LOOK: Miami Basketball First Summer Workout Is In The Books

[Trinton Breeze]

Here we go. The first practice of the 2025-26 season is underway over at the Susan and Stephen Symons Training Center:

There was no media allowed at the summer practice; however, below are a handful of pics and videos from Monday’s workouts.

Continue reading...

 

[Trav]

It's still odd seeing a team with zero turnover from the previous year. It's like starting up a brand new program. In this case that's a good thing.

 

[cway313]

How many players do we have on the roster at this point?

 

[EightiesCane]

How many players do we have on the roster at this point?

11

 

[AmherstCane]

11

I remember when some around here were stroking out about L not using all available scholarships. Interesting that more deference is given to a coach who has never run a team before…

Fortunately, L was not wrong when he did it years ago and Jai is not wrong for doing it now. It’s really hard to find guys that have the basketball or team-building skills to fill the last few spots… the wrong guys at the end of the bench can really hurt team culture.

 

[hotshot]

Has Lucas said anything about Walk-Ons?

 

[Cane44]

I remember when some around here were stroking out about L not using all available scholarships. Interesting that more deference is given to a coach who has never run a team before…

Fortunately, L was not wrong when he did it years ago and Jai is not wrong for doing it now. It’s really hard to find guys that have the basketball or team-building skills to fill the last few spots… the wrong guys at the end of the bench can really hurt team culture.

Could be as simple as leaving himself room to add a large new group of FR or Transfers in year 2.... So he has 4 rosters spots available, plus 3 seniors moving on after the season. 7 spots: Do you think he goes heavy with what seems to be a good Florida HS class? 4 FR / 3 Portal

 

[ruggercane22]

Could be as simple as leaving himself room to add a large new group of FR or Transfers in year 2.... So he has 4 rosters spots available, plus 3 seniors moving on after the season. 7 spots: Do you think he goes heavy with what seems to be a good Florida HS class? 4 FR / 3 Portal

Seems to be the line of thinking. I'm here for it.

 

[AmherstCane]

Could be as simple as leaving himself room to add a large new group of FR or Transfers in year 2.... So he has 4 rosters spots available, plus 3 seniors moving on after the season. 7 spots: Do you think he goes heavy with what seems to be a good Florida HS class? 4 FR / 3 Portal

Honestly it’s as simple as there’s only so much money and that money can only pay a certain number of players who can play at the desired level.

Maybe the settlement will change things but right now freshman don’t stay long enough to develop unless they’re guaranteed to be the guy next year. Saving room for next year’s freshmen is not the reason scholarships went unused. I would bet there’s gonna be enough open spots just from departures from this years roster.

 

[King of Allapattah]

Honestly it’s as simple as there’s only so much money and that money can only pay a certain number of players who can play at the desired level.

Maybe the settlement will change things but right now freshman don’t stay long enough to develop unless they’re guaranteed to be the guy next year. Saving room for next year’s freshmen is not the reason scholarships went unused. I would bet there’s gonna be enough open spots just from departures from this years roster.

You make a good point. However, the biggest difference between this staff and Coach L's is that this is a new staff that had to build a team from scratch in a matter of weeks. There's nothing negative about using your full allotment of scholarships and having to replace players the following year. it's the name of the game today. 11 guys for a first year staff is okay with me, as long as they have a plan. Can't keep open spots for fear that a freshmen will leave the following year. You cross that bridge when you get there. Paul Djobet is a good example of an under the radar guy that came in late, wasn't a cancer at the end of the bench and helped the team when his number was called.

I don't know what their plan is, but in talking to some HS and travel ball coaches, this new staff seems to be very confident that they have the resources in place to recruit with the big boys. Time will tell. GO CANES!!!

 

[AmherstCane]

You make a good point. However, the biggest difference between this staff and Coach L's is that this is a new staff that had to build a team from scratch in a matter of weeks. There's nothing negative about using your full allotment of scholarships and having to replace players the following year. it's the name of the game today. 11 guys for a first year staff is okay with me, as long as they have a plan. Can't keep open spots for fear that a freshmen will leave the following year. You cross that bridge when you get there. Paul Djobet is a good example of an under the radar guy that came in late, wasn't a cancer at the end of the bench and helped the team when his number was called.

