CBS College Sports Replaying Miami-St Mary's NCAA Game

This Thursday at 2pm ET, CBS College Sports Network will offer a replay of the NCAA Tournament win for Miami against St Mary's. Jack McClinton scored 38 points in that game and the Canes won our first NCAA Tournament game since beating Ohio State in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament.

No Shame Whatsoever

The Hurricanes 2007-08 season ended this afternoon in Little Rock but not before a valiant comeback effort against an outstanding Texas team fell just short. Today's game was one of Miami's best all season, after a rocky start. The Hurricanes seemed focused from a defensive standpoint on taking away DJ Augustin's dribble penetration but were forced to change defenses after Texas lit up from three point range.

Obviously Jack McClinton's cold shooting for much of the game hurt Miami, but the bottom line on Miami's exit from the NCAA tournament is that after having an outstanding season, Dwayne Collins disappeared when he picked up his fourth foul in the final regular season game against Florida State. Collins scored a total of ten points in Miami's four postseason games, a far cry from a guy that was averaging double figures in ACC play prior to the Florida State loss. In addition, today Collins got free near the basket several times against Texas' zone which seemed more concerned about preventing McClinton from toughing the ball than anything else. Had Collins provided anything beyond missed dunks and blown layups, Miami would be preparing for Stanford in Sweet 16 right now.

Dwayne Collins is a big athlete who is still learning how to play Basketball. Next year as a Junior much improvement will be expected from the big guy. He has to become a better rebounder and less awkward under the basket. Jimmy Graham provides the energy and the spark off the bench up front. Collins has to provide the muscle.

Anthony King today played one of his better games of the season. He like Ray Hicks who nearly became a legend of Miami Basketball today, finished their somewhat conflicted careers on high notes. Ray Hicks is a Texas kid who was Frank Haith's first recruit to Miami. Haith had watched him in High School while serving on Rick Barnes Longhorn staff, but Hicks wasn't good enough to play for Texas. But when Perry Clark was fired, Miami lost an entire recruiting class and Haith offered Hicks a scholarship on the last day possible.

Hicks has always been undersized for a big man and too slow to play on the perimeter. I recall him prior to today hitting only one three pointer in his career: a shot against Wake Forest as a Freshman. Three years later he hit two great threes to pull Miami within an eyelash of the Sweet 16. Hicks, like Graham is a front line energy player, but today in his last College game he showed he could do anything for the sake of the team.

Lance Hurdle played an outstanding game today. I don't recall him turning the ball over once and his ability to beat Texas' zone off the dribble and get to the basket was instrumental in the Canes comeback. Next year with the entire Canes back court returning, big things will be expected.

This season's team will forever live in the memories of Miami Basketball fans as the team that brought the Canes back to the point we were at before Perry Clark destroyed our program. These kids re-established Miami as destination school for recruits and made the ACC elites take notice that bringing Miami into their snobbish club for Football purposes meant we could crash the party in Basketball. This team will go down as an unforgettable bunch and they went down today fighting: even in a loss the way we want to remember our teams.

Some other thoughts:

• The Hurricanes seemed to be outplaying Texas early in the 2nd half even as the Longhorns lead grew to 17 points. It simply seemed a matter of time before the Canes made a run, but the time ran out eventually on the Canes.
• I thought the foul called on Ray Hicks underneath as the shot clock expired with about seven minutes to go in game was awful. Miami had played thirty four seconds of great defense and had it all go to waste on that call. To complicate matters the Horns got two more possessions out of it when the Canes couldn't grab a rebound.
• Speaking of bad foul calls DJ Abrams absolutely shoved off on Jack McClinton when the referee whistled the foul on Miami with three seconds left on the shot clock and under four minutes to go in the game. That particular call may have cost Miami the game.
• I've seen some criticism of Miami tonight for not employing the press earlier. The reality is Miami has several times this year fallen far behind in games only to claw their way back by going to the basket on offense and drawing fouls (thus scoring with the clock stopped) at the same time as playing lockdown defense. That formula worked again today and the press Miami employed, while effective isn't the way Coach Haith likes to play.
• Miami had the great season they did because of free throw shooting. That was on display again today late. Put Miami on the line late in games and your conceding two points. Put Texas on the line and anything can happen.
• Later this week I'll have a season recap and look at ahead to next season.
  

