Young Hurricanes Poised for Promising Season
By Austin Sapin
HurricaneSports.com
19 years and nine months. That is the average age of the 11 scholarship players that will put on the U and represent the Orange and Green on the hardwood this season. While these Hurricanes may not have the experience of previous Miami squads, they certainly have the talent and the camaraderie for a team hoping its season ends with one shining moment.
Following Miami’s third NCAA Tournament appearance in five years, the Canes saw the departure of two outstanding senior leaders, Davon Reed and Kamari Murphy. While the graduation of those two veteran starters left a void, Coach Jim Larrañaga and his staff were able to reload with an impressive freshman recruiting class, including Mr. Basketball in Pennsylvania, Lonnie Walker IV.
The Reading, Pa. native was a consensus Top-15 player coming out of Reading High School and was both a McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American. After an incredible summer of workouts though, Walker tore his meniscus, putting him on the sidelines for over two months. While the injury was a blow, the freshman with a mindset and patience beyond his years took it in stride and used it as a time to both improve and motivate himself.
“A lot of people are doubting me because of the injury and think I might not be the same,” Walker said while recovering this summer. “I want to prove those people wrong and show everyone that I’m going to be better, faster and stronger than ever.”
After months of hard work on the medical table and with athletic trainers, Steve Felde and Javier Jimenez, Walker was cleared to participate fully in practice last week, setting the stage for what he and many others hope is a memorable rookie season.
Along with Walker, the Hurricanes will feature exciting newcomers and ESPN Top 100 recruits Chris Lykes and Deng Gak. Lykes comes to Coral Gables after setting the all-time scoring record at Gonzaga High School in Washington, D.C. while the Australia native Gak will bring length and versatility to the forward position for the Canes.
With plenty of new faces settling in for the Hurricanes, the increasingly important leadership roles have fallen to a variety of players, including the lone senior, Ja’Quan Newton and sophomores Bruce Brown Jr. and Dewan Huell. Despite the freshman having been on campus for just a few months, the elder trio’s guidance has made an impact on the younger players.
“Having guys like Bruce, Ja’Quan and Dewan is just a blessing because they’re like our big brothers,” Walker said.
“The fact that upperclassmen took us freshman under their wings and we developed chemistry so quickly is definitely an advantage for us. The other young guys and I know so much more now than we ever thought we would have.”
While the freshman certainly have a respect and admiration for the returners, the feeling is clearly mutual.
“All of them have a great work ethic,” Bruce Brown said. “I know Deng [Gak] gets in the gym late at night, Chris [Lykes] is always working, Lonnie [Walker] was injured, but he was always in here just doing what he could to get back as soon as possible and now he’s back out here with us.”
With a talented and hard-working freshman class added to what is already a deep and impressive returning group, you can understand why many members of the media see plenty of potential in the Canes. That excitement isn’t just contained to the media though as expectations are also high within the Miami locker room.
“I feel like we have a great group of guys and I feel like we could win it all,” Brown said. “We have to focus on the defensive end because we’re young, we have to know what spots to be in and at what time and I think once we get that down pat we’ll be really good.”
One of the keys to a successful season for the Canes will be locking down on the defensive end, but the play of Bruce Brown will be just as crucial to Miami’s chase for hardware. While the sophomore dazzled crowds with his extraordinary athletic ability and was often all over the stat sheet, there is plenty the Boston-native feels he can do to get even better in his second season in Coral Gables.
“I just want to make sure I’m more consistent,” Brown said. “I think last year I was a little bit inconsistent where I would have a 30-point game and then a seven-point game. I feel I need keep that production up every game and make sure I’m a leader and talking to the guys and keeping them up out there.”
A Bruce Brown that’s more consistent than last season is a scary thought. Whether it is the veteran Newton feeding him the ball or Brown running the break with Huell and others poised for monster alley-oops, finding a way to limit Brown’s impact on games will be a nightmare for opposing coaches.
Brown’s production should be helped even more by playmaking guards like DJ Vasiljevic and “Amp” Lawrence II as well as an athletic and versatile set of big men that includes Ebuka Izundu, Rodney Miller Jr. and Sam Waardenburg. The impressive depth of the Hurricanes will truly make it a pick your poison type of game for every opponent this season.
The Canes will get a chance to utilize that depth during their non-conference slate with five games at the Watsco Center from November to December. Jim Larrañaga’s team will also play two games as the hosts away from Coral Gables. On November 22nd, the Hurricanes will play as the home team against La Salle in Lonnie Walker’s hometown of Reading, Pa. and then will host Princeton at American Airlines Arena in the Hoophall Invitational on December 2nd. Miami will conclude their non-conference games in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 23 to Dec. 25).
In the ACC, the Watsco Center will host plenty of crucial conference bouts with the Hurricanes playing Duke (Jan. 15), Louisville (Jan. 24), Virginia (Feb. 13) and Syracuse (Feb. 17) all at home. The Canes will look to boost the resumé in road games against Notre Dame (Feb. 19) and defending champions, North Carolina (Feb. 27).
Despite a tough schedule filled with quality opponents, the pieces are all there for this young Miami team hoping it can build on the success of the program’s last five years. While the team may be young on paper, they don’t show it in the way that they carry themselves. If that translates to the hardwood starting on November 10th in the season opener against Gardner-Webb, these young Canes will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
