Eye on the U

Haith named assistant for USA Basketball

Even before the Canes basketball season was over, we kept hearing rumors Frank Haith was going to go coach somewhere else. Monday, those rumors finally became a reality when Haith was named an assistant for the U.S. Basketball team at the World University Games in Serbia next month.

The games are held July 2-12 in Belgrade, Serbia. The head coach is Bo Ryan of Wisconsin. Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is also an assistant.

That's a pretty nice honor for Haith, who has led UM to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and NIT Tournament the past two seasons.

> Speaking of UM coaches, Jim Morris will be made available Tuesday morning to talk about the season and what's next for his program after their season ended Sunday night with a loss to the Gators in the regionals.

It's hard to blame Morris or his players for what happened this season. They lost six studs from the 2008 team then lost Eric Erickson before the year even began. This team simply never had the bats in the lineup to survive.

I'd be interested to see which juniors will decide to return. Other than closer Kyle Bellamy, I can't imagine any of the Canes' upper classmen are going to be draft worthy. Shortstop Ryan Jackson had a terrible season with his bat. First baseman Jason Hagerty could probably improve his stock considerably with a stellar senior season. For a change, it would be good to see this program actually keep some talent instead of losing it to the draft.

Think Adan Severino could have helped the Canes and himself this year? He got drafted in the 26th round by the Twins and is hitting .203 for the Beloit Snappers of the Midwest League.

Graham giving football a shot

Jimmy Graham hasn't played football since the ninth grade. But he's not letting it stop him from giving it another shot. 

Around lunchtime Wednesday, University of Miami coach Randy Shannon confirmed the rumors we'd all been hearing for weeks when he told reporters during his 10-minute ACC teleconference that the 6-8, 260-pound Canes power forward will indeed be trying out at tight end.

"We will give him a chance if he wants to do that," Shannon said. "I told Jimmy he has an opportunity to come back to school, enjoy the dream of playing football. He's been around, been with the players, Jacory Harris some... with his size and speed he may help us."

The Hurricanes could definitely use the help. UM is not only thin on experience at tight end, they don't have any proven talent aside from Dedrick Epps. Seniors Richard Gordon and Tervaris Johnson and redshirt sophomore Daniel Adderley took the majority of the snaps the spring and looked average at best. Stephen Plein and Billy Sanders will likely not be ready to help as true freshmen. 

Wednesday, Shannon provided some good news when he told reporters Epps, coming off knee surgery in December, was ahead of schedule. "He should be ready for camp, should be running full speed in July," Shannon said. "He should be full speed and ready to go." 

But it's Graham who could be the most intriguing prospect at the position considering his size and athletic ability. Some of the NFL's best tight ends -- Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez -- have come from the basketball court. Graham, who is declining interviews according to UM sports information director Margaret Belch, could be the next one. 

Wednesday, after Shannon's press conference, I caught up with Carlos Peralta, Graham's old basketball coach at Charis Prep in N.C. Peralta, who has talked to Graham at least once a week since he's been at UM, told me the football team approached Graham about giving tight end a try. Peralta said Graham wrestled with the decision for weeks, praying on it for days before finally telling Shannon recently he would give football a shot. 

"First and foremost what swayed him was that he's enjoyed his time at UM," Peralta said. "And he saw this as an opportunity to extend his experience a little bit. He talked about going to graduate school, how he'll be able to be a double major [marketing and business] by the time he graduates. Jimmy always loved football. It was his first love really. The way he and I see this is he gets to let go of more unleashed aggression -- without the fouls."

According to Peralta, Graham explored all of his basketball opportunities before deciding to give football a try. He looked into potential agents and contemplated offers from overseas -- as far East as Russia.

"Options were available to him," Peralta said. "I think the bottomline is he felt like it was a bit of an unknown in terms of environment. Although the money looks good on paper, he didn't know if he'd enjoy living for six months in Russia. That's what it really came down to."

> Shannon discussed a few other topics during his teleconference including his new coordinators, UM's NFL First Round Draft Streak coming to an end and how Taylor Cook will enter the fall as the team's No. 2 quarterback (which we expected). Nothing was earth shattering. FYI, it's likely the last time we'll hear from Shannon until fall practice begins.

> While I realize many of you might have been miffed by my last blog on recruiting becoming a little more challenging locally for the Canes, I want you to know I had several interesting conversations with several UM staff members behind the scenes about it this week. 

