Canes to Host Dowling Wednesday at 7 p.m.

DowlingatMiami

THE GAME
Miami will face Dowling College in exhibition action Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in the BankUnited Center. Tickets start at $10.

THE SERIES
This is Miami’s first meeting with Dowling College.  

THE COACH
Head coach Jim Larrañaga has a 561-383 overall record in his 32nd season as a head coach. He is 91-49 in his fifth season at the University of Miami, with a 41-29 mark in ACC play.

THE POLLS 
AP: Miami -RV
USA TODAY: Miami – RV
KenPom.com: Miami – 21

THE WEATHER
Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 85/77; Oakdale, N.Y. – 66/52. 

THE QUOTE
“This is going to be a fun year and we are excited to hear that our fans are getting behind this team even before the games begin by purchasing season tickets in huge numbers. Our players and coaches are working extremely hard to take Miami basketball to the next level.” – Head Coach Jim Larrañaga

MIAMI PREDICTED TO FINISH FIFTH IN ACC
Miami was predicted to finish fifth out of 15 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season,  as announced by the league during Operation ACC Basketball in Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 28. North Carolina was picked to win the league, followed by Virginia, Duke and Notre Dame.

MIAMI SETS SEASON TICKET RECORD
With unprecedented excitement surrounding the 2015-16 University of Miami men’s basketball team, Hurricane fans have responded in record numbers, already setting a new program high for most season tickets sold.

Fewer than 650 seats are still available for sale, after accounting for seats already sold as season tickets plus those held for current UM students and team use.

“When we first arrived at Miami, we were told it would be tough to sell out the BankUnited Center and it would be hard to build a basketball fan base,” Head Coach Jim Larrañaga said. “But in four short years, we have set all kinds of records with both sellout crowds and student attendance.”

Due to record season ticket sales, seats may not be available on a single-game basis.

MCLELLAN ON JERRY WEST AWARD WATCH LIST
Senior Sheldon McClellan is among the 20 players named to the watch list for the 2016 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced.

Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its second year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates.

LARRAÑAGA ADDS IZUNDU, LAWRNECE AND MUHAMMAD TO ROSTER
Ebuka Izundu is a 6-10 center from Charlotte, N.C., and attended Victory Christian Center School. This past season, he averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Izundu was named to the first-team All Charlotte Observer his senior year of high school. Listed as a four-star and the No. 70 player in the 2015 class by 247Sports, Izundu is a native of Nigeria and played under coach Auriece McCain at Victory Christian. Izundu was originally committed to Charlotte, but was granted a release from his NLI. He is choosing Miami over Arkansas and Cincinnati.

Anthony Lawrence, Jr., nicknamed “Amp,” is a 6-7, 200-pound guard/forward from Saint Petersburg, Fla., who led his Lakewood Senior High School team to the Class 5A state championship game as a junior. Lawrence scored 18 points in the championship game and totaled 25 rebounds in two state tournament games. Anthony’s father, Anthony Lawrence Sr. was a two-year letterman at Miami from 1991-93. After college, he played overseas in Portugal, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. His brother, Patrick, also played at Miami from 1991-94.

Larrañaga completed his 2015-16 recruiting class with the signing of Rashad Muhammad, a transfer student-athlete from San Jose State University. Muhammad, a 6-foot-6-inch guard, will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Hurricanes, but will sit out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules. At SJSU, Muhammad led the Spartans in scoring two straight seasons, with a 13.2 points-per-game average as a freshman, and 13.9 ppg in his second season. In two seasons at San Jose State, he started 25 of 58 games played and averaged 13.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.

COACHING CHANGES FOR THE HURRICANES
After having the same assistant coaching staff his first four years in Miami, Larrañaga has two new assistant coaches in 2015-16 in Jamal Brunt and Adam Fisher, following the departure of Eric Konkol (Louisiana Tech) and Michael Huger (Bowling Green). Konkol had been an assistant with Coach L 11 seasons and Huger was an assistant coach for eight years and player for four seasons.

Due to the lack of turnover, Coach L has only had nine assistant coaches in the last 14 seasons. Five of his assistants left for a D-I head coaching job, and two others who have worked their way into head coaching jobs. In those 14 seasons, only twice two assistants left at the same time, 1996 (Stan Heath and Steve Merfeld) and 1989 (Jeff Snyder and Ricky Stokes).

CAPUTO PROMOTED TO UM’S ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
This summer assistant Chris Caputo was promoted to associate head coach. Arriving in Coral Gables in April of 2011, Caputo enters his fifth season with the Hurricanes and his 14th season on Larrañaga’s staff. Entering his 11th season as a coach, his primary responsibilities at Miami have included recruiting and scouting the opposition, but he will become the defensive coordinator this season.

LARRAÑAGA ADDS BRUNT AND FISHER TO ASSISTANT COACHING STAFF
Larrañaga hired former Richmond associate head coach Jamal Brunt to be an assistant coach for the Hurricanes. Brunt came to Coral Gables after 10 years on the staff with the Spiders. Beginning in 2005 as Director of Operations, Brunt was promoted to an assistant coach in 2007 and associate head coach in 2013. He will be the offensive coordinator this season.

Larrañaga promoted Adam Fisher to be an assistant coach after Fisher spent two seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations. Fisher came to Miami in June of 2013 after spending two seasons at his alma mater, Penn State University. 

COACH L REUNITED WITH JAMES JOHNSON
Larrañaga completed his 2015-16 staff with the addition of James Johnson as the team’s director of basketball operations. Johnson, who was on Larrañaga’s staff for two seasons at George Mason University, including the historic NCAA Final Four run in 2006, came to Miami after seven seasons on staff at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Virginia Tech, where he was the head coach for two seasons after five years as an assistant coach.

BODY CHANGES FOR CRUZ UCEDA AND JEKIRI
Seniors Ivan Cruz Uceda and Tonye Jekiri have spent the summer in the weight room. Cruz Uceda has dropped 20 pounds from 237 to 217, and his body fat has slimmed down from 24 percent to nine percent in just a year in Miami. Jekiri has added 20 pounds to his 7-foot frame, now weighing 250 pounds. 

CANES SUIT UP IN ADIDAS GEAR
This season is Miami’s first in a 12-year partnership with adidas and the squad has new orange, green and white jerseys. The “Hurricanes” moniker is laser etched across the jersey’s shoulder for the players to see when they don the uniform. Lightweight knit shorts enhance breathability and ventilation, keeping players cool as the clock winds down.

Jerseys were designed with the same lightweight, sweat-wicking technology used in the NBA and targeted ventilation zones on the chest, back and side to keep players cool even in the most intense moments of the game. The new shorts are highlighted by updated stripes on the waistband, incorporating hurricane style cuts and patterns throughout.

Players will lace-up the latest adidas basketball footwear including special team colorways of the Crazylight Boost 2015, D Lillard 1, and D Rose 6 signature shoes from NBA All-Stars Damian Lillard and Derrick Rose.

PROCANES REPORT
Former Hurricanes James Jones and Shane Larkin have taken their talents onto NBA rosters this season, as Jones is in Cleveland with the Cavaliers and Larkin joins a new team, the Brooklyn Nets, after playing across town with the Knicks last season. 

Miami has 17 former players in professional basketball at this time. A complete list is on page five of the notes.