UM Hosts Exhibition On Monday
Nov. 10, 2002
Coral Gables, FL (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami men’s basketball team will open its 2002-03 season with an exhibition game against Southeast Atlanta All-Stars on Monday, November 11 beginning at 7 p.m. at the Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables, FL.
Admission is free.
The Hurricanes return nine letterwinners, including two starters, from last season’s squad that recorded a school-record 24 wins (24-8), advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons, and ended the season ranked 21st by the Associated Press.
Miami is led by one of the nation’s top forward combinations with senior James Jones and junior Darius Rice.
Jones (6-8, 225), a Miami native, is a preseason second-team All-BIG EAST selection. Last season he averaged 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. He led the team in rebounding and blocks in 2001-02 and was third on the team in scoring.
He has played in 94 career games, including 61 consecutive starts, for the Hurricanes and ranks third on UM’s career blocked shots list with 142.
Miami’s other returning starter is Rice, a preseason first-team All-BIG EAST selection. Rice has led the Hurricanes in scoring (14.9 ppg) each of his first two seasons.
Rice, a preseason candidate for both the Naismith and Wooden College Basketball Player of the Year Awards, was also one of the Hurricanes’ top rebounders pulling down 5.9 boards per contest.
Monday’s game will also mark the first action of several Hurricane freshmen including top-100 recruits Robert Hite (Cincinnati, OH) and Armondo Surratt (Oakland, CA).
Hite (6-2, 180) was ranked 50th in the nation by CNN/SI as a high school senior. He averaged 19.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in leading Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, OH to a 27-1 record and a runner-up finish at the State Championship. A four-year starter at shooting guard, Hite earned first-team All-State honors as a junior and senior, and was named the 2001-02 AP Ohio Player of the Year.
Surratt (5-11, 165) averaged 18 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals per game last season in leading Oakland (CA) Technical High School to a 28-4 record and a trip to the California Division I State championship game. Surratt, a first-team All-State selection, was rated as the 67th top prospect in the nation by ESPN last season.
Another freshman to watch is Eric Wilkins (6-4, 184). The Plainfield, NJ native is the brother of current UM offensive lineman Ed Wilkins and started the last two seasons at shooting guard at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. With Wilkins in the starting lineup Oak Hill registered a 65-1 record and won the 2000-01 National Championship with a perfect 33-0 record. Wilkins averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals last season as Oak Hill finished 32-1 and No. 2 in the final USA Today rankings.
Miami opens the regular-season against New Hampshire on November 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Miami Arena. For ticket information contact the Hurricane Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES.