The 2007-08 Miami Hurricanes: A Personal Experience

Very few times in my life have I been as close to a team in any sport as this year's Hurricane Basketball team. The only parallel I would draw were the 1993/94 and 1994/95 Florida Gator Basketball teams who made the NCAAs while I was a student at the University of Florida and was attending every game. As fans we cheer for our favorite teams. I cheer for the Gators and Hurricanes with emotion and generally am indifferent to professional sports. But rarely if ever do you really connect with a team and understand them psychologically. Football from my perspective is tough to connect and get involved with: huge stadiums, bad seats and the fact that you hardly ever get to see the players faces. College Basketball for me is the American sport which elicits the most passion from its fans: much like European football (soccer), or Aussie Rules Football. I've always taken College Basketball more seriously as a sport than any other U.S. based sport or league.

The last two years, Florida won the National Championship. While that was a great experience and I loved watching that team, I really didn't know them the way I know these Canes. I enjoyed Miami's run in the late 1990s and caught a few games here and there in person. (I even drove 450 miles from Tallahassee on a Friday night to catch Tim James jersey retirement ceremony the next afternoon). But that team still didn't have the personal connection with me that this Miami team does. I've been to every Miami home game this year except one. I've been to the majority of ACC games Miami has played since joining the conference, and I feel a certain ownership of this team that I haven't felt towards any sports team since those Gator Basketball teams of the mid 1990s when I was a student. The circa 1998-2002 Hurricanes and recent Gator teams had my attention, and I watched them accordingly. The mid 1990s Gators and this year's Hurricanes have my heart.

When you watch a team closely you understand them better, and can set your expectations accordingly. I have for years expected a collapse from Miami's Football program due to the changing landscape in college football, the lack of good football facilities, the move to Dolphins Stadium and the emergence of smaller, more attractive public school programs in Florida. I have been correct in my assessment of Miami Football and do not believe despite the recruiting rankings that Miami will ever be a consistent Football power again. I know the Miami Football program which is precisely why I believe its history must be honored more than it is, and our fan base needs to understand that the elements that created Miami's rise and dominance simply no longer exist in College sports.

Basketball is a natural for Miami, with the exception of the lack of fan support. An urban school, with great weather in the best basketball league perception wise in the country. Miami's move to the ACC peaked my interest in the program. I'll admit I have always had a bit of a fetish for ACC Basketball. I had no rooting interest in the league but for years I caught every game possible whether nationally televised or not because it was something I wanted to be a part of. ACC Basketball is like European Football (soccer). The crowd passion and interest makes want to be a part of it. The SEC and Big East never did that for me.

So the move to the ACC took me, a Miami fan who previously went to few Hurricane games a season into the ranks of an obsessed crazed lunatic. Suddenly not only were the Hurricane Basketball team more important than every other sports team I follow, but they were more important than the past UM and UF teams I had so adored and they were more important to me than the Gator teams that were about to win two national titles.

Suddenly, I did something I swore I would never do. I paid attention to recruiting and now I've followed the recruitment and careers of every UM player save Anthony King (who was recruited by Perry Clark when Miami still played in the Big East) on an almost day by day basis it seems. Unlike Football, you sit right by the floor in Basketball and you seemingly interact with the players all season long. You watch the game develop and notice the intangibles guys bring to the table. You watch players mature and grow and see how adversity affects them. You understand the game because you are close to the game. College Football doesn't offer that unless you're a Bull Gator or Hurricane Club member.

Thus, I came to the conclusion after last season that Miami was in better shape following a last place ACC finish than the after the previous season where Miami's season had ended with a last second loss that denied the Canes a trip to Madison Square Garden at the NIT Final Four. I had seen both teams, one a somewhat winning team, and one a losing team. I determined based on grit, and personality that the losing team was better and would the next season be a winning team that could finish in the ACC upper division. Just as up close observation of Miami Football had me determining the program was terminally ill, I felt Miami Basketball despite poor results was about the explode.

