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So should we forfeit?
No. Just tempering excpectations.
Here is everything Miami Hurricanes head basketball coach Jai Lucas had to say in the 101-61 win over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats:
Opening statement …
“I was most excited about the start. I thought the start of the game was a big key, especially for them, coming off an emotional road game with a top-20 team that went into overtime. I knew they were going to come in with a lot of confidence, and I was worried about giving them anything early. So, a big thing for us was how many three-stop sequences can we get. We started the game that way and got off to a good start. I challenged Shelton (Henderson) and Malik (Reneau). Shelton wasn’t quite there but Malik did a better job of rebounding and getting involved. And I think the biggest thing for us was the 25 assists to only 6 turnovers. That shows where we can be and where we’re headed. We’re nowhere near where I think we can ultimately go. I thought our defense was better, still not where it should be, but I’m excited. I thought the student section was great. It’s a Thursday afternoon game, and they were here. They were loud. I could hear them. I could feel them. I was excited about that.”
On scoring 100 points…
“It always feels good to score 100 points. But the biggest thing is that we played the right way or at least we tried to. We got multiple paint touches, made the right reads and the right passes. That was the difference between the first game and this one. In the first game, you’ve got emotions, guys try to over-exert or do too much. Today, we played with better poise and tried to find the right shots, and when you do that, you end up with 101 points.”
On Dante Allen’s bounce back performance…
“Dante had one of the best summers and preseasons of anyone on the team. After the last game, I could see the disappointment all over his face in the locker room. We told him to put it behind him. When he hit his first shot tonight, he said everything melted away, the fear, the jitters. He just needed to get comfortable again.”
"For me, it's just the standard of where we got to get to and what I wanted to look like and what I feel we can be defensively. The one thing that I did, I challenged Tru Washington because I think he can be one of the best defensive guards in the country. And they have a kid on their team, Arterio Morris, who I recruited when I was at Texas, a former McDonald's All-American who just had 20 at Auburn an I know how talented he is. And that was his cover, 1-for-13, negative-27. So just getting Tru in that mindset because I do think he can be one of the best defensive guards in the country. But the thing that I just felt like we lost a lot of rebounds. They had one too many offensive rebounds and loose balls we didn't get to. And I didn't like when the ball was getting in the paint. I felt like it's getting in the paint too easily. So just some things we have got to tweak. Just the standard we're trying to get to here."
On how Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh controlled the paint…
"It's how we're built. We're going to be a points-in-the-paint type of team. It's what we want to take away on the other end because all bad things lead when the ball gets into paint and it's what we want to expose offensively. We've done a good job and the way they guard it, the ball screens and stuff kind of opened up everything for us. So we were able to get Malik in areas that we like and Ernest on the baseline for the lobs and then just getting people downhill. Finally got to see Tre, what he can be when he has that space and that opportunity to play that way. So as much as we can score on the paint we want to and playing fast and playing in transition is a big part of it for us too."
On Tre Donaldson...
"He had a great balance back game because he wasn't pleased with his first outing either and he looked like himself. I think as we start to get more games and they get more comfortable, people will start to look like ourselves and you'll get to see our team for what I think it can be. Now, this may not be until December or February, but as long as we're progressing at the right rate and moving in the right direction, I think we'll be fine, and he'll be a big part of it. Part of when you transfer and when you go to different places, things are asked of you differently. For me, his leadership has been more of an example and watch me. So getting him to get out of his shell a little bit and use his voice a little bit more is something that he started to do and seeing that impact on everybody else is something I really challenged him and Tru after the first game, was to kind of get outside yourself and get into the team. And this is for everybody, you're worried about how you play, you're worried about your games, worried about stuff like that and so once we get past that point, we'll be fine."
On 3PT shooting
"We'll adapt to what is we want to touch the paint as much as possible and we think our best 3s will come from paint touches and you kind of saw that tonight. I don't think we'll ever be a 30 attempt team, but we're going to be a high-quality 3-point shooting team. So the ones we get will be high quality and that's why we'll end up with higher percentages. We were 8 for 17 and it doesn't seem like a lot, but if you make eight 3s a game, it's pretty good. And if you go 10 for 22, it's pretty good. So we'll take the highest quality of 3, but we also know what our advantage is and know the way we're built. We're going to be physical. We're going to get into the paint. We're going to play downhill. We're going to get fouled. We're going to finish through contact and then once they start to collapse, we'll get our 3s."
On the win...
"It's not about the score. Whether we were playing North Carolina, tonight is all about what we look like. Are we carrying over what we practice or we plan to? I know I keep saying it, but are we playing to our standard or we're playing to our expectations of what we need to be and where we need to get to and so every game. My coaching is always just off of that and I thought for the most part our intensity, our mindset was in the right place and now we still got to tweak and clean up some other things, but whenever you can hold a team to 61 points, who just scored 90, i's pretty good. But still little things that we got to get better."
