10 Years Ago: Canes Return to the Dance After a Long Respite

Kevin Norris and Coach Hamilton/ from viewimages.com


The drought was never supposed to get to 37 years. Miami was good in the early 1960s. Very good. But the Canes were an Independent in an era when conference champions made the dance, and also got caught with a minor recruiting violation in 1963 which meant Rick Barry, a legend of Basketball at all levels played as a senior with no NCAA or NIT hopes. The Miami program was suspended in 1971 but when the program returned in the mid 1980s an NCAA push was supposed to be in order. The recruitment of Tito Horford by Canes Assistant Seth Greenberg was the final piece we thought in getting an already competitive Miami team over the hump. In fact, the Canes were so highly thought off, the team had six games on national TV including two on network TV during the 1987-88 season, despite not making the postseason in almost 25 years as opposed to this year's ACC team that has two nationally televised games despite making postseason in ten of the last thirteen seasons.

It was not to be. Miami wasn't able to compete against the Kansas', DePaul's and Notre Dame's on the schedule. Sure we could beat Florida State every now and then and beat up on Rider. But the Canes despite consecutive 17 plus win seasons wasn't even invited to the NIT. Then Tito Horford went pro early, while Eric Brown, Dennis Burns and Kevin Presto graduated after the 19 win 1998-89 season. Miami was then left with below average talent as the team entered arguably the best Basketball league in America, the Big East. Miami was able to poach Leonard Hamilton away from Oklahoma State where he had built a good program, a program about to explode onto the national scene.

Miami struggled in its initial Big East campaign but then the second year was surprisingly and strangely competitive. Winning seven league games the Canes appeared on the cusp of breaking through and signed a huge recruiting class. But shockingly the next season, Miami went winless in the Big East, the only team in the history of the league to do so. Time was running out on Leonard Hamilton. The next season, 1994-95 Miami stormed back and flirted with an NCAA birth until a first round Big East tourney exit and ended up in the NIT which at that point for the program was like making the Final Four. But the next two years the Canes didn't improve, and also ended up in the NIT.

The 1997-98 season was thus the final make or break campaign for the program. Getting to the NCAA would likely mean a sustained run with a solid recruiting base. Missing the NCAAs would mean that the program would probably be starting over with a new coach and the battle scars of over thirty years of failure. The Hurricanes entered the season with Senior PG Kevin Norris leading the team. It was Norris who as a Freshman transformed Miami from a team that was winless in the ACC the previous season to an NCAA bubble team the next. Norris was complimented by Tim James a 6'-7'' athletic leaper who could make a mid range jumper and played great defense. Also SG Johnny Hemsley and 6'6'' wide body Mario Bland were key ingredients.

The Canes faced a decent Georgetown team early in the season. As had become fairly typical Miami beat a Big East foe at home in December. But when the Canes crushed U Conn in early January the Miami was 5-0 in the league. Then came the fall: road losses to Syracuse, St John's and West Virginia as well as a home losses to Syracuse and Seton Hall left Miami on the bubble. The Hurricanes had helped the case with a convincing comeback win in South Bend against Notre Dame in a game where Digger Phelps and the 1978 Final Four team was honored. But then the Canes came home and lost to Seton Hall. The Hurricanes had lost several close games on the road where PG Kevin Norris had to do too much: he had to run the team and also take the critical shots to try and bail out his young team mates.

Miami's NCAA hopes came down to one last game. One game to save the program. Coming to town was #18 West Virginia, already assured of an NCAA bid but playing for seeding. However despite the urgency the Canes fell behind in the game and were forced into desperation mode late. But Norris came through big time. Hitting three consecutive three points, two of which he shot from over 22 feet out, he willed the weary, run down Canes to a 70-66 win and an at-large NCAA birth, the schools first in thirty seven long years. Miami would lose a heartbreaker to UCLA in dying seconds in the NCAAs but getting there was a victory. The Canes would go on to claim a #2 seed in the following year's NCAAs and win the Big East and advance to the Sweet 16 the year after. The program after many false starts had finally arrived thanks to Kevin Norris and his clutch ice water in the veins moment against West Virginia.

Orange Bowl Countdown: #2

1986 Miami vs Oklahoma

The 1986 matchup between Miami and Oklahoma was the first #1 vs #2 matchup Miami had ever played in. The Sooners came in ranked at the top of the polls, as the defending national champs while still smarting from a loss to the Canes the previous year. The stakes were high for this game and CBS had hyped the matchup for weeks as a potential national championship game. The Hurricanes came out behind Vinny Testeverde who had his signature Heisman moment in the first half on a wild run which believe it or not only gained a net of 9 yards and stormed out to the lead. Fullback Melvin Bratton and WR Brett Perriman had particularly good first halves and the Canes never looked back. Jamile Holloway and the Oklahoma offense was suffocated by Jerome Brown, Daniel Stubbs and the Miami front four. Miami's linebackers led by George Mira Jr. played a critical role as well in 28-16 victory which never seemed that close.