Miami Basketball Making Great Improvement
Miami Basketball Coach Jim Larranaga spoke the Miami media this week to discuss the progress of his team. The Hurricanes are picked 4th in the ACC. Guards Bruce Brown and Lonnie Walker also received preseason recognition.
Brown was named second-team All-ACC and came in fourth place with one first-place vote for ACC Player of the Year. Walker finished second in the voting for the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year. Brown and Walker will team with Senior Ja’Quan Newton to give Miami Basketball one of the best backcourts in the country.
Brown, Newton and Junior Forward Anthony Lawrence are likely to be Miami’s team leaders. Larranaga has to replace two of last season’s three captains. Newton was the tri-captain with Devon Reed and Kamari Murphy.
Reed was the leading scorer last season. Murphy was the leading rebounder. They were also Miami’s two best defensive players. The Miami Basketball defense is what concerns Larranaga most heading into the season.
Larranaga appeared on Hurricane Hotline on WQAM earlier this week to discuss how his team is coming along defensively during preseason practice.
"“We are pretty pleased with where we are. But young teams are notoriously bad defensively. We’re not very good at stopping each other [in practice]. We have to get much better defensively. That’s going to take 8 or 10 games during the season before we’re defending the way we want.”"
His players have been working hard in the offseason. One of the most important players for the Miami Basketball team this upcoming season is former McDonald’s All-American Sophomore Dewan Huell. Huell has to succeed Murphy as Miami’s best post player for the Hurricanes to be successful this season.
"“Our young guys have gotten much stronger. Dewan Huell has gone from 215to 235. You gain that kind of weight and strength, you feel much more comfortable battling on the boards. I see much more confidence from Huell on his interior game, scoring and rebonding."
Several other players have worked hard on their games. Although Miami will be young this season, several upperclassmen who were role players in 2016-17 will step into bigger roles this season.
"“I’ve seen great progress from [center] Ebuka Izundu. Ja’Quan Newton, Bruce Brown have improved their three point shooting.“The other day, Dejan Vaseljevic made 75 out of 88 threes. We know Chris Lykes, our little point guard, and [fellow freshman] Lonnie Walker are very high octane offensive players. We’ve really got some very strong weapons at the guard position from three-point range. And you add Anthony Lawrence and Sam Waardenburg, we feel like we will make a lot of threes this year and a lot of layups.”"
Newton who was suspended for three games at the end of last season is going to be counted to set the example this year. He is the sole scholarship Senior on Miami’s roster this year. Larranaga spoke about the maturing that Newton has done both on and off the court.
"“Ja’Quan was very good at finding Davon Reed [who’s now with the Phoenix Suns]; he was not great at finding other guys…Right now, he’s finding Bruce Brown and Dejan regularly and he’s finding our big guys more frequently. Chris Lykes scored 23 and JaQuan scored 17 in a scrimmage and they shared the ball beautifully.”"
A lot is expected of Freshman Lykes. Larranaga said over the summer he expects the 5’7 lightning bug to become a fan favorite at the Watsco Center this season.
One of Newton’s biggest issues last season was taking care of the ball. He had 101 assists to 98 turnovers in 2016-17.
He is going to have to increase his assists and cut down on his turnovers for Miami Basketball to have the kind of season many are predicted for them in 2017-18. Larranaga discussed what his Senior point guard has worked on this summer.
"“Reduce his dribbles and become a little more efficient. He’s improved in the leadership category. He’s on track for graduation.”"
Newton should get more help with the ball-handling responsibilities than he did last year. Brown was the only other pure adept ball handler that Miami had last season. When Newton was suspended Brown handled the point.
This season Lykes and Walker should be able to help with some of the ball handling and playmaking duties.
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A lot is being expected of the Miami Basketball team this season. They are expected to finish in the top quarter of the ACC and are ranked 12th in the national preseason polls. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects the Hurricanes as the fourth seed in the NCAA’s West regional.