2017-2018 Canes ARE NOT under the radar

tcgrad1014

All-ACC
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Nov 5, 2011
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5. Can Miami actually win an ACC title?: Simply put: Yes, they can. They won one in 2013 and finishing a game out of first place in 2016, and this season, they should end up being just as talented as they were when they won the league. JaQuan Newton will be the veteran presence in the back court while Bruce Brown should be expected to develop into a player that can push for ACC Player of the Year and All-American honors this season. Throw in a five-star recruit in off-guard Lonnie Walker and a former five-star big man in Dewan Huell, and the talent and coaching is there for the Hurricanes. Don’t be surprised when Miami is back near the top of the ACC come February.

ACC Conference Reset: Get caught up on all of the league’s offseason wheelings and dealings | CollegeBasketballTalk


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Great praise for Bruce and Lonnie too. The CBT guys are certainly all in on us. Weren't they the ones who had us top 5 in their Way, Way Too Early Top 25?
 
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Newton off the bench would be ideal. Coming off the bench as a pure scorer would really help even out the four or five minute dry spells we would go into.
 
The Vinny "Microwave" Johnson role is where Newton thrived his sophomore season. He's clearly not a pg. Lykes is a pure pg. Let him run the offense. Brown will be a more than competent backup at pg.
 
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Izundu, if he takes the step forward that he should, will be a force. Remember, he was already a better offensive player than Tonye was at a similar point, he just has to learn how to defend without fouling, that is what limited his minutes. If the big fella can figure that out, he will get minutes, and with that, touches. It would be nice to have a big that you could dump the rock to, and let him work when the offense gets stagnant. Miami has been missing that dimension since Reggie Johnson graduated. It's been a guard dominated offense, but when those guards can't get to the rack, or bomb from deep, the offense has looked like pure crap. If you have a guy you can hit in the post, and then work around him, it gives you an additional option.
 
There's a reason why grad transfers aren't knocking down the door to come here: they don't see the available minutes.
 
There's a reason why grad transfers aren't knocking down the door to come here: they don't see the available minutes.

There is burn at PF/C. This doesn't mean we need a starter but a quality role player as a backup (play 15-20 MPG).
 
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There's a reason why grad transfers aren't knocking down the door to come here: they don't see the available minutes.

There is burn at PF/C. This doesn't mean we need a starter but a quality role player as a backup (play 15-20 MPG).

Assuming the returning front court guys all improve from last season, I'm not seeing 15-20 minutes available to a grad transfer. I'm thinking 25-30 mpg for Izundu and Huell, 10-12 mpg for Miller and Waardenburg, and maybe a couple from Gak (don't know what to expect from him).
 
A lot of what ifs. Not saying it's unrealistic to expect Huell and Izundu to make big jumps. We've seen it with Gamble, Kadji, Tonye, and Kamari. That said, Izundu has not proven capable of staying out of foul trouble, and there's always the risk of injuries. Waardenburg has never logged a minute, and Miller was hardly a competent contributor. We need a guy who can step into the first big off the bench role, and rebound and defend.
 
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I can't argue that there are a lot of what ifs. However, there are also a lot of bigs with a lot of upside, and a coach that knows how to develop talent.
 
There's a reason why grad transfers aren't knocking down the door to come here: they don't see the available minutes.

There is burn at PF/C. This doesn't mean we need a starter but a quality role player as a backup (play 15-20 MPG).

Assuming the returning front court guys all improve from last season, I'm not seeing 15-20 minutes available to a grad transfer. I'm thinking 25-30 mpg for Izundu and Huell, 10-12 mpg for Miller and Waardenburg, and maybe a couple from Gak (don't know what to expect from him).

We had this conversation already. Don't you remember?

Nice assumptions.
 
A lot of what ifs. Not saying it's unrealistic to expect Huell and Izundu to make big jumps. We've seen it with Gamble, Kadji, Tonye, and Kamari. That said, Izundu has not proven capable of staying out of foul trouble, and there's always the risk of injuries. Waardenburg has never logged a minute, and Miller was hardly a competent contributor. We need a guy who can step into the first big off the bench role, and rebound and defend.

Exactly.

Also Waaredenburgh isn't a traditional big man either. He also weighs about 150 pounds.
 
There's a reason why grad transfers aren't knocking down the door to come here: they don't see the available minutes.

There is burn at PF/C. This doesn't mean we need a starter but a quality role player as a backup (play 15-20 MPG).

Assuming the returning front court guys all improve from last season, I'm not seeing 15-20 minutes available to a grad transfer. I'm thinking 25-30 mpg for Izundu and Huell, 10-12 mpg for Miller and Waardenburg, and maybe a couple from Gak (don't know what to expect from him).

We had this conversation already. Don't you remember?

Nice assumptions.

The grad transfer apparently isn't happening, so we'll see how it plays out.
 
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