Tomorrow, Miami's season will likely end in Little Rock. Texas is just too good right now for the Canes, but the game provides a striking model. Should Frank Haith stay at Miami, Texas is clearly the model the Hurricanes are following. A physical team with a strong low post game, that can control tempo. A program that can consistently make the NCAAs in a football crazed state whose attention for Basketball is minimal. Frank Haith is a Rick Barnes protege' and he has built the program in the Texas mold. I've watched him build the program from the ground up and am loving the ride as I have rarely done with sports teams in the past. The ride continues next season as Miami's program continues to grow in stature and reputation, while hopefully South Florida finally becomes aware that College Basketball season begins before March.

Half Court Defense: Miami's Trademark

Jimmy Graham from Getty Images

The Hurricanes have won their first NCAA game since defeating Ohio State eight years ago when Leonard Hamilton was still coaching the team. My long held fear that Perry Clark's reign would turn Miami into another Oregon State, Florida State or Baylor (until Scott Drew turned that thing around) were subsided this season. As our readers recall I predicted the Hurricanes Football team to have a losing record unlike any of the so called "experts" and was correct and also predicted the Hurricanes would push to make the NCAAs in Basketball despite being picked last in the league at ACC media day. On both counts I was correct, although I will admit my lifetime record of predictions has been nowhere near as accurate, and the Hurricanes play during points of this season particularly against Florida State twice had me wondering if I was misplaced with my faith.

Last season very few people paid attention to Miami after December. I continued to watch and despite being beat night in and night out I saw a team that played great defense and never gave up on games despite being undermanned against every ACC opponent. So from my vantage point, Frank Haith accomplished something Perry Clark couldn't: keep a bad team that was being beaten every night interested in Basketball. Knowing the ACC was going to be weaker this year and Miami's only losses were the vastly out of sorts Anthony Harris and the destructive Dennis Clemente, I figured shedding talent and staying healthy may move the Canes towards the ACC upper division. That's why after last season I correctly stated on the All Canes blog run by our buddy Canes 305 that I felt better about a 12-20 Miami team than the team that made the NIT quarterfinals the previous season. I could sense Miami's identity being formed through a very long, tough and difficult year, something I never sensed on a team where Rob Hite and Guillermo Diaz showed no discipline but were too talented to not at least get Miami to the NIT in back to back seasons.

Today's performance was the nation's first taste of what Hurricane fans have seen all year. I find it amazing that Ian Eagle and Jim Sparnarkal kept referring to both teams as sloppy. Had they scouted Miami closely they'd realize every Miami game is sloppy. The Hurricanes interior defense creates mistakes for the opposition, while Miami's lack of a true ball handler creates offensive issues for the Hurricanes. After falling behind 9-2 in the opening minutes and not having any sort of movement off the ball to create offensive opportunities, Miami's half court defense clamped down and frustrated St Mary's for much of the remainder of the first half. Given St Mary's had used all their ammunition and had played about as well as they had and were only up five, meant Miami simply had to outlast the Gaels in the second half.

But the Canes actually went on a run and Jack McClinton showed moves off the dribble we haven't seen much of this year. Included in McClinton's 38 points were only three, 3 pointers. So in other words he not only got to the free throw line a lot but he hit alot of mid range jumpers in the lane, something that typically is more James Dews' game. At the same time Miami's often absent perimeter defense began to clamp down on the St Mary's guards and the post defense continued to dominate. So the Hurricanes ran away with the game.

The key of course was the half court defense which Jimmy Graham and Dwayne Collins anchor but which get substantial contributions on some nights from Seniors Ray Hicks and Anthony King. Both Seniors were outstanding today.

The Hurricanes now face Texas, and Coach Haith's mentor Rick Barnes. Miami will be substantially out classed more like the Canes were against North Carolina than against a Duke team Miami really could have beaten twice if some bounces and calls had gone the right way. But Miami's half court sets on defense will give anybody fits. The question is do the Hurricanes have enough scoring in the tank and can they cut down on the turnovers to give Texas a game?

Other thoughts:

• Thank goodness for Mega March Madness online. By signing up for a VIP pass I wasn't deprived of the game after WPEC in West Palm Beach opted to switch telecasts to Tennessee-American. I live in Broward County but watched the game in Boca Raton with a friend and instantly turned to the computer and watched the remainder of the Canes game.
  
