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Posted: Saturday October 26, 2002 8:29 PM Updated: Tuesday October 29, 2002 10:34 PM Miami Hurricanes
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Who's the winningest Big East team in conference play since 1998-99? If you guessed the Miami Hurricanes just because this is where you came to read about them, well, you’re wrong. With a record of 47-19, the correct answer is the Connecticut Huskies. But Miami is No. 2, with a record of 46-20. Not St. John’s (43-23). Not Syracuse (42-24) and not Notre Dame (37-29). That’s right, the Hurricanes have been that good for four straight years, and these winning ways don’t look as if they’re going to blow over. Miami, No. 21 in the final national poll last year, has been invited to the Big Dance in four of the last five seasons and despite losing three starters, including NBA first-round draft pick and do-all 6-foot-7 swingman John Salmons, should be solid again. Of course, coach Perry Clark’s club thought it had only lost two starters until Aug. 29. That’s when sophomore guard Marcus Barnes, who averaged 12.3 points, scored in double figures 25 times and tied the school record with 79 3-pointers, was kicked off the team. Clark declined to specify the reason for Barnes’ dismissal other to say the Miami native violated team rules. But Barnes was arrested 10 days earlier on suspicion of domestic violence. An Aug. 19 police reported Barnes, 21, became angry when his former girlfriend asked him to move out of the home they shared and slapped her. Replacing a versatile leader in Salmons wasn’t going to be easy, and Barnes’ departure means the Hurricanes will have a brand new backcourt.
"That’s college basketball," said Clark, 50. "The torches get passed." It now will be carried by 6-8 senior forward James Jones, a third-team All-Big East pick last year, and silky-smooth 6-10 forward Darius Rice, a second-team selection. Salmons, though, did so much. From handling the ball and setting up teammates (6.5 apg) to grabbing rebounds (5.6 rpg) to finding ways to score (13.4 ppg). He was drafted with the 26th overall pick in the June NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs, but later traded to Philadelphia. "Over the past two years," Clark said of his tenure with the Hurricanes, which included a school-record 24 wins a year ago, "John has just meant an awful lot to me. I appreciated him deeply. He was always the anchor of what we did because he could play any one of four positions and guard any one of four positions." That’s a pretty rare find. "I told our football coach [Larry Coker] that maybe our football team is the only team in America that can lose a first-round draft choice [lineman Bryant McKinney] and say they’re going to be better," Clark said. The basketball Hurricanes won’t be better, but they’ll still be good. They shot out to a 14-0 record last year and peaked at No. 12 in the country on Feb. 4 after toppling mighty UConn, then No. 17, at home on Feb. 2, 68-66. It was a classic battle and reversed an earlier 76-75 loss at Connecticut. The Hurricanes, ranked No. 15 at the time, won on Elton Tyler’s dunk with 11 seconds remaining. It was their sixth consecutive win against a ranked team, a streak that ended after another thriller, a 76-71 loss to No. 7 Pittsburgh in a Big East Tournament semifinals. The UConn win was a typical ‘Canes conquest. Four starters scored in double figures and one of them wasn’t even Rice, who had just seven points. This year’s Miami club won’t have nearly as much balance. Amazingly, last year all five starters averaged double figures in points—Salmons (13.1 ppg), graduated 6-9 center Tyler (11.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Rice (14.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .365 3PT, .800 FT), Jones (13.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.4 blocks, .841 FT) and Barnes (12.3 ppg). "I thought our chemistry was real good and they played off each other real well," said Clark, who noted he hadn’t been part of such a balance squad since his days as an assistant at George Tech, when John Sally, Mark Price, Bruce Dalrymple and Duane Ferrell were in the lineup. Give Clark credit, though. He instilled confidence in his leaders, who never had to look over their shoulder at the bench. "We made it known from a coaching standpoint that these five guys are going to play," Clark said. "I talked to those five and told them, ‘You don’t have to think you’ve got to rush your shots or take bad shots because you’re not going to play your minutes and be in there.' I think they got comfortable with that and they could play through their mistakes." Wooden Award candidate Rice, as well as Jones, give Miami one of the Big East’s best 1-2 punches, and they can hurt you inside or out. The long-armed Rice is an enormous talent who had jumping to the NBA cross his mind. But he made the smart choice and could have two more monster years. "He’s blessed with good parents who keep him very well-rounded and have a great understanding about what all of this is all about," Clark said. Rice has led the ‘Canes in scoring the last two years and last year hit for 20-plus points 10 times and 30-plus three more. Clark said Rice has worked on improving his strength (even at 215 