Men's Basketball Opens Season at Home Saturday
Nov. 13, 2009
CORAL GABLES, FLA… – The University of Miami men’s basketball team opens the 2009-10 season at home on Saturday versus North Carolina Central. It is the second meeting between the programs and the 45th time the Hurricanes have opened the season at home.
Game 1: Miami (0-0) vs. North Carolina Central (0-1)
Date: Sat., Nov. 14, 2009 | Time: 4 p.m. (EST) | Site: BankUnited Center
TV: Sun Sports | Radio: 560 WQAM; 90.5 FM WVUM
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) | North Carolina Central (www.nccueaglepride.com)
Tickets: 1-800-GO-CANES
Projected Miami Starters
No. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast^
03 Malcolm Grant (G, 6-1, 191, So.-R) — — —
23 James Dews (G, 6-4, 213, Sr.) 8.2 2.7 1.3
31 DeQuan Jones (G/F, 6-6, 219, So.) 2.7 1.7 0.5
20 Cyrus McGowan (F, 6-9, 237, Sr.) 4.6 4.4 0.6*
21 Dwayne Collins (F, 6-8, 241, Sr.) 10.6 7.3 1.3
Projected North Carolina Central Starters
No. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast
00 Joshua Worthy (F, 6-5, 205, Sr.) 0.0 1.0 0.0
01 Michael Glasker (G, 5-7, 155, Jr.) 1.0 1.0 4.0
12 C.J. Wilkerson (G, 6-3, 200, Jr.) 16.0 3.0 0.0
24 Vincent Davis (G, 6-2, 170, Jr.) 5.0 3.0 0.0
45 T.J. Granger (F/C, 6-8, 240, So.) 8.0 2.0 1.0
^ 2008-09 Miami statistics; * blocks per game
Hurricanes fans have double the action on Saturday, with the football game at North Carolina and the men’s basketball home opener occuring simultaneously. Fans can follow the action on the gridiron at the BankUnited Center as televisions throughout the concourse will broadcast the football game and updates will be provided throughout the basketball game.
HURRICANE WARNING
Miami is 5-0 in season openers and 5-0 in home openers under sixth-year head coach Frank Haith, including a 96-60 win over Florida Southern one year ago in UM’s 2008-09 opener. The Hurricanes have won their last five home openers by an average of 27.4 points per game. Overall, the Hurricanes have won 16-straight season openers and 10-straight home openers, dating back to an 85-53 win over Florida Atlantic on Nov. 26, 1993, at the Miami Arena.
THE SERIES
The Hurricanes lead the all-time series versus the Eagles, 1-0. The teams met for the first time less than one year ago on Jan. 3, 2009, at the BankUnited Center, resulting in a 76-42 UM win.
James Dews scored a game-high 16 points — including a career-high tying four three-pointers — to lead four Hurricanes in double figures in the 2008-09 win over the Eagles. DeQuan Jones added a career-high 11 points and five rebounds, while Dwayne Collins finished with 10 points. Cyrus McGowan pulled down 10 rebounds, as UM dominated the boards, 53-34. Vincent Davis had a team-high 10 points for North Carolina Central.
North Carolina Central (0-1) travels to Coral Gables for its second-straight road game to face its second-straight ACC opponent. The Eagles opened their 2009-10 season in Chapel Hill on Wednesday, falling 89-42 to NCAA champion North Carolina. C.J. Wilkerson led the visitors with a team-high 16 points, including a 7-of-11 effort from the charity stripe. The Eagles were held to 25.5 percent shooting from the field and 55.6 percent from the line.
DID U KNOW…
Senior big man Dwayne Collins needs just 102 points to become the 30th Hurricane to score 1,000 career points… Senior
James Dews needs just six three-pointers to enter UM’s top 10 in career treys… Nine of 13 Hurricanes are freshmen or sophomores.
SNEAK PEEK
True freshman Durand Scott scored a game-high 17 points with five assists and five steals to lead Miami to an 85-52 exhibition win over visiting Florida Southern College — the defending DII South Region Final Runner-up — at home on Monday evening.
Scott converted 6-of-8 field goals and all four of his free throw attempts. Senior Cyrus McGowan added 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting — including a 2-of-3 mark from long range — and five rebounds, while senior Adrian Thomas contributed 12 points on 4-of-7 three-point shooting and five boards. Senior Dwayne Collins posted a game-high five blocks.
RAISING ‘CANES
Six of the 13 players on the Miami roster will be making their regular-season debut in a Hurricanes uniform versus North Carolina Central on Saturday. With four seniors on the squad — including graduate student Adrian Thomas who will be competing in his FIFTH season opener on Saturday — Miami certainly has veteran experience, however the newcomers are expected to make an immediate impact for the ‘Canes.
It is the greatest influx of new faces since UM welcomed seven new players to the roster in 2006-07 — including then-freshmen Dwayne Collins and James Dews, as well as Jack McClinton, who was coming off a redshirt year after transferring in from Siena. Just one season later, the Hurricanes were dancing into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Miami’s heralded 2009 recruiting class — freshmen Durand Scott, Garrius Adams, Antoine Allen and Donnavan Kirk — was ranked among the nation’s top 25 by both ESPN and Scout. It is Haith’s second Top 25 recruiting class in his first five years at the helm of the Miami program. In 2005, he signed four four-star recruits — including Thomas — for a class that was ranked No. 12 in the nation by Scout.
