A rough patch? Miami basketball missed the NCAA Tournament last year, after losing TWO 1st round draft picks and being saddled with the inability to recruit thanks to the garbage FBI investigation. I guess you forgot that Miami had been to the previous 3 NCAA Tournaments, with a Sweet 16 mixed in there. The last time Miami had been to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments was from 98-2000. Let that settle in. Miami hadn't sniffed that level of consistency in 15 years. I know the typical Miami football "Fan" doesn't pay attention to the basketball program, but come the F on.
Miami, with a good coach should be making the NCAA Tournament somewhat regularly, with some good runs mixed in. L has delivered that, in fact he's done things that NO ONE has done at this program before. IE, multiple Sweet 16 runs, spending tons of time in the rankings, being a relevant program in the best basketball conference in the country.
Baseball should be consistently good, but as we've seen time and time again, Miami is up against it in that sport too. Thanks to scholarship restrictions and the inability of any school to consistently give out full scholarships, it's tough to compete with schools that are significantly cheaper. Miami made a lazy hire in Dimare, it appears that James may luck out and Gino may be a decent coach. Problem is that one has to worry about what happens when Dimare leaves, and BJ is still employed. You can't consistently make lazy hires and have them work out.
James deserves the most criticism for his handling of the football program, merely because he doesn't appear to have a plan for the program. He didn't have a clue on where he wanted to go when Richt retired. He didn't interview ANYONE. That's not what a solid AD does.