Men's Basketball Banquet Set For April 7

Men's Basketball Banquet Set For April 7

March 28, 2005

Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami will hold its Annual Men’s Basketball Banquet on Thursday, April 7 at the University of Miami Convocation Center located at 1245 Dauer Drive in Coral Gables, Fla.

Join the University of Miami as it celebrates the team’s extraordinary 2004-05 season and honors seniors William Frisby and Brandon Okpalobi.

The event will begin with registration and a full dinner buffet at 6:45 p.m. followed by the program and awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the event are $60 per person or $480 for a table of eight. Members of the Top of the Key Club and Hurricane Club, as well as Convocation Center donors and men’s basketball season ticker holders may purchase tickets in advance for just $50 per person or $400 per table.

Advance registration deadline is March 31. For more information or to make reservations, please contact the Hurricane Club at 305-284-6699.

In his first season at Miami, head coach Frank Haith guided the Hurricanes to a surprising 16-13 record, which included three wins over ranked opponents and the program’s first post-season appearance since 2002. Miami, which was picked to finish last in the ACC in the preseason media poll, finished sixth in the league with a 7-9 conference record. Haith was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches District Coach of the Year and is a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award.

Miami will return 12 lettermen and four starters next season, including one of the nation’s top backcourts led by second-team All-ACC selection Guillermo Diaz.

Diaz, a 2004-05 NABC first-team All-District selection, started all 29 games this season averaging 18.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He scored in double-figures in the final 27 games of the season, the longest active streak in the ACC, and posted 20 or more points in 11 of the Hurricanes’ last 18 games.

Also returning in the UM backcourt will be guard Robert Hite who was named honorable-mention All-ACC this season after averaging 17.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this season.

Diaz and Hite comprised one of the top scoring backcourts in the ACC concluding the season ranked second and third in the league in scoring. The duo became just the fifth in school-history to score 500 or more points each in the same season.

Miami’s three-guard attack remains in tact as point guard Anthony Harris also returns next season. Harris averaged 12.4 points per game and led the team in assists handing out 4.59 per game.

The Hurricane frontcourt will be led by forward/center Anthony King. King was one of this season’s biggest surprises starting all 29 games and averaging 6.3 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game, while ranking second in the ACC in blocked shots registering 3.0 rejections per contest.

King set a school single-season record with 86 blocks this season and against Florida Atlantic on November 29 became the first Hurricane to record a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and an ACC record 13 blocks.