5 On The Court: Something Has to Change for Miami Hurricanes Basketball
A deep dive into how the Hurricanes got into this predicament and where to go from here.
Instead of writing another recap about a blowout or bad loss (Miami just lost to Syracuse 72-69), let’s just address what this team’s issues are, Many people are pointing blame at the lack of depth of the bench, may other fans are blaming bad coaching, lets take a dive in on what we have to say.
Turnovers
Miami has been struggling with turnover throughout the seasons and even cost us some games, in the losses of Colorado and Kentucky, Miami was sloppy with the ball by turning it over 15 times against Kentucky and 20 times against Colorado. To go along with it, Miami had more turnovers than assists in both those games, making it even more prominent.
Therefore, how does Miami fix this problem and stop making avoidable mistakes?
First and foremost, it starts with putting the ball in the hands of Bensley Joseph and Nijel Pack. While neither has been an excellent playmaker this season, they are this team’s best two ball-handlers and be used that way.
With Omier, he was dominant last season running the pick and roll with Pack. That play should be a primary focus moving forward, and even he showed that he can shoot.
While nothing will change overnight, Miami needs to allow more of this offense to run through Pack and Joseph and keep Omier, Poplar, and Matthew Cleveland running constant off-ball movement.
Injuries
I don’t think there’s a program in the country that has had more players miss games than the Miami Hurricanes, the Hurricanes were missing star forward Norchad Omier and veteran guard Nijel Pack and even guard Wooga Poplar, the Hurricanes are very low on depth at all those positions, so Miami has to find a backup plan if someone goes out.
What does this mean?
The Hurricanes do not remain as one of the top teams in the ACC. But, they’ve been one of the top-scoring offenses in the country and efficient from behind the arc.
However, Miami is not playing to its best abilities. Look at Pack, who was playing like one of the best guards in the country from February through the NCAA Tournament last season. The 2023-24 season is different. He has yet to hit his stride and has only two 20-plus-point performance.
Additionally, Miami’s bench is getting better game by game and will improve this team. Still, the Hurricanes play in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Only time will tell, but this team has proved during the last two seasons that they show up when it matters most.
Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
