2011 Miami (Fla) Basketball Predictions

2010-11 Results:

Overall: 21-15 (13-4 H, 4-9 A, 4-2 N)
ACC: 6-10 (4-4 H, 2-6 A)
Conference Tournament: 1-1, lost in quarterfinals
Postseason: 2-1, lost in NIT quarterfinals

Miami continued on its road to respectability, and gained a measure more in 2010-11. The Hurricanes pushed top-seed North Carolina to the limit in the ACC quarterfinals, then won two games in the NIT before falling to Alabama in the quarterfinals. With more than 90 percent of its scoring and nearly that much rebounding coming back – and with a new, very successful head coach – expectations are high for improvement upon a bottom-half place in the ACC. Frank Haith left after seven years at the helm of the program, guiding it to 129 wins and five postseason appearances (four NIT, one NCAA).

Roster
Returning Starters
Rion Brown
Malcolm Grant
Reggie Johnson
Durand Scott

Returning Lettermen
Garrius Adams
Julian Gamble
DeQuan Jones

Other Returning Players
Raphael Akpejiori
Ryan Quigtar
Erik Swoope

Newcomers
Bishop Daniels
Trey McKinney Jones
Arnold Richmond
Kenny Kadji

Head Coach
Jim Larranaga, first year

Key Losses
The Hurricanes’ losses were minimal in that they lost only one player, Adrian Thomas, who was the team’s No. 4 scorer (9 ppg) but shot a solid 39 percent from the 3-point line (2.6 treys per game).

Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event
11/11/2011	vs. Tennessee Tech
11/15/2011	vs. Rutgers
11/19/2011	vs. North Florida
11/22/2011	vs. Florida Gulf Coast
11/25/2011	@ Ole Miss
11/29/2011	@ Purdue
12/3/2011	vs. Massachusetts
12/6/2011	vs. Memphis
12/10/2011	@ West Virginia
Orange Bowl Classic
12/17/2011	vs. Florida Atlantic
Regular Season
12/22/2011	@ Charlotte
12/30/2011	vs. Appalachian State
1/2/2012	vs. UNC Greensboro
1/7/2012	@ Virginia *
1/10/2012	@ North Carolina *
1/18/2012	vs. Clemson *
1/22/2012	vs. North Carolina State *
1/24/2012	@ Georgia Tech *
1/29/2012	@ Boston College *
2/1/2012	vs. Maryland *
2/5/2012	@ Duke *
2/9/2012	vs. Virginia Tech *
2/11/2012	@ Florida State *
2/15/2012	vs. North Carolina *
2/18/2012	vs. Wake Forest *
2/21/2012	@ Maryland *
2/26/2012	vs. Florida State *
2/29/2012	@ North Carolina State *
3/3/2012	vs. Boston College *
*Conference Game

2011-12 Preview

Jim Larranaga made a name for himself by guiding George Mason to the 2006 Final Four, and after leading the Colonials to five NCAA tournaments in 14 years, he agreed to take over the Hurricane program. With so much experience coming back, Larranaga should have the pieces in place to immediately make Miami a “tough out” in this conference.

Backcourt

Among the 10 letterwinners back on the court this year, six are in the backcourt. Three of the six were starters last year.

Senior Malcolm Grant led the team in scoring (15 ppg) and assists (3.3 pg) and was third in steals (31) while shooting 43 percent from the 3-point line and 85 percent at the foul line. He was a third-team All-ACC selection.

Junior Derand Scott was second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg), rebounding (4.3 pg) and assists (3.1 pg) while leading the squad in steals (42). He shot 40 percent from the arc and led the team in free throws made (132) and attempted (158).

Junior Garrius Adams is the third-highest returning backcourt scorer, having averaged 7.5 points and nearly 4 rebounds per contest while starting 24 of the 35 games.

Sophomore Rion Brown was the last of guards to play in all 35 games last year, 4.5 points and 2 boards per contest in 17 minutes per game.

Senior DeQuan Jones played in 27 games, averaging 13 minutes, 4 points and 2.5 rebounds. He had more blocked shots (12) than steals (11).

Senior Ryan Quigtar saw just eight minutes of action over five games, but did make his only shot from the floor (a 3-pointer).

Frontcourt

On one hand, this group is relatively inexperienced, with four players having seen court time last year and only two players seeing significant time last year. Other than the starting center spot, the frontcourt rotation should be competitive for minutes.

Junior Reggie Johnson is the reason the starting-center spot is pretty well locked up. Johnson was the top rebounder (9.7 pg) and No. 3 scorer last year (12 ppg) while recording 45 blocked shots and shooting 59 percent from the floor.

Senior Julian Gamble was the only other frontliner to see action in all 35 games last year. He started 13 times, averaged 15 minutes, 4 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 59 percent from the field.

Sophomore Erik Swoope started nine times as a freshman, but averaged 7 minutes, 1.5 points and one rebound per game.

Sophomore Raphael Akpejiori played just five minutes per game over 19 contests, but he posted 12 blocked shots and shot 50 percent from the field.

Other Resources on Hurricane Basketball:

Official Site

More ACC Basketball Predictions

North Carolina Tar Heels	Duke Blue Devils	Florida State Seminoles
Virginia Cavaliers	NC State Wolfpack	Miami Hurricanes
Clemson Tigers	Maryland Terrapins	Virginia Tech Hokies
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	Boston College Eagles

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