What did coach Jim Larranaga say following Miami's exhibition vs. Saint Leo? Check out the complete transcript from after the win.
Opening statement
JIM LARRANAGA: "I thought we played very hard and very well in the first half. Had a 30-point lead at halftime, but, unfortunately, we didn't do the same thing in the second half. Saint Leo took advantage; they kept plunking away with their very good three-point shooting, too, and we gave them a lot more open threes, and they buried them in the second half. But, we learned about ourselves, and we've got a lot of new guys, and they're trying to figure things out."
"Like you said, there are a lot of new guys. I wanted to ask about a couple and then one of the returnees, Paul Djobet. Can you talk about how he played? I also wanted to ask about Jalil Bethea."
JIM LARRANAGA: "Yeah, Jalil had ten points at halftime and got into a scrum in the second half, and unfortunately, the way the officials saw it, he had to leave the game. Paul, on the other hand, has been practicing very hard since the summer, he got into the weight room, he is stronger, he's jumping better, and he kinda has grown up. He’s no longer a freshman learning, he's a sophomore leading. In the other scrimmage we had, he was plus thirty in the plus-minus column, the highest on the team. So, he's doing a really good job."
"Coach, I also want to ask about Divine. He's led the team in assists with six and seems to see the floor very well. What did you see from him out there tonight?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "You know, originally, when he came in the summer, we were planning to redshirt him, but he was so good at just playing basketball, finding the open man, making layups, playing very well on-the-balldefense, and we told him about a month ago, we’re not redshirting you cause you could be a contributor this year as a freshman. I’m not surprised at all of him leading us in assists. He’s very good at doing that. I was very pleased that he found Yousef, who’s not been scoring much and he got three quick baskets off of Divine’s very nice passes"
"What did you think about your first unit?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "We got off to a little slow start offensively, missing some threes, but I didn't look at the stats and probably should, what we shot from three-point range because we were shooting. We were 9 for 24 from three, and that is what 37%. We have some guys that can make threes, multiple guys that can make threes. Hopefully, we'll share the ball well enough to find the open man and make a lot of threes this season."
"Anything different you are seeing from Nijel?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "One of the things is he had a knee issue, and so he rehabbed the knees so his legs are much stronger. It led to him being a little faster, jumping a little higher and moving a little quicker with or without the ball, and it’s given him additional stamina so he can do it for a longer period."
"How about the frontcourt?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "We need both of them to average between 8-to-10 rebounds a game. We also need them to get assists because, in Brandon's case, he is a really good passer, and in Lynn's case, you saw it tonight, he's going to get double, so he's going to be able to find the open man. So, those two guys are key, and it'll be nice once Matthew Cleveland can come back cause he is an additional rebounder. Some of the other guys don't rebound quite as often, but Matt, Brandon, Lynn, and Paul are our best rebounders."
"How long will Matthew Cleveland be out?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "I don't know how long he's going to be out. You're going to have to talk to our trainer about the injury or Megan she seems to have it... He has been out for two weeks. I think he'll be back tomorrow see, he will be ready on Monday."
"How's Kiree [Huie] doing?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "Well, he had surgery, and we're going to wait... an undetermined amount of time."
"How did you like the lineup combination tonight?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "You know, with ten new guys, I don't know what everybody's going to do during game action, so I got to play these guys to see which ones are ready and which ones are going to have a good night. I liked what happened tonight cause when we put that second group in, they did a great job"
"What did you think of Lynn's reads out of the double teams?"
JIM LARRANAGA "Well, think about it: we've been putting the ball in Lynn's hands so often during the summer and fall leading up to this game, and it has been fantastic. His jump hook right hand, left hand, are dynamic. He just has to stay focused and know he has the same responsibility as everybody else: if you're being double teamed, find the open man.
Opening statement
JIM LARRANAGA: "I thought we played very hard and very well in the first half. Had a 30-point lead at halftime, but, unfortunately, we didn't do the same thing in the second half. Saint Leo took advantage; they kept plunking away with their very good three-point shooting, too, and we gave them a lot more open threes, and they buried them in the second half. But, we learned about ourselves, and we've got a lot of new guys, and they're trying to figure things out."
"Like you said, there are a lot of new guys. I wanted to ask about a couple and then one of the returnees, Paul Djobet. Can you talk about how he played? I also wanted to ask about Jalil Bethea."
JIM LARRANAGA: "Yeah, Jalil had ten points at halftime and got into a scrum in the second half, and unfortunately, the way the officials saw it, he had to leave the game. Paul, on the other hand, has been practicing very hard since the summer, he got into the weight room, he is stronger, he's jumping better, and he kinda has grown up. He’s no longer a freshman learning, he's a sophomore leading. In the other scrimmage we had, he was plus thirty in the plus-minus column, the highest on the team. So, he's doing a really good job."
"Coach, I also want to ask about Divine. He's led the team in assists with six and seems to see the floor very well. What did you see from him out there tonight?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "You know, originally, when he came in the summer, we were planning to redshirt him, but he was so good at just playing basketball, finding the open man, making layups, playing very well on-the-balldefense, and we told him about a month ago, we’re not redshirting you cause you could be a contributor this year as a freshman. I’m not surprised at all of him leading us in assists. He’s very good at doing that. I was very pleased that he found Yousef, who’s not been scoring much and he got three quick baskets off of Divine’s very nice passes"
"What did you think about your first unit?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "We got off to a little slow start offensively, missing some threes, but I didn't look at the stats and probably should, what we shot from three-point range because we were shooting. We were 9 for 24 from three, and that is what 37%. We have some guys that can make threes, multiple guys that can make threes. Hopefully, we'll share the ball well enough to find the open man and make a lot of threes this season."
"Anything different you are seeing from Nijel?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "One of the things is he had a knee issue, and so he rehabbed the knees so his legs are much stronger. It led to him being a little faster, jumping a little higher and moving a little quicker with or without the ball, and it’s given him additional stamina so he can do it for a longer period."
"How about the frontcourt?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "We need both of them to average between 8-to-10 rebounds a game. We also need them to get assists because, in Brandon's case, he is a really good passer, and in Lynn's case, you saw it tonight, he's going to get double, so he's going to be able to find the open man. So, those two guys are key, and it'll be nice once Matthew Cleveland can come back cause he is an additional rebounder. Some of the other guys don't rebound quite as often, but Matt, Brandon, Lynn, and Paul are our best rebounders."
"How long will Matthew Cleveland be out?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "I don't know how long he's going to be out. You're going to have to talk to our trainer about the injury or Megan she seems to have it... He has been out for two weeks. I think he'll be back tomorrow see, he will be ready on Monday."
"How's Kiree [Huie] doing?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "Well, he had surgery, and we're going to wait... an undetermined amount of time."
"How did you like the lineup combination tonight?"
JIM LARRANAGA: "You know, with ten new guys, I don't know what everybody's going to do during game action, so I got to play these guys to see which ones are ready and which ones are going to have a good night. I liked what happened tonight cause when we put that second group in, they did a great job"
"What did you think of Lynn's reads out of the double teams?"
JIM LARRANAGA "Well, think about it: we've been putting the ball in Lynn's hands so often during the summer and fall leading up to this game, and it has been fantastic. His jump hook right hand, left hand, are dynamic. He just has to stay focused and know he has the same responsibility as everybody else: if you're being double teamed, find the open man.
