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Miami Hurricanes basketball team have too much talent?

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau

Mar 12, 2014; Greensboro, NC, USA; Miami Hurricanes mascot Sebastian cheers against during the first round of the ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Miami defeated Virginia Tech 57-53. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2014; Greensboro, NC, USA; Miami Hurricanes mascot Sebastian cheers against during the first round of the ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Miami defeated Virginia Tech 57-53. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Does the Miami Hurricanes basketball team have too much talent?

It has been said that “Sometimes the thing that brings us together also pulls us apart. Sort of like a zipper.” 

Feb 10, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Rion Brown (15) congratulates guard Davon Reed (5) after he made a basket while getting fouled in the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Miami Hurricanes beat the Florida State Seminoles 77-73. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Rion Brown (15) congratulates guard Davon Reed (5) after he made a basket while getting fouled in the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Miami Hurricanes beat the Florida State Seminoles 77-73. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports /

The Miami Hurricanes can attest to this. The thing that brings the Hurricanes together this season is basketball. The thing that can tear them apart…is basketball. In their upcoming season, the Hurricanes are going to have a plethora of options offensively that can help their roster. But will all their options make an impact? Next season the Hurricanes will have one of the deepest rosters in the ACC and in the NCAA. With all of the talent on this team here are some questions that I ponder…

  • Can the Hurricanes play basketball games exclusively for 40 minutes long?
  • Can the Hurricanes start one group one game, and start another group the next?
  • Can the Hurricanes loan players to FIU for a few games like the NBA D-League?
  • Can the Hurricanes start their own JV program?

In all seriousness, I ask “Is everyone going to get enough time on the court to become better?”

Having a bunch of talent on a team is never a bad situation. In fact, some teams (hinting at FIU) would love to have problems such as that. But I do wonder how are the players within the locker room are going to feel and how are they going to interact with one another because their teammate is getting a lot of shine when they could easily replicate their teammates performance.

Two of the most hyped point guards to land in Coral Gables since Edwin Rios are redshirt freshman DeAndre Burnett and freshman Ja’Quan Newton. Burnett is a local Miami product hailing from Carol City High School. During his time playing for the Chiefs as a high school senior he was third in the nation in scoring averaging 37 points per game, five assists per game and six rebounds.

Where as Newton enters the Hurricanes program as the one of the most heralded recruits in years. Joining the program as a four star recruit gives people (myself included) hope that he can help turn this program into a basketball powerhouse. As the number one point guard in the state of Philadelphia, one of the richest basketball states in the country, Newton only lost four games in his senior season while averaging 21.7 points a game. 

I want to see each of these two play together on the court at the same time, since their combination of scoring prowess is nothing to scoff at. Having two supremely gifted athletes and talented scorers in the back court at the same time creates match ups that coaches hate game planning against. These two legitimately have enough talent to start and might not play enough significant minutes this season.

That’s only the beginning of the logjam at guard that the Hurricanes have.

Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Larrañaga has a lot of options to choose from next season at the guard position because in addition to the two freshman, he has three transfers who are eligible to play next season — Angel Rodriguez (Kansas State), Joe Thomas (Niagara) and Sheldon McClellan (Texas). All of which have their own stories for leaving their respective schools and all of which who can start. I haven’t even mentioned point guard Manu Lecomte who is expected to blossom in his sophomore year.

Mar 4, 2014; Clemson, SC, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Manu Lecomte (20) on a fast break during the second half against the Clemson Tigers at J.C. Littlejohn Coliseum. Tigers won 58-54. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2014; Clemson, SC, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Manu Lecomte (20) on a fast break during the second half against the Clemson Tigers at J.C. Littlejohn Coliseum. Tigers won 58-54. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports /

Unlike last season when the Hurricanes had a very depleted roster from their previous ACC title, this team is heavily stacked. Their record stood at 17-16 overall with a terrible 7-11 ACC record last season and but now they will make grand improvements from their last season to their upcoming season.

The best aspect of having so many guards to choose from, coach Larrañaga can easily substitute players when they are not playing well and will not have to worry about missing a beat. Having a bunch of horses in the stable that are all capable of playing is a good luxury to have.

However, this season is not a smooth sailing ship just yet. The Hurricanes will have to learn how to play within the rigors of the prestigious ACC. The Hurricanes have a relatively young team (there are no seniors on the roster, only a graduate student) including three sophomores and five freshman. 

This program will need a lot of chemistry because there are nine new players on the roster because five seniors have graduated from the program each of the past two years. With the players that left the roster, it leaves the Hurricanes with only 19.3 percent of scoring from the roster that currently remains.

Thankfully coach Larrañaga has had a lot of productivity and success since becoming the coach of the Hurricanes. He has led the Hurricanes to become one of four schools in the ACC to have a winning record in the NCAA Tournament, also he has the fourth most wins in the ACC during ACC conference play, and has led Miami to become only one of three schools that have five wins or more in the ACC Tournament.

With this roster we should all expect a great season, especially after the lackluster effort the football team plays with from time to time.

Hurricanes fans rejoice, though the football team isn’t in the College Football Playoff, the basketball team might go dancing this year all the way to the NCAA Tournament.

Everyone get your dancing shoes ready, I’ve got mine. 

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