Summary on season

Cane6

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I’ll be honest and disclose I have only watched about 3 games this year,

But can someone summarize why the severe drop off has occurred this year?

The easy answer is your 3 best players are not playing from last year (Walker, Brown and Huwell), but I’m surprised by the number of beat downs this team has received. This isn’t typical for Laranaga coached teams
 
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I’ll be honest and disclose I have only watched about 3 games this year,

But can someone summarize why the severe drop off has occurred this year?

The easy answer is your 3 best players are not playing from last year (Walker, Brown and Huwell), but I’m surprised by the number of beat downs this team has received. This isn’t typical for Laranaga coached teams

Every conference game has been close at half time. With 7 scholarship players, Miami just isn't talented or deep enough to sustain any kind of intensity or consistency for 40 minutes. To the kids credit, they are competing and playing hard.
 
Between suspension, injuries, and transfers never seeing the court, about as good as could expect. I hate it for Lykes. Would love to see him play on a stacked team.
 
Roster management.

I agree that the FBI investigation hurt recruiting in regards to the 2018 recruiting class. However, the coaching staff has failed to fill the remaining available scholarships with grad transfers so the team would have some depth. At the beginning of the season, the team had 11 scholarship players so there was two unused scholarships that should have been given to two grad transfers to complete the 13 man roster. Now, this is the breakdown of the roster: only has 7 scholarship players, 1 player redshirting (Rodney Miller), 1 player with eligibility questions (Dewan Huell),1 sitting out (Kam McGusty) and 1 player dismissed (Miles Wilson).
Failure to use all 13 scholarships has been a recurring issue for the coaching staff for the past 5 seasons. Unfortunately, the FBI investigation just made the issue more visible.
 
Very few teams use all 13. Let's recap FBI BS cost a minimum of 2 recruits, Wilson booted off team just before the season was to start, Dewan mess have cost is him and Gak tore ACL. The OU transfer has to sit out a year. That is 6 players right there.
 
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Between suspension, injuries, and transfers never seeing the court, about as good as could expect. I hate it for Lykes. Would love to see him play on a stacked team.
It's crossed my mind that he could be a candidate to xsfer out, given that the rest of his time in CG doesn't look that promising. I'm hoping Coach L adds to the recruiting haul he already has to make sure Chris sees a good future here.
 
Stop with this.

If three unforeseen events don't occur (Wilson dismissed, Hernandez ineligible, Gak injuried) then this team would have 10 guys in the rotation. More than enough and, in fact, more than we had last season.

Ok. You make a vaild point but I have to disagree with some aspects of it.

1. In August 2018, Miami had 11 scholarship players and 2 available scholarships. If Miami used those 2 scholarships on grad transfers (1 big and 1 wing) in the spring/summer 2018 then they would have more depth on the roster today.
2. Miles Wilson was dismissed but without knowing the reason for his dismissal, can we really say it was unforeseen? He could have failed multiple drug test but without knowing the reason, it is hard to say it was unforeseen by the coaching staff. It could have been a 3 strike situation and his thrid strike occurred in October. A grad transfer wing would have helped especially if there is any doubt about Miles being on the team.
3. Hernandez being ineligible was known but the length of the process was unforeseen. If the coaching staff would have used 1 of the 2 available scholarships on a grad transfer big then that would have proven more depth to the team.
4. I feel bad Deng Gak got hurt but injuries are part of the game. That is way you have 13 available scholarships so you always have options in case an injury occurs.
5. Redshirting Rodney Miller was the correct decision but it should have happened two years ago when he was a freshman. The reason why it did not occur then was "roster management" because they only had 8 (I think) scholarship players in 2016.

I agree unforeseen issues occur but that is why you have 13 scholarships so you have options available to handle unforeseen situations. Actually, you have to prepare for some unforeseen events like injuries or dismissals. Especially when you have scholarships available.
 
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1. In August 2018, Miami had 11 scholarship players and 2 available scholarships. If Miami used those 2 scholarships on grad transfers (1 big and 1 wing) in the spring/summer 2018 then they would have more depth on the roster today.