• Lance Hurdle turned the ball over by my count seven times today. Recall this week I stated he'd be the key for the Hurricanes in tournament. On that count I was wrong. The Hurricanes won today in spite of Hurdle not because of him.
  
• Brian Asbury has regressed offensively as the year has gone on. What little he gives the team on offense is a bonus at this point, but his man up defense is probably still the best on the team.
  
• Jimmy Graham changes games. I've said it all year. Miami is much better with Graham on the floor than Anthony King. But Graham must learn how to not pick up silly, quick fouls if he is to play more minutes next year. However you don't want to over coach him because his aggressiveness on both ends of the floor is what makes him so good.
  
• Jack McClinton's game today is one of the best, perhaps the best ever by a UM player. Not only did he break Johnny Hemsley's school record of 35 points against Lafayette in the NCAAs back in 1999, but the way he scored today showed a maturity he lacked just two months ago.
• Anthony King showed more fire today than he has all season. That's a senior making his first tournament appearance for you.
  
• Classy move by Coach Haith at the end getting walk ons Landon Glover and Johnathan Stratton on the floor. They will always be able to tell their families and kids that they played in an NCAA Tournament victory!
  

JACK MAC BIG DANCE ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

McClinton scored 38/ Sun Sentinel photos





WOW! After looking totally out of sorts in the first half and going into halftime down five the Canes blew the doors off St Mary's so quickly in the second half that CBS switched the game in the West Palm market at the under 12 timeout. An awesome six minutes of Basketball from the 18:00 minute mark to the under twelve timeout made me believe if the Canes can capture that effort over a longer period of time they can beat anyone, anywhere, anytime. After having a quiet first half, Jack McClinton scored 32 second half points for a total of 38. Texas is probably up next and with an NCAA win under our belt everything the Canes do from here on out is gravy.

MORE LATER

Canes Crashing and Burning Tomorrow?

That's what most of the experts think. However many of these so-called experts have yet to see Miami play this season. That having been said St Mary's is a better team than Miami and should win the game. The Hurricanes are still a year away from being a truly dangerous team, in the sense that they are not yet a team that is ready to make a Sweet 16 type run. Why? Miami's scoring options are limited and as we have seen all year Miami must slow games down and force a sloppy half court oriented game to beat anyone capable of making either the NCAA or the NIT. The amazing thing is that Miami has been so successful at dictating the pace of most games they've played in that they find themselves a #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Miami's half court defense is also about as good as it gets in the ACC.

St Mary's likes to run and Miami doesn't. Miami doesn't score well in transition often times blowing layups or turning the ball over and does a bad job of stopping the ball when other teams run, as our friend Nate Skinner pointed out on this week's Canes Rising Radio podcast. Miami's transition game is terrible, probably one of the worst in a power conference, yet Miami is in the NCAAs. So basically, Miami tomorrow must dictate tempo, play strong up front and value possession. It's not impossible, because after all any team that can win nine games against ACC opposition and ten games against teams playing in the post season has something going for it. But Miami is still a year away, and an addition of a potential superstar in DeQuan Jones away from being a legitimate Sweet 16 contender. So regardless of the outcome tomorrow, everyone should enjoy Miami's return to the big dance and understand we are supporting a program on the upswing (unlike UM Football which is clearly on a downswing) and that regular NCAA appearances should be the norm going forward.

Canes Rising Radio Episode Eleven Canes Dancing and St Mary's Preview

The Hurricanes five season NCAA Tournament drought is over. The Canes are seeded 7th in the South Region and face St Mary's this week in the first round of the big dance. Nate Skinner, a UM student whose knowledge and understanding of College Basketball is unparalleled joins host Kartik Krishnaiyer as we look back at each Miami player's season and look ahead to what Miami must do to defeat a very good St Mary's team on Friday in Little Rock.

Direct download here

Canes Return to the Big Dance

After five years of self imposed probation (the coaching of Perry Clark) the Hurricanes returned to the NCAAs with a #7 seed in the South region. We'll face St Mary's the #10 seed in the first round Friday in Little Rock.