Saturday, February 2, 2013
Miami still getting overlooked?
By Luke Lapinski
UPDATE: Our own Jay Bilas is singing Miami's praises as well. In a podcast with Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Bilas suggested the Hurricanes just might be the most underrated team in the nation right now. He pointed out that, while they may not be the single most athletic team around, they still have plenty of talented weapons on the roster and know how to play the game. That makes them someone that no one's going to want to deal with when March rolls around -- especially considering coach Jim Larranaga's propensity to get the very most out of his players in one-and-done situations.
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Over the last few months, we've written in this space about the notable upside that this year's Miami team has. And that has only become more apparent since conference play began earlier this month. Six games into the ACC schedule, the Hurricanes are 6-0 against league foes. And they've looked impressive doing it.
Included in that run are convincing wins over North Carolina, Maryland, Duke and Florida State. And when Jim Larranaga's squad takes the floor tonight against Virginia Tech, they'll do so as the No. 14 team in the nation, sitting at 15-3 overall. So just how far might this group go? According to our own Seth Greenberg, the sky's the limit because they don't beat themselves. Larranaga has wasted no time injecting a winning attitude into the program and they have a number of talented players who fill very well-defined roles. On top of that, the 'Canes have a nice combination of skill along the perimeter with Durand Scott and Shane Larkin as well as weapons inside with Reggie Johnson and Kenny Kadji. That's a strong mix that many teams simply don't have.
Seth Greenberg
Poised to make some noise?
"Miami is built to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament thanks to experienced guards, wings that can make shots, a frontcourt that is both skilled and physical and a coach with a vision. The Canes showed tremendous maturity in validating their Duke win, and they seem to understand that the season is played one game at a time."
