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Coach Larranaga on the College Hoops Today podcast with Jon Rothstein (recap)

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Peter Ariz

Peter Ariz

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Good listen, highly recommend it. Few things that stood out:

**Coach L said Matthew Cleveland was the team's leading scorer on the French trip. Mentioned the huge jump he believes Wooga Poplar has made and said that both him and Norchad Omier have a chance to be in contention for ACC Player of The Year/1st-team all conference. Said he would also throw in Nijel Pack and Cleveland to that discussion but spotlighted Poplar and Omier.

**Probably the most revealing thing he said was the Bensley Joseph will be a starter this season, which will be an interesting storyline to follow this season as a backcourt of Pack and Joseph is not the biggest, although Joseph tends to defend bigger than his size. Coach L referred to Joseph as a "catalyst" and praised his defensive abilities and rebounding. Says he takes smart shots and shoots it at a high level.

**Said he couldn't imagine a life without coaching and has no thoughts of stopping anytime soon -- reiterated how much he enjoyed the trip to France with the team because it is a really good group of kids.

**He said his biggest concern with the team right now is that the bench needs to develop quickly, not a lot of experience there. Said the starting unit was awesome in France, but they need to continue to build the depth. Michael Nwoko was actually the first player he mentioned in terms of guys coming off the bench. Said Kyshawn George has a lot of versatility at 6-7, and that AJ Casey/Christian Watson will play a major role this season.

**Said he expects a much-improved ACC so the team could actually be better but the rest of the league will be better than last season, so it will be a long road. Said there's a lot more experience in the conference due to some impactful transfers.

He had this to say at the end of the show:

 
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Peter Ariz said:
View attachment 256204




Good listen, highly recommend it. Few things that stood out:

**Coach L said Matthew Cleveland was the team's leading scorer on the French trip. Mentioned the huge jump he believes Wooga Poplar has made and said that both him and Norchad Omier have a chance to be in contention for ACC Player of The Year/1st-team all conference. Said he would also throw in Nijel Pack and Cleveland to that discussion but spotlighted Poplar and Omier.

**Probably the most revealing thing he said was the Bensley Joseph will be a starter this season, which will be an interesting storyline to follow this season as a backcourt of Pack and Joseph is not the biggest, although Joseph tends to defend bigger than his size. Coach L referred to Joseph as a "catalyst" and praised his defensive abilities and rebounding. Says he takes smart shots and shoots it at a high level.

**Said he couldn't imagine a life without coaching and has no thoughts of stopping anytime soon -- reiterated how much he enjoyed the trip to France with the team because it is a really good group of kids.

**He said his biggest concern with the team right now is that the bench needs to develop quickly, not a lot of experience there. Said the starting unit was awesome in France, but they need to continue to build the depth. Michael Nwoko was actually the first player he mentioned in terms of guys coming off the bench. Said Kyshawn George has a lot of versatility at 6-7, and that AJ Casey/Christian Watson will play a major role this season.

**Said he expects a much-improved ACC so the team could actually be better but the rest of the league will be better than last season, so it will be a long road. Said there's a lot more experience in the conference due to some impactful transfers.

He had this to say at the end of the show:

Click to expand...


Nice post @Peter Ariz …would’ve totally missed this interview

Best part of the interview to me was the part about Coach L challenging the notion that their system is only “small ball.” Coach L talked about how they match the system to the roster, not the other way around.
 
Mklein13 said:
Does he plan on taking another transfer or two? Right now we are at 11 scholarship players. Getting one more would be nice.
Click to expand...

Not for this year.

He has 10 guys who have an opportunity to be really good… that’s plenty for this year. They couldn’t bring in another starter level player and their recruiting is gapping up to the elite level so no need to fill the roster just for numbers and the program is moving past the point of development projects.

I expect 6-10 to be far better this year than last… not even close.

The man only has one goal left in his professional life. And I’m not betting against him.
 
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Peter Ariz said:
View attachment 256204




Good listen, highly recommend it. Few things that stood out:

**Coach L said Matthew Cleveland was the team's leading scorer on the French trip. Mentioned the huge jump he believes Wooga Poplar has made and said that both him and Norchad Omier have a chance to be in contention for ACC Player of The Year/1st-team all conference. Said he would also throw in Nijel Pack and Cleveland to that discussion but spotlighted Poplar and Omier.

**Probably the most revealing thing he said was the Bensley Joseph will be a starter this season, which will be an interesting storyline to follow this season as a backcourt of Pack and Joseph is not the biggest, although Joseph tends to defend bigger than his size. Coach L referred to Joseph as a "catalyst" and praised his defensive abilities and rebounding. Says he takes smart shots and shoots it at a high level.

**Said he couldn't imagine a life without coaching and has no thoughts of stopping anytime soon -- reiterated how much he enjoyed the trip to France with the team because it is a really good group of kids.

**He said his biggest concern with the team right now is that the bench needs to develop quickly, not a lot of experience there. Said the starting unit was awesome in France, but they need to continue to build the depth. Michael Nwoko was actually the first player he mentioned in terms of guys coming off the bench. Said Kyshawn George has a lot of versatility at 6-7, and that AJ Casey/Christian Watson will play a major role this season.

**Said he expects a much-improved ACC so the team could actually be better but the rest of the league will be better than last season, so it will be a long road. Said there's a lot more experience in the conference due to some impactful transfers.

He had this to say at the end of the show:

Click to expand...

Words that I could ever imagine coming from a Miami basketball coach and me actually believing it.
 
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