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UM's basketball season ended Thursday (barring some postseason invitation that Jim Larranaga has said is not going to happen). But good news looms for Larranaga's program: Next season’s team should be considerably better, more potent offensively, and more interesting to watch.
UM will get a boost from high-scoring guard DeAndre Burnett (who missed this season with a wrist injury) and two transfers who were ineligible this season: former Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez and ex-Texas guard Sheldon McClellan.
McClellan, who averaged 13.5 points for the Longhorns in 2012-13, is “a very, very talented offensive player --– kind of a combination of Durand Scott, Rion Brown, Trey-McKinney Jones,” Larranaga said. “He has size, length, jumping ability, shooting ability, driving ability, can make free throws. He hasn’t become the defender he should be. Most of the really good offensive players rest on defense. We can’t afford that.”
Senior guard Rion Brown calls McClellan “a freak of nature. He’s athletic even just passing and dribbling!”
McClellan said he came to Miami because of Larranaga and “how he handles players. And transfers have done well here” – include Shane Larkin and McKinney-Jones.
He said “motivation and time management” were problematic for him at times at Texas, but he has improved in both areas. “I’m in the gym more now,” he said, adding that a backcourt duo of himself and Rodriguez “can be pretty scary.”
Players rave about how Rodriguez has become the team’s vocal leader even though he wasn’t eligible to play this season. He has corrected players when they do something wrong at practice, even yelling when needed.
Rodriguez, who averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists at Kansas State last season, “can create for a lot of people,” freshman guard/forward Davon Reed said. “He’s a guy you want to play with because he makes the game easier for you.” And he’s a skilled defender.
UM is expecting a lot from Burnett, who averaged 36 points for Carol City as a senior two years ago. “He's a great scorer,” Reed said. “He can catch and shoot, can go off the dribble.”
Larranaga said UM will play a lot of small ball next season, because most of its best players will be guards: Rodriguez, Reed (who will see a lot of time at small forward), Burnett, McClellan, Manu Lecomte (improved considerably as the season progressed) and two newcomers: four-star point guard JaQuan Newton (rated the nation’s 35th-best recruit by rivals.com) and three-star shooting guard James Palmer (rated the 114th-best player). “Scoring will not be an issue next year,” senior Erik Swoope said.
UM’s incoming class has two three-star power forwards (6-8 Omar Sherman and 6-9 Ivan Cruz Uceda), but no natural center unless UM finds one with its last scholarship available, which Larranaga prefers to use on a senior transfer.
Larranaga said it’s “impossible" to find a big man "with skills who knows how to play.”
“There are not a lot of those guys out there. Those guys are so highly recruited. There are not a lot of those guys in the NBA anymore, guys like Dwight Howard."
Sophomore seven-footer Tonye Jekiri hasn’t progressed as much offensively as UM hoped.
“Last summer, he worked at it, but he didn’t kill himself,’ Larranaga said. “He really needs to become fanatical if he wants to score at all. The only baskets he’s really getting are right at the rim. He makes a jump shot once every five games.”
Larranaga privately has said his biggest regret was not playing Swoope more earlier this season. But Swoope said: "What we did this year was a testament to his coaching. We could have been way below .500. He got the most out of this team."
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/#storylink=cpy
UM will get a boost from high-scoring guard DeAndre Burnett (who missed this season with a wrist injury) and two transfers who were ineligible this season: former Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez and ex-Texas guard Sheldon McClellan.
McClellan, who averaged 13.5 points for the Longhorns in 2012-13, is “a very, very talented offensive player --– kind of a combination of Durand Scott, Rion Brown, Trey-McKinney Jones,” Larranaga said. “He has size, length, jumping ability, shooting ability, driving ability, can make free throws. He hasn’t become the defender he should be. Most of the really good offensive players rest on defense. We can’t afford that.”
Senior guard Rion Brown calls McClellan “a freak of nature. He’s athletic even just passing and dribbling!”
McClellan said he came to Miami because of Larranaga and “how he handles players. And transfers have done well here” – include Shane Larkin and McKinney-Jones.
He said “motivation and time management” were problematic for him at times at Texas, but he has improved in both areas. “I’m in the gym more now,” he said, adding that a backcourt duo of himself and Rodriguez “can be pretty scary.”
Players rave about how Rodriguez has become the team’s vocal leader even though he wasn’t eligible to play this season. He has corrected players when they do something wrong at practice, even yelling when needed.
Rodriguez, who averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists at Kansas State last season, “can create for a lot of people,” freshman guard/forward Davon Reed said. “He’s a guy you want to play with because he makes the game easier for you.” And he’s a skilled defender.
UM is expecting a lot from Burnett, who averaged 36 points for Carol City as a senior two years ago. “He's a great scorer,” Reed said. “He can catch and shoot, can go off the dribble.”
Larranaga said UM will play a lot of small ball next season, because most of its best players will be guards: Rodriguez, Reed (who will see a lot of time at small forward), Burnett, McClellan, Manu Lecomte (improved considerably as the season progressed) and two newcomers: four-star point guard JaQuan Newton (rated the nation’s 35th-best recruit by rivals.com) and three-star shooting guard James Palmer (rated the 114th-best player). “Scoring will not be an issue next year,” senior Erik Swoope said.
UM’s incoming class has two three-star power forwards (6-8 Omar Sherman and 6-9 Ivan Cruz Uceda), but no natural center unless UM finds one with its last scholarship available, which Larranaga prefers to use on a senior transfer.
Larranaga said it’s “impossible" to find a big man "with skills who knows how to play.”
“There are not a lot of those guys out there. Those guys are so highly recruited. There are not a lot of those guys in the NBA anymore, guys like Dwight Howard."
Sophomore seven-footer Tonye Jekiri hasn’t progressed as much offensively as UM hoped.
“Last summer, he worked at it, but he didn’t kill himself,’ Larranaga said. “He really needs to become fanatical if he wants to score at all. The only baskets he’s really getting are right at the rim. He makes a jump shot once every five games.”
Larranaga privately has said his biggest regret was not playing Swoope more earlier this season. But Swoope said: "What we did this year was a testament to his coaching. We could have been way below .500. He got the most out of this team."
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/#storylink=cpy
