Well, it’s that time of year, folks: college ball season! In this University of Miami Hurricanes season preview, the Hurricanes have a lot potential to live up to, as well as a lot to prove in the ACC field. With their regular conference slate of Duke, UNC, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Louisville, etc., and some non-conference surprises at #15 Minnesota, at Navy, and versus Princeton at home, preseason #11 Miami has a tough road ahead.
University of Miami Hurricanes: Season Preview
Last year’s freshman phenom, Bruce Brown is evidently now a sophomore but has already been pushed into the spotlight. Given the youth of this year’s squad, Brown will be taking on a leadership role for the Hurricanes.
Per ACC Media Day last Wednesday, when Brown was asked about his role on the team after last year’s seniors Davon Reed and Kamari Murphy both graduated, he said, “I think we have a lot of young guys this year. As you know, we are a young team, so me stepping up and trying to be that leader, me and Ja’Quan [Newton], to the freshmen, I’ve tagged them along a little bit, trying to get them to know certain situations, read certain things, so helping them would be a big [help].”
Brown is averaging 11.1 points per game in 30.2 minutes, and is expected to have another very productive year on the court and off; he made academic honor roll at the University during his freshman campaign.
On the other side of things, when Head Coach Jim Larrañaga was questioned on the recent FBI-involved recruiting scandal since he identified himself as “Coach #3,” he answered, “In terms of my conversations with our athletic director, we met with our team the day that this broke in the news for three minutes. That conversation is the last conversation we’ve had with our players. We’ve been very, very focused on practicing and getting ready for this season.”
Expect the Hurricanes to have to make up for losses in the lineup from former seniors and quality big men Kamari Murphy and Davon Reed. Coach Larrañaga will have to work with what he has in this developing group of guys, which seems promising at the moment. Let us see how that pans out throughout the season.
Happy college tipoff, everyone!
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
