DMoney: You had every option in the country coming out. What attracted you to the University of Miami during the process?
Rueben Bain: At first, before Coach Cristobal got here, I was like, there’s no way. Miami wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do. I thought I was going to go so far for college it was going to be crazy. But once he got here and the relationship I built within that year of him being here — even throughout the trials and tribulations of that season — it was second to none, man. I honestly couldn’t see myself going anywhere else. We built this strong relationship, the trust, the bond, either in person or over the phone. The importance he showed me of this program, of the impact I could have, and the trust and faith he had in me — knowing he could give me all this opportunity to come and change the program — and I feel like that’s what I did.
DMoney: Coach Cristobal gave you the recruiting pitch. Now you’ve been through it and can compare what he told you with what actually happened. Were those two things pretty similar?
Rueben Bain: They’re real similar. Like I said, everything Coach Cristobal told me has happened or is happening, and he never lied to me. Anything he put on the table for me when he first met me, I’ve either seen it or I’m beginning to see it. It’s a crazy opportunity. Sometimes it’s crazy because like that video when he told me I won that award my freshman year and he said, “When you were being recruited, what’d I say? I’m going to change the program around and by December we were going to be flying up to Charlotte.” Boom. Let’s go. That’s the same reaction I still have to this day when I’m finding out stuff. Everything he’s saying now is actually coming to light. It’s different when you’re just saying something and it doesn’t happen. But when it’s actually happening time after time after time, it made me put more trust and faith in Coach Cristobal.
