to Reshawn Dickey three times after Anthony King left the game injured.
• It was scary to see Fabio Nass play so many minutes but he showed some good intensity on defense, and Coach Haith is probably pleased that the bench is getting deeper and now Nass and Collins have been battle tested in the ACC.
• UVA beat NC State but the real story is how many good shooters the Wolfpack appear to have. The Pack were a unanimous choice by the ACC media to finish in the league basement. I'm not sure that will happen after watching them today.