Opening statement …
“I was most excited about the start. I thought the start of the game was a big key, especially for them, coming off an emotional road game with a top-20 team that went into overtime. I knew they were going to come in with a lot of confidence, and I was worried about giving them anything early. So, a big thing for us was how many three-stop sequences can we get. We started the game that way and got off to a good start. I challenged Shelton (Henderson) and Malik (Reneau). Shelton wasn’t quite there but Malik did a better job of rebounding and getting involved. And I think the biggest thing for us was the 25 assists to only 6 turnovers. That shows where we can be and where we’re headed. We’re nowhere near where I think we can ultimately go. I thought our defense was better, still not where it should be, but I’m excited. I thought the student section was great. It’s a Thursday afternoon game, and they were here. They were loud. I could hear them. I could feel them. I was excited about that.”
On scoring 100 points…
“It always feels good to score 100 points. But the biggest thing is that we played the right way or at least we tried to. We got multiple paint touches, made the right reads and the right passes. That was the difference between the first game and this one. In the first game, you’ve got emotions, guys try to over-exert or do too much. Today, we played with better poise and tried to find the right shots, and when you do that, you end up with 101 points.”
On Dante Allen’s bounce back performance…
“Dante had one of the best summers and preseasons of anyone on the team. After the last game, I could see the disappointment all over his face in the locker room. We told him to put it behind him. When he hit his first shot tonight, he said everything melted away, the fear, the jitters. He just needed to get comfortable again.”
"For me, it's just the standard of where we got to get to and what I wanted to look like and what I feel we can be defensively. The one thing that I did, I challenged Tru Washington because I think he can be one of the best defensive guards in the country. And they have a kid on their team, Arterio Morris, who I recruited when I was at Texas, a former McDonald's All-American who just had 20 at Auburn an I know how talented he is. And that was his cover, 1-for-13, negative-27. So just getting Tru in that mindset because I do think he can be one of the best defensive guards in the country. But the thing that I just felt like we lost a lot of rebounds. They had one too many offensive rebounds and loose balls we didn't get to. And I didn't like when the ball was getting in the paint. I felt like it's getting in the paint too easily. So just some things we have got to tweak. Just the standard we're trying to get to here."
On how Malik Reneau and Ernest Udeh controlled the paint…
"It's how we're built. We're going to be a points-in-the-paint type of team. It's what we want to take away on the other end because all bad things lead when the ball gets into paint and it's what we want to expose offensively. We've done a good job and the way they guard it, the ball screens and stuff kind of opened up everything for us. So we were able to get Malik in areas that we like and Ernest on the baseline for the lobs and then just getting people downhill. Finally got to see Tre, what he can be when he has that space and that opportunity to play that way. So as much as we can score on the paint we want to and playing fast and playing in transition is a big part of it for us too."
On Tre Donaldson...
"He had a great balance back game because he wasn't pleased with his first outing either and he looked like himself. I think as we start to get more games and they get more comfortable, people will start to look like ourselves and you'll get to see our team for what I think it can be. Now, this may not be until December or February, but as long as we're progressing at the right rate and moving in the right direction, I think we'll be fine, and he'll be a big part of it. Part of when you transfer and when you go to different places, things are asked of you differently. For me, his leadership has been more of an example and watch me. So getting him to get out of his shell a little bit and use his voice a little bit more is something that he started to do and seeing that impact on everybody else is something I really challenged him and Tru after the first game, was to kind of get outside yourself and get into the team. And this is for everybody, you're worried about how you play, you're worried about your games, worried about stuff like that and so once we get past that point, we'll be fine."
On 3PT shooting
"We'll adapt to what is we want to touch the paint as much as possible and we think our best 3s will come from paint touches and you kind of saw that tonight. I don't think we'll ever be a 30 attempt team, but we're going to be a high-quality 3-point shooting team. So the ones we get will be high quality and that's why we'll end up with higher percentages. We were 8 for 17 and it doesn't seem like a lot, but if you make eight 3s a game, it's pretty good. And if you go 10 for 22, it's pretty good. So we'll take the highest quality of 3, but we also know what our advantage is and know the way we're built. We're going to be physical. We're going to get into the paint. We're going to play downhill. We're going to get fouled. We're going to finish through contact and then once they start to collapse, we'll get our 3s."
On the win...
"It's not about the score. Whether we were playing North Carolina, tonight is all about what we look like. Are we carrying over what we practice or we plan to? I know I keep saying it, but are we playing to our standard or we're playing to our expectations of what we need to be and where we need to get to and so every game. My coaching is always just off of that and I thought for the most part our intensity, our mindset was in the right place and now we still got to tweak and clean up some other things, but whenever you can hold a team to 61 points, who just scored 90, i's pretty good. But still little things that we got to get better."
I don't think we will beat UF but it will certainly give Coach Jai some idea on where we stand in terms of getting to the dance. ACC is supposed to have a down year with barely 5 tourney teams. I think as the season progresses, we will get better. The team looks extremely well coached and ln controll. The 3pt shot seems to be coming through. With the size and being a senior led team, I think we will be a top 5 ACC team as the tourney comes around. The BYU game will tell us lot more of who we are than the UF game.