pounds he’ll be eaten alive in the NBA without more muscle), ball handling and post moves. Rice, who has great agility and quickness for his frame, always has a size advantage because teams must defend him with smaller players. If he adds some muscle and moves in the paint, look out. Opponents will be on the lookout a lot more this season for Jones, who continues to blend a good dose of inside punch with perimeter shooting. He made 40 percent from the floor and 32 percent from 3-point range. Clark said Jones is the leader of this group. "I really think as a sophomore he surprised people and last year with the talent we had no one could really focus on him," Clark said. "Now they might be able to, but I think he can hurt you in different ways. He has a tremendous work ethic." Jones is also becoming a terrific shot blocker. After tying the school record of 79 swats in a season last year, Jones is third on Miami’s career list with 142. He had a career-high eight last year against Florida International. Seven other players return, but only two -- 6-1 senior guard Michael Simmons and 6-7 junior forward Rodrigue Djahue -- averaged more than seven minutes a game last year. The backcourt is the biggest concern. It’s time for Simmons to be the starter at point and Clark sounds like he is leaning that way despite the arrival of 5-11 freshman Armondo Surratt from Oakland, Calif. Surratt was an all-state pick who averaged 18 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five steals. "He’s the first pure point guard we’ve recruited and has the ability to push the ball and create," Clark said of Surratt. Time is running out for Simmons (2.3 ppg, 2.1 apg), a solid ball handler and distributor who hasn’t lived up to expectations. "He has to step up and play the way people thought he could when he was recruited," Clark said. "When he came in, coach [Leonard] Hamilton thought he’d be a four-year starter. The consistency he can bring is really needed for this team." The other candidates for backcourt jobs include 6-2 senior Paulo Coelho (0.7 ppg) and freshmen 6-6 Ismael N’Diaye, 6-2 Robert Hite and 6-4 Eric Wilkins. All are unproven at this level. "I think Paulo can help fill the void from the perimeter and Hite will have to step up, too," Clark said. "Hite’s high school coach did a marvelous job to prepare him to come to college. He played in a system and on a team where he wasn’t allowed to shoot the ball 30 times. He had to make the most of his opportunities. He really understands the game and plays within himself." Simmons should take note. Hite hails from Cincinnati’s Winton Woods High, which he piloted to a 27-1 record last year and state runner-up finish. He averaged 19.1 points, five rebounds and two assists. Wilkins played for powerhouse Oak Hill (Va.) Academy last year on a 32-1 team ranked third nationally by USA Today. He shot 57 percent (21-for-37) from 3-point range as a junior. N’Diaye, who is from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, is more of a swingman. He went to Berkshire (Fla.) High, where not only did he average 16 points, six rebounds and four assists last winter but graduated as his class valedictorian. "We have high hopes for him," Clark said. "He’s maybe the most athletic of all the recruits. We think he’s going to surprise some people." A late signee, 6-9, 230-pound center Gary Hamilton from Los Angeles, might be able to boost the frontcourt. Help is more likely to come from the Djahue (1.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg), 6-9 forward/center Rafael Berumen (2.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and 6-8 junior Wil Frisby (1.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg). "Frisby had a great offseason. He developed his game. He’s a tremendous rebounder. He’ll do the tough stuff," Clark said. Berumen showed flashes of potential last year. "He has to come in and be able to take some of the pressure out of losing Elton Tyler,’’ Clark said. In Rice and Jones, Miami has two supremely talented players who can hold their own and continue to improve. But beyond that there is very little experience. That’s why Barnes’ untimely departure hurts a ton. He shot a lot and didn’t have a great 3-point percentage (.345) but he scored points. Rice (.365) is the only returnee with a proven stroke from long range. The Hurricanes were a veteran unit last year that did a lot of the little things to win, like play decent defense (held opponents scoreless for five-plus minutes 27 times), and average a league-best .771 percent from the free-throw line. They came from behind nine times last year to win. That probably won’t happen as frequently this season. Simmons must play a big role stabilizing the backcourt and Surrat, Hite and N’Diaye might help. But there will be way too much reliance on too many players with precious little experience at this level, particularly the guards. And with the abundance of good guards in the Big East, that’s a problem area. Look for Rice to handle the ball a lot. The starters played so many minutes during last year’s 24-8 season that ended with a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Missouri that not many returnees saw time. That could wind up hurting Clark’s club this season.
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