Looking at MIAMI

[What Would Jesus Do?]

We will probably be weaker next year. Louisville (2nd in the conference last season) may well be stronger. Duke (5th last season) could be better. Who else will be competing in the top tier?

Miami is a team/coach we often have trouble with. What do they look like next year?

They finished tied for 7th with Va Tech. 21-12 overall, 10-8 in the ACC. 8-seed in the NCAAT, where they were knocked out in the first round by MSU. A decent middle-rank team. They embarrassed us 77-62 during the regular season; we got sweet revenge 78-53 in the ACCT.

They lose 2 senior starters: top scorer Davon Reed and top rebounder Kamari Murphy. Unless there were some transfers, that's all they lost.

They have a 4-man incoming class ranked #10 in the nation and #3 in the ACC.

Unless they have some transfers or redshirts, their roster should look something like this. If they want to go big (and why wouldn't they?), they move Huell and Izundu into the starting lineup.

Class Rank Hgt  Wgt  Name
SR    046  6'2  187  Newton*
JR    152  6'7  210  Lawrence*
JR    204  6'10 231  Izundu*
SO    030  6'11 230  Huell*
SO    031  6'5  190  Brown*
SO    153  7'0  258  Miller
SO    215  6'3  198  Vasiljevic*
FR    015  6'5  206  Walker
FR    060  5'7  150  Lykes
FR    125  6'11 209  Gak
FR    141  6'9  205  Waardenburg

* played double digit minutes per game last season

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Larranaga often seems to have transfers or redshirts. If you know of any, mention them and I will add them into the list.

 

[ChapelHeeled]

We will probably be weaker next year. Louisville (2nd in the conference last season) may well be stronger. Duke (5th last season) could be better. Who else will be competing in the top tier?

Miami is a team/coach we often have trouble with. What do they look like next year?


..bait...

They finished tied for 7th with Va Tech. 21-12 overall, 10-8 in the ACC. 8-seed in the NCAAT, where they were knocked out in the first round by MSU. A decent middle-rank team. They embarrassed us 77-62 during the regular season; we got sweet revenge 78-53 in the ACCT.

They lose 2 senior starters: top scorer Davon Reed and top rebounder Kamari Murphy. Unless there were some transfers, that's all they lost.

They have a 4-man incoming class ranked #10 in the nation and #3 in the ACC.

Unless they have some transfers or redshirts, their roster should look something like this. If they want to go big (and why wouldn't they?), they move Huell and Izundu into the starting lineup.

Class Rank Hgt  Wgt  Name
SR    046  6'2  187  Newton*
JR    152  6'7  210  Lawrence*
JR    204  6'10 231  Izundu*
SO    030  6'11 230  Huell*
SO    031  6'5  190  Brown*
SO    153  7'0  258  Miller
SO    215  6'3  198  Vasiljevic*
FR    015  6'5  206  Walker
FR    060  5'7  150  Lykes
FR    125  6'11 209  Gak
FR    141  6'9  205  Waardenburg

* played double digit minutes per game last season

 

[mikeirbyusa]

Rather talk about us.

Gonna be an exciting season, anything will be gravy after winning it all.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Rather talk about us.

We know. Different strokes.

Some of us also like to look at the competition. For me, it enriches the experience. It's us in context.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

With Miami it is all about the coach more than the players. I really respect Larranaga's ability to get the best out of his kids and to get some really intense D.

They look long and athletic, but I hope they don't have shooters too. If he can add some shooters to his slashing guards and big bodies, they will be a problem.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

For a lot of us our first exposure to Larranaga was when his George Mason team put an untimely end to the 2006 team's hopes in the NCAAT.

That was Hansbrough's freshman year and most had expected it to be a pretty down year. It probably would have been if Hansbrough hadn't been raring to go in his first year. Those guys were great fun to watch and had made believers of us. We got great performances from unexpected heroes like David Noel, Rey Terry and Wes Miller. And while the numbers may not show it, freshman Bobby Frasor held his own against the best PGs in the league.

And then Larranaga's experienced team dismantled the dream.

It wasn't a blowout loss (65-60) or anything like that, but it sometimes felt like men against boys. And that, unfortunately, seems to be the trademark of a lot of Larranaga's teams. He usually has experience and toughness on his teams.

I still hold it against Larranaga when he dissed Roy in the Dean Dome a couple of years ago by trying to blow past him without a handshake, comment or even looking Roy in the eye in the line at game's end. I don't know why, but it left another bad taste in my mouth.

I don't know the numbers, but I suspect Larranaga has as good a record against Roy as most coaches in the ACC or the nation.

Miami isn't Duke, but they may be my next favorite team to beat.

 

[Archer2]

A top four finish in the ACC by UNC would be quite a feat.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

A top four finish in the ACC by UNC would be quite a feat.

I'm holding on to the idea that we will still be in the top tier. A number of ordinarily good teams could also be down, so I think we should aim that high.

So far Louisville looks like a powerhouse and Duke could be if things click. But Syracuse and FSU should be down.

I haven't figured out Virginia or Notre Dame yet. They'll probably be good but will they be better with ND losing Beachem and Vasturia and Virginia losing Perrantes? If not, we could have a shot against them.

Will Va Tech continue to inch up in the ACC? Probably. Will they nudge into the top tier? That strikes me as a tossup.

Wake could be better even after losing Collins. But they are starting pretty far back.

If Keatts can create chemistry at State, they could be a lot better. But can they really jump 8 or 9 positions (from 14th place in the ACC)?

Pittsburgh and Boston College will elicit calls to kick them out of the ACC this year.

We'll find out if Ga Tech was a fluke or the real deal. Remember when we used to ask that about Bennett at Virginia?

Who does that leave? Clemson? Brownell has had 2 good years at Clemson and 1 of those was with the solid team he inherited from Purnell. Frankly, I'm surprised he still has a job. Or did he get fired when I wasn't looking? After his hissy fit against Kennedy Meeks last season, the sooner he goes the better, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[dgheel57]

Our season depends on our freshmen bigs,if they crash the boards we will be fine,I'm not worried about our back court with the addition of Cam.

 

[Archer2]

Oh our backcourt should be outstanding. I've no doubt that our wings will be as good as any in the country. If we get decent play from our 4/5 spots, we'll be competitive.

 

[trestyles]

How does FSU looks? I know they have a 5 star coming in, but who else are they returning?

 

[Heeelz46]

Hows wake? They looked good at the end of the year.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Hows wake? They looked good at the end of the year.

Here are a couple of cut & pastes from other threads...

2017 ACC Rank: Wake Forest 10
Players Lost: 3, including Collins and Arians
Recruiting class: 4 players, #42 nationally, #8 in ACC

Can Wake rise without Collins? He and outside shooter Arians (43%) are their main losses. They have guys who should be able to fill in for Arians, but Collins was a serious talent - even though we made him look pretty bad - and it isn't clear whether Wake's replacement options are any good (unless there are transfers or redshirts).

OTOH, this will be Manning's 4th year and he has a lot of experience on that roster. So it could be the time for everything to click.

Crawford is a seriously good ball distributor and can score. Mitoglou will be a senior and is a decent rebounder. Guys like Woods and Wilbekin can fill it up from deep. And the whole team shoots lights out from the FT line.

So . . . now that I think of it, Wake does seem to have a good shot to move up. The question becomes whether anyone else, besides Syracuse, will slide down and let Wake move even higher.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

The latest CBSsports preseason ranking has Miami at #11, just ahead of us and Notre Dame.

That would also put them 3rd in the ACC after Louisville and Duke. According to them.

http://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...tucky-moves-up-to-no-5-in-the-top-25-and-one/