Top storylines for the 2020-21 University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams
The college basketball season tips off in less than a month, on Nov. 25, and the University of Miami men’s and women’s teams still do not know their schedules.
The men’s team only knows that it will play host to Purdue on Dec. 8 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge and that a non-conference game against FAU is said to be in the works. The women’s team is planning non-conference matchups against regional opponents within driving distance.
Like everything else, the ACC has been disrupted by COVID-19 and working out a schedule of indoor sporting events during a pandemic has proven to be a major challenge. Basketball teams play as many as three games a week, teams and officials are required to travel far more frequently than in football, so the conference is still working on protocols and testing plans.
A schedule is expected to be released soon. In the meantime, UM men’s coach Jim Larranaga and women’s coach Katie Meier are preparing their teams the best they can.
Larranaga enters his 10th season with the Hurricanes and Meier her 16th. Both teams finished middle of the pack in the conference last year. The men were 15-16 overall and 7-13 in the ACC. The women were 15-15 and 7-11.
Both coaches are doing all they can to ensure their players stay safe during the pandemic.
“I’m very, very proud of our guys for handling it so far, but we’ve almost been in our own bubble,” Larranaga said. “Our practice facility has been limited to our players, coaches and a couple of managers. That’s it. They’ve all been tested. It was once a week, now twice a week. As long as we’re smart about who we interact with, I think we can stay safe, but when you’re dealing with young adults who already have been quarantined since last March, you got guys with COVID fatigue. Will they interact with other people?
“I’ve lost a friend to COVID, a former player to COVID and I have a relative with COVID. It’s a very dangerous virus. You can’t let up your guard. We want to keep ourselves safe so we can have a basketball season. It’s great our football team hasn’t missed a game, but others in the ACC have.”
Senior Taylor Mason said the UM women’s team has become more dedicated to the sport during the pandemic.
“It has changed our mentality, mindset and drive, so COVID has had some benefits,” Mason said. “It has made us love the game more, made us appreciate the small things, so we are going much harder than before.”
Here are some storylines heading into the 2020-21 season…
Sam Waardenburg out for the year
Senior power forward Sam Waardenburg is out for the season with a left foot injury. The New Zealand native started 24 of 30 games last season
“It was a big blow to lose Sam,” said Larranaga. “He was our most experienced front court player, our leading rebounder from last year, practicing extremely well and we’re going to dramatically miss his defense, rebounding, experience and his overall demeanor on the court.
Sophomore Anthony Walker, freshman Matt Cross, and redshirt junior Deng Gak will have to step up.
Nysier Brooks is the new “Glue Guy”
Keep an eye out for 7-foot redshirt senior center Nysier Brooks, a grad transfer from the University of Cincinnati, where he ranked among the conference leaders in blocks and rebounds. Brooks, one of 11 siblings, said his large family taught him to speak up and deal with different personalities, so he has become an instant leader for UM.
“He’s very vocal,” Larranaga said. “That’s going to really help us defensively. Nysier will be a really good defender and rebounder for us, will block some shots.”
Brooks called himself “the glue guy who can chain everyone together” and teammate Kam McGusty agreed. “Every good team has a guy like Nysier, a player who brings energy,” McGusty said. “Nysier is our energizer.”
Freshmen to play big roles
Larranaga said freshman guard Earl Timberlake and freshman forward Matt Cross are expected to play significant roles. He compared Timberlake to former UM player Bruce Brown, now with the Detroit Pistons
“Earl is more physically ready than most freshmen,” Larranaga said. “He’s 6-5, strong, athletic, can handle. He’s a tough hard-nosed guy going to basket. Whether he starts or come off the bench, he’s going to be a major contributor from Day One.”
Guards improved from last season
Sophomore guard Isaiah Wong gained 20 pounds of muscle in the off-season and comes in at 182 lbs, “considerably bigger and stronger” than last year, Larranaga said. He has also worked on his three-point shooting.
McGusty has given up soda, gotten in the best shape of his life, and his fitness is showing on the court.
The coach said starting point guard Chris Lykes recovered from knee surgery and is “playing the best basketball in practice. Will it convert to games? I really hope so because he’s had a great summer and fall.”
Meier aims for postseason breakthrough
The UM women reached the post-season 10 years in a row from 2009-19, and Meier’s team has had a 100 percent graduation rate. She’d like a deeper run in March.
“I’m satisfied with my body of work, but we want to break through the second, third weekend in March, that’s something we’re trying to do,” Meier said. “Overall, the 100 percent graduation rate and 10 straight post-seasons is pretty impressive. More so the graduation rate. Everyone who’s ever played for me that spent four years has graduated, I have never had an ineligible player, so the culture’s good.”
International flavor helps Hurricanes
The Canes roster reads like the United Nations with five internationals -- two from France and others from Sweden, Spain and Croatia. Meier said they blend perfectly with her domestic players.
“There are some programs that commit to recruiting internationally and they get all the scouting services and do it that way, but we really have a relationship connection,” she said, adding that the players she got from Sweden and France knew of former UM players from those countries who had good experiences at the school.
“A lot of times we have a very athletic style and we’ve been able to use the international players in positions of the vision, passing and time per touch and they keep us playing fast,” Meier said. “That’s really helped, and I’ve really fallen in love with the combination of that mix of talent.”
No excuses with seniors
With four seniors on the team – Endia Banks, Mykea Gray, Taylor Mayson, Kelsey Marshall – Meier said it is time to make a postseason run.
“This has to be a year when close games have to break our way,” Meier said. “We have no excuse for that. We have to rely on our upperclassmen who have been there before.”
