On Tuesday afternoon, Jai Lucas and the Miami Hurricanes received positive news on the transfer portal trail by adding Michigan guard transfer L.J. Cason.
According to Jon Rothstein, he will sit out this season after undergoing an ACL injury during Michigan's shot at the National Championship. He averaged a total of 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.9 steals, in 18 minutes per game.
CanesInSight spoke with his former high school coach, Steve Fitzgerald at Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland, Florida, to discuss Cason's game and what the Hurricanes are getting in him:
On what type of player Miami is getting out of L.J. Cason: Miami is getting an absolute killer on the court and a genuine/extremely likable kid off the court.
On what stood out about L.J. during high school and what made him believe he could play at the highest level: He has always been underrated and when he went up against higher ranked players he took it personal and outplayed and also got the win. Notable players he went against Jizzle James, Karter Knox, Cooper Koch, Jermel Jones, Mathew Able. Also his combination of IQ/Mental Toughness with his physical gifts is extremely rare for a HS player.
On how much he has evolved his game since he left from Michigan: His game evolved thru the roof while at Michigan. He developed championship habits/professionalism and his leadership greatly improved. He found his voice.
On him returning to his home state: One of the initial reasons he went to Michigan was to get away from potential distractions, which I thought was very mature. Now that he has experienced that growth & discipline for two years at Michigan he’s ready to come home. He’s always played with a chip on his shoulder & coming home to Florida and playing in front of more of his family/supporters will fuel him to take his game to the next level.
On what type of player Miami is getting behind the scenes: Leadership is something that has been a consistent focus since HS. The Michigan experience has taught him that full investment in the TEAM and connection with his teammates is a separator. If you watch the last episode of “Made for March” you will see how his leadership has evolved. The culture at Michigan under Dusty May was intentional about developing leaders.
On a memory that sums up who L.J. is as a person: During his senior year he already took the SAT 2 times and his score was good enough to get him into FAU/Michigan but he had a goal to get over 1000 so he took it for a 3rd time and achieved his goal. Not many players of his caliber would’ve done that. Another story—his Jr year he scored 57 points. Most players when they score that much are stat padding against a weaker opponent but LJ did it against a very good team and we won 93-87. We needed every one of his points to win the game. He also had 11 rebounds and 7 assists. LJ will do WHATEVER it takes to win.
According to Jon Rothstein, he will sit out this season after undergoing an ACL injury during Michigan's shot at the National Championship. He averaged a total of 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.9 steals, in 18 minutes per game.
CanesInSight spoke with his former high school coach, Steve Fitzgerald at Victory Christian Academy in Lakeland, Florida, to discuss Cason's game and what the Hurricanes are getting in him:
On what type of player Miami is getting out of L.J. Cason: Miami is getting an absolute killer on the court and a genuine/extremely likable kid off the court.
On what stood out about L.J. during high school and what made him believe he could play at the highest level: He has always been underrated and when he went up against higher ranked players he took it personal and outplayed and also got the win. Notable players he went against Jizzle James, Karter Knox, Cooper Koch, Jermel Jones, Mathew Able. Also his combination of IQ/Mental Toughness with his physical gifts is extremely rare for a HS player.
On how much he has evolved his game since he left from Michigan: His game evolved thru the roof while at Michigan. He developed championship habits/professionalism and his leadership greatly improved. He found his voice.
On him returning to his home state: One of the initial reasons he went to Michigan was to get away from potential distractions, which I thought was very mature. Now that he has experienced that growth & discipline for two years at Michigan he’s ready to come home. He’s always played with a chip on his shoulder & coming home to Florida and playing in front of more of his family/supporters will fuel him to take his game to the next level.
On what type of player Miami is getting behind the scenes: Leadership is something that has been a consistent focus since HS. The Michigan experience has taught him that full investment in the TEAM and connection with his teammates is a separator. If you watch the last episode of “Made for March” you will see how his leadership has evolved. The culture at Michigan under Dusty May was intentional about developing leaders.
On a memory that sums up who L.J. is as a person: During his senior year he already took the SAT 2 times and his score was good enough to get him into FAU/Michigan but he had a goal to get over 1000 so he took it for a 3rd time and achieved his goal. Not many players of his caliber would’ve done that. Another story—his Jr year he scored 57 points. Most players when they score that much are stat padding against a weaker opponent but LJ did it against a very good team and we won 93-87. We needed every one of his points to win the game. He also had 11 rebounds and 7 assists. LJ will do WHATEVER it takes to win.
