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College basketball is baaaaack. That means that it’s almost exhibition time and that’s no exception for the Miami Hurricanes basketball team. Jim Larranaga and his squad will take on Eckerd College on Thursday night at the BankUnited Center for their only exhibition game before their opener against Howard on November 14th, also at the BUC.
We’re all ready to welcome college basketball into our lives, but before that, we’re going to get you ready for Thursday’s exhibition game by previewing everything about the 2014-2015 Canes Hoops team.
First up, let’s take a look at the guys who left, and the guys who are back for another season in a Miami uniform.
Who Left?
Garrius Adams: Adams was also a member of the squad that took home regular season and tournament ACC championships home in 2013, but he didn’t play because of a knee issue. Adams was a fifth-year player last year and he performed okay. He never found his touch from behind-the-arc and shot 25% from three. Adams averaged over 10 points per game last season and was the only Hurricane to play in every game.
Raphael Akpejiori: Akpejiori was the second returning player from the most successful Miami team ever, but he wasn’t much of a contributor that season. His workload, however, increased during his senior season and averaged double-digit minutes a game. Akpejiori is now part of the football team as a tight end, but he has yet to appear in a game.
Rion Brown: Brown was Miami’s best player last season. He was inconsistent at times, but he was one of two returning contributors from the 2013 ACC championship team. Rion Brown holds the record now for most games played in a Miami uniform (136) and he averaged 15.5 points per game as a senior last season. His leadership will definitely be missed by this team this season.
Justin Heller: Heller was a walk-on his first three seasons but earned a scholarship letter during his senior season. Heller didn’t play much while at Miami, but he always seemed to be a crowd favorite. I still wish he would’ve hit that three during senior night.
James Kelly: It was a really up-and-down lone season for James Kelly in Coral Gables. The junior college transfer from Michigan was suspended at one point during the season, and he never really seemed to find his way in Miami. Kelly decided to transfer to Marshall at the end of the season and considering the need in the front court, Miami would’ve really used him this season.
Donnavan Kirk: Kirk is a two-time Miami Hurricane. He transferred to DePaul as a freshman but then came around full circle and finished his career with the Canes as a fifth-year guy. Kirk was another inconsistent performer last year. There would be games where he was the best Miami player, but there were games where people couldn’t wait for him to take a seat. Kirk, however, competed hard and manned down a weak center position for Miami. His interior presence is something Miami could definitely use this season.
Erik Swoope: Watching Erik Swoope throw down dunks last year was probably the most exciting aspect of this team last season. The team itself wasn’t very good, although they competed at an extremely high level, but a lot of the time you just caught yourself looking at Swoope because you knew something great was about to happen. Everything he threw down a dunk, I thought the building was going to collapse because of how strong he is, and how angry he would dunk. Swoope would easily be one of my first picks in a dunk contest. Good luck to Erik as he pursues a football career now with the Indianapolis Colts.
Is Anyone Coming Back?
*only players who were eligible/were healthy enough to play
Mike Fernandez (soph.): Walk-on out of Belen Jesuit played in three games last season. Living the life of a walk-on is hard but Fernandez does have some talent, he’s just not ready for any real game action.
Tonye Jekiri (junior): Tonye Jekiri is perhaps the biggest piece to Miami’s puzzle this season. The 7-footer is entering his junior season now, and he’s going to get the bulk of the minutes at the center position with Donnavan Kirk graduating. Last season, Jekiri was able to get stronger but his production didn’t really increase to the likings of many people. This season, he’ll have to step up and be a dominant force on both ends because of the team’s lack of depth in the front court. The Nigerian product will be the key to any success Miami wants to have this season.
Manu Lecomte (soph.): The sophomore out of Belgium had a pretty decent season as a freshman. You could tell that it took him a while to adjust to the collegiate game as opposed to the international game, but once he figured out how to use his quickness, he got better. Lecomte averaged a little under 8 points per game last season, to go along with 2.3 dimes per game. Lecomte went back to play some international ball during the summer for Belgium and he was able to drop 20 points and 5 assists a game in the FIBA U20 European Championship. Canes fans should expect an improved Manu Lecomte this season, especially on the offensive end.
Davon Reed (soph.): Reed had a really good freshman season last year for Miami. He only averaged 6.6 points per game but there were games where he was Miami’s best player on both ends of the floor. Coming into this season, Reed was expected to be in the starting lineups and probably guard the other teams’ best offensive wing, but he suffered a knee injury that will keep him out till at least February. I don’t know how quickly he’ll heal, but I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if the staff just decides to give him the year off and put a redshirt on Reed. Losing Reed is a huge blow to this team.
***
As you can see, one list is way longer than the other. Miami is only returning 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks per game from the 2013-2014 team that won 17 games. The good thing is, Miami brought in some reinforcements via the transfer market and recruiting, and should be just fine, even with all these departures.