I don't know what their plan is, but in talking to some HS and travel ball coaches, this new staff seems to be very confident that they have the resources in place to recruit with the big boys. Time will tell. GO CANES!!!

Absolutely true. But it’s also true that L never had close to the level of investment and resources that are now being deployed. In some ways he was a victim of his own success. He started out on probation down scholarships and won the ACC with a darn near shoestring budget.

He didn’t fill his scholarships after probation ended because he couldn’t add players who he and his staff thought would make the team better.

Re: resources, basketball’s NIL budget was TRIPLED from last year to this year.

I’m not saying this to criticize Jai. Just pointing out that there was a chorus screaming to just fill the scholarships not that long ago.

 

[caneworld]

I remember when some around here were stroking out about L not using all available scholarships. Interesting that more deference is given to a coach who has never run a team before…

Fortunately, L was not wrong when he did it years ago and Jai is not wrong for doing it now. It’s really hard to find guys that have the basketball or team-building skills to fill the last few spots… the wrong guys at the end of the bench can really hurt team culture.

Does that include when Coach L did not have enough players to even run practice??

 

[Canedude08]

I remember when some around here were stroking out about L not using all available scholarships. Interesting that more deference is given to a coach who has never run a team before…

Fortunately, L was not wrong when he did it years ago and Jai is not wrong for doing it now. It’s really hard to find guys that have the basketball or team-building skills to fill the last few spots… the wrong guys at the end of the bench can really hurt team culture.

While having the wrong guys at the end of the bench hurts morale, you'd think there would be some decent practice bodies available that would embrace the role, knowing that they would get to participate in high major college basketball.

 

[Canedude08]

Absolutely true. But it’s also true that L never had close to the level of investment and resources that are now being deployed. In some ways he was a victim of his own success. He started out on probation down scholarships and won the ACC with a darn near shoestring budget.

He didn’t fill his scholarships after probation ended because he couldn’t add players who he and his staff thought would make the team better.

Re: resources, basketball’s NIL budget was TRIPLED from last year to this year.

I’m not saying this to criticize Jai. Just pointing out that there was a chorus screaming to just fill the scholarships not that long ago.

Imagine had L gotten the budget Jai is getting now, following the Final Four run. Imagine had Miami been able to give Zay Wong an offer no player could have refused(He made great NIL money, but to keep him for one more year, you needed to make him the highest paid guy in the country, and Miami couldn't do that). I don't think the team falls apart with Zay Wong on that roster, I also think that L could have gone out and gotten some supplemental talent, instead of having to hope that the returners grew into new roles.

It took the program falling apart, even with L trying everything he could, for the powers that be to up the budget. A Final Four wasn't convincing enough, it took miserable failure. Only Miami.

 

[AmherstCane]

Imagine had L gotten the budget Jai is getting now, following the Final Four run. Imagine had Miami been able to give Zay Wong an offer no player could have refused(He made great NIL money, but to keep him for one more year, you needed to make him the highest paid guy in the country, and Miami couldn't do that). I don't think the team falls apart with Zay Wong on that roster, I also think that L could have gone out and gotten some supplemental talent, instead of having to hope that the returners grew into new roles.

It took the program falling apart, even with L trying everything he could, for the powers that be to up the budget. A Final Four wasn't convincing enough, it took miserable failure. Only Miami.

Agree 100%.

Success breeding complacency is universal, however Miami has a history of being the poster boy for that principle.

If we made a real investment in the football program in 2001/2002… if we made a real investment in the basketball program anytime between 2013 and 2023… if we made a real investment in the baseball program…

The saving grace, however, is that we’re finally actually doing it. And while we lost a lot of time, I don’t think it’s too late.

 

[AmherstCane]

Does that include when Coach L did not have enough players to even run practice??

I think we still had 11 scholarship players we were just hit by the injury bug. Hopefully that doesn’t happen this year.