Easier said than done. I trust that Larranaga made reasonable judgments based on what was available.
 
3. Hernandez being ineligible was known but the length of the process was unforeseen. If the coaching staff would have used 1 of the 2 available scholarships on a grad transfer big then that would have proven more depth to the team.

I'm tired of this depth nonsense.

We weren't going to get anybody to "replace" our best player. Hernandez being out put this team from a solid tourney team to solidly out.
 
I agree unforeseen issues occur but that is why you have 13 scholarships so you have options available to handle unforeseen situations. Actually, you have to prepare for some unforeseen events like injuries or dismissals. Especially when you have scholarships available.

Again, your stopgap measures wouldn't have made this team a tourney contender. We'd still be bad but with more "depth" than we have now. We'd have two more Joe Thomas' and we'd still be a team that would be lucky to make the NIT.

This season was effectively over in the preseason when Wilson and Hernandez were lost.
 
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Ok and because of a failure to prepare, this is why the team only has 7 scholarship players. You always have to think and prepare for what's ahead. Seen and unseen.
 
Again, your stopgap measures wouldn't have made this team a tourney contender. We'd still be bad but with more "depth" than we have now. We'd have two more Joe Thomas' and we'd still be a team that would be lucky to make the NIT.

This season was effectively over in the preseason when Wilson and Hernandez were lost.

I understand your opinion and I respect it but Louisville used a similiar "stopgap" approach and they are ranked 21st in the nation and they have a top 5 recruiting class coming next season. It is easy to say it will not work but you atleast have to try. You have nothing to lose.
 
Yes, he was around for more than a year. He was expected to be an important rotational player.
Muhammad was around for almost a whole year too, before he was suddenly gone. I'm sure it's a coincidence but ... if guys are gonna ***** up, you want it to happen 9 months earlier. When something can still be done to fill in.
 
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I’ll be honest and disclose I have only watched about 3 games this year,

But can someone summarize why the severe drop off has occurred this year?

The easy answer is your 3 best players are not playing from last year (Walker, Brown and Huwell), but I’m surprised by the number of beat downs this team has received. This isn’t typical for Laranaga coached teams

We have 3 legit players (Amp/Lykes/Zach)
2 starters that would be bench guys on a good team (Izundu/DJ)
And 2 guys that are not ready/not UM caliber (Sam/Mack)

And that's it. That's all there is right now guys.

So when you do the math, it's really not hard to figure.
 
Ok and because of a failure to prepare, this is why the team only has 7 scholarship players. You always have to think and prepare for what's ahead. Seen and unseen.

The team had 10 rotational players healthy and enrolled in school in August.

99% of the teams in America would see their season immediately end if they lost the three players that we did.

There's no adequate preparation for that.

There's a culture, especially around here, of blaming the coach for everything. Even injuries, ineligibility and expulsion.

It's irrational.
 
I understand your opinion and I respect it but Louisville used a similiar "stopgap" approach and they are ranked 21st in the nation and they have a top 5 recruiting class coming next season. It is easy to say it will not work but you atleast have to try. You have nothing to lose.

We had 10 rotational players in August. We didn't need a prayer. We didn't have to "try" anything. The only way we ended up in this situational is a one-in-a-million set of catastrophes.

Everything you've said is Captain Hindsight kind of nonsense.
 
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We had 10 rotational players in August. We didn't need a prayer. We didn't have to "try" anything. The only way we ended up in this situational is a one-in-a-million set of catastrophes.

Everything you've said is Captain Hindsight kind of nonsense.

I disagree because you are allowed to have 13 players on scholarship so it makes no sense to me not to use all 13 scholarships. I don't care if I am the only person using all 13 scholarships, I would always use all 13 scholarships.
Granted, I would only play 10 players but the other 3 scholarships are available for players in the event a catastrophe happens.
I just believe in being prepared and using all 13 scholarships gives you options. That is where we disagree.
I guess you are comfortable with 10 players because of the slim chance a catastrophe can happen.
I prefer to be covered in the event the catastrophe happens. Hope for the best and prepare for the worse.
Having just 10 or 11 scholarship players leaves you very vulnerable to catastrophes.
 
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