The Miami Hurricanes struggled through a very tough 2013-2014 season, but a team that made the Sweet 16 the previous season could very well bounce back in 2014-15. It all starts at the top, as far as the Hurricanes are concerned.
2013-14 Recap
The Hurricanes lost most of the talent that powered them to the Sweet 16 the season before. Shane Larkin, Durand Scott, Reggie Johnson, and Kenny Kadji all provided the nucleus of a rotation that could attack opponents in every way possible. All those pieces left after the 2013 NCAA Tournament ended, and Miami is not a program with the ability to reload the way Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, and other programs in the ACC manage to do.
The Hurricanes were just stuck shorthanded last season, and it showed.
If you look at Miami’s schedule last season, the Hurricanes grabbed just one good non-conference win, against Arizona State. Against other really good teams such as NCAA tournament qualifiers Nebraska and George Washington, they came up short. In the ACC, Miami got road wins against North Carolina and North Carolina State, both tournament teams, but that’s as much as the Hurricanes were able to achieve against good teams.
The specific problem with this retooled roster was offense. The Hurricanes averaged under 62 points per game, putting them near the very bottom of the nation’s 351 Division I teams (341st). Miami shot just 42.1 percent from the field, placing The U at 279 in the nation.
Two-point percentage? Miami finished 229th, at 47.2 percent. Threes? Miami finished 275th, at 32.3 percent.
Miami was a top-35 team in the nation in field goal defense (40.6 percent) and top 20 in two-point field goal defense (43.5 percent), but without good shooters, the Hurricanes’ excellent defensive effort was wasted far too often, and that was something this team had to accept as its season continued.
Offseason Changes
The news is great for the Hurricanes this season, as Miami gets needed reinforcements from other schools. The Hurricanes have three transfers coming in to help the program, and two of them should definitely be able to make immediate and significant impacts.
Joe Thomas comes from Niagara, and he might turn out to be little more than a bit player at forward, but he’s a senior and someone who should keep this team sound defensively. The bigger addition compared to Thomas is forward Kamari Murphy, an agile 6-9 player from Oklahoma State. Murphy’s quickness near the rim is going to make him a very important rebounder for the ‘Canes. If he can develop at least a few post moves, he should add a lot to the table.
The single most important transfer is Angel Rodriguez, who played on multiple NCAA tournament teams with Kansas State. Rodriguez sat out last season as part of his transfer, so he’s going to be physically fresh. He averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists in his most recent season at Kansas State, so he should definitely be able to improve upon those numbers. Assuming he does, Miami will become a lot more productive on offense.
Projected Finish
The infusion of transfers, especially Rodriguez, will take a good defensive team and make it a lot better on offense. The big key to Miami’s success is head coach Jim Larranaga, who guided the team to its Sweet 16 berth two seasons ago. Larranaga is able to hold his own in the ACC with Coach K, Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim, and all the rest. Miami has better pieces and a coach that can put them together. This team will make the NCAA tournament.
Pick: Sixth In The ACC, Round of 32 In The NCAA Tournament
