After a very trying season for the Miami basketball team, junior point guard Chris Lykes is ready to lead the Hurricanes in 2019-20.
The 2019-20 Miami basketball team will have a lot of new players on the floor. The 2018-19 Hurricanes finished 14-18. It was Miami’s first losing season during the eight-year tenure of Jim Larranaga. Led by junior point guard Chris Lykes the Hurricanes hope to turn that around in 2019-20.
Miami has just three players returning this season who played significant minutes in 2018-19. Lykes, senior guard Dejan Vasiljevic and junior forward Sam Waardenburg are the only players on the Miami basketball roster who were key contributors in 2018-19. Lykes led Miami in scoring and assists last season.
With Zach Johnson, Ebuka Izundu and Anthony Lawrence graduated Lykes will have to take on even more responsibility in 2019-20. Miami brings in a pair of transfers and trio of freshmen, plus center Rodney Miller who redshirted last season who are all expected to help.
Guard Kameron McGusty sat out last year after transferring from Oklahoma. McGusty averaged 9.4 points per game and made 34.3 percent of his three-point attempts in two seasons with the Sooners. The Miami basketball program will also add Florida transfer Keith Stone midseason after he recovers from a torn ACL.
“Begin with the end in mind.” pic.twitter.com/45S4ykqpxv
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) September 26, 2019
Lykes is ready to become the top for the Miami basketball team in 2019-20. The 5’7 junior is confident in his abilities and what he needs to do this season for the Hurricanes to be successful. Lykes spoke to C.L. Brown of The Athletic last month about what he expects.
"“The main thing is I’ve got to be that leader that we need…Now it’s not just about scoring and being the highlight reel. Now I’ve got to be a winner. Last year wasn’t a good season for us.I haven’t lost that much in my basketball career, either, and I know (Miami coach Jim Larrañaga) hasn’t, so now I’ve got to make guys better, which in turn will make our team better.”"
Lykes has had a lot of doubters of his ability because of his lack of height. His confidence in himself is something that has fueled his success. Lykes discussed his belief in himself with Brown.
"“I always believed I can do this, I don’t care what other people are saying…And there were plenty of people who said the league is getting bigger and guys under 6-foot were getting slowly phased out.That used to hurt. That used to hurt me bad. So I used to do whatever it took to get in the gym and make the best of the skills I have.”"
How well Lykes plays this season will have a big impact on the success of the Miami basketball team in 2019-20. His recognition of the importance of him leading the team and for him to get his teammates involved shows his maturation and that he is ready to take on the responsibility or leading Miami back to the NCAA Tournament.