One person told me the reason it is getting harder is because of the emergence of more "mentors" locally. These people could be trying to earn "favors" with outside schools. I'm not going to point any fingers (just know I don't write blogs to stir up controversy or to get hits). I've had my finger on the pulse of recruiting here in South Florida for years. Something isn't right. With severe budget cuts happening on the high school level in Miami-Dade and Broward, assistants and people around programs are losing their jobs. Understand there might be a few desperate guys out there trying to find "help." They are beginning to point kids toward a particular school for that reason. UM knows it and they're trying to fight it. It's just not so easy when some schools have something to offer and The U does not want to get involved in that at all. 

A chat with Kirby Hocutt & more

Two weeks ago when the University of Miami was on the road in the NIT at Providence, I got a chance to catchup with athletic director Kirby Hocutt and pick his mind on a few hot button issues. I figured the highlights of our discussion might be the best way for me to start sharing a boatload of notes I've collected in the past week since the end of the spring football.

> UM football coach Randy Shannon has two years left on his current contract. Entering his third season after going a combined 12-13, Hocutt said he has yet to broach the subject of a contract extension with Shannon and didn't share a timetable either when negotiations might begin. But he didn't sound like an athletic director whose begun looking yet for Plan B either. 

"We haven't talked yet," Hocutt said. "But that's no indication of our support for Randy. He's done an excellent job. There's an excitement around the program as well as optimism for next year. Miami football is on the right track. Randy has a plan and we're going to continue to support him and he's going to be the leader of the program for a long time. I'm confident of that."

> One thing that Shannon did that pleased Hocutt was the way he handled the recruitment of running back Bryce Brown, who went from longtime UM commitment to signing with Tennessee two weeks ago after Shannon decided not to renew his scholarship offer.

"He made the right decision in my opinion and I respect him for handling it the way he did. We're going to be fine moving forward," Hocutt said. "[Recruiting] has changed. Is it concerning? Yes it is. You would hope you can work directly with the parents and the young people involved. You hope the third party influence is not as involved as it is today, especially in the sport of basketball. This honestly was the first time I saw a third party involved in a football situation to the degree it was. And it's something I think we need to start talking about at the conference level and maybe moreso on a national level."

> One of the things Hocutt said he has become more involved in since taking over has been the future scheduling of opponents. He wants to get UM involved in big-time games including playing Notre Dame again and getting Florida on the schedule. Right now, Kansas State is looking to get off UM's schedule for 2011 and 2012. Hocutt said he and Shannon have agreed that as long as UM finds a comparable opponent for the series they would let the Wildcats out of their agreement. According to Hocutt, ESPN is trying to find a replacement to create a marquee TV matchup. Hocutt would not mention any names, but said it would be another Big 12 opponent. I've heard rumblings the possible home and home series could come against either Texas, Texas Tech or Missouri.

"We're going to make sure the opponent makes sense for Miami and what we're trying to accomplish," Hocutt said. "We'll see what opportunities present themselves and move down the road."

Speaking of down the road and opportunities, Hocutt seemed more confident there could be a future meeting with Miami and Notre Dame than with the Canes and Gators, who are currently scheduled to meet for the last time in football at Dolphins Stadium in 2013.

"If there is any way whatsoever to get [a series with Notre Dame] done, we'll get it done," Hocutt said. "I don't want to lead people on or sound too optimistic, but there has been an initial phone call and another conversation through a mutual relationship [TV]. There's definitely interest on both sides. If it's something we can get done in the future it sounds like we're both committed to it."

> When it comes to Frank Haith, consider Hocutt a huge fan of UM's 43-year old coach and a coach Hocutt would probably willing to fight for financially should Haith receive an offer to leave the program. Haith, who last week told reporters and his team he has no interest in leaving UM, has once again had his name resurface this week in filling a possible job opening. FOXSports.com reported Wednesday Georgia has Haith next on its list of candidates after Oklahoma's John Capel. Ten months ago, Hocutt and Dee extended Haith's contract at UM through 2014. Hocutt, who said he speaks to Haith on a weekly basis even during the offseason, said nobody has formally asked UM to speak with Haith.

"Frank and I spend a lot of time talking and its all focused around the future of Miami basketball, what we can continue to do to elevate this program," Hocutt said. "We have a great relationship. He knows we don't want anybody in this country to be our head basketball coach except Frank Haith. You hope you are in position as an athletic director and athletic department thatr people are coming after your coaches, your staff members. That's what you want. That means you got the right person in place and you are doing good things. I think it's a complement to UM that Frank's name is mentioned out there so much."

MORE NOTES, QUOTES & THOUGHTS...

This week I spent two days covering the McDonald's All-American festivities and got a chance to not only speak to a few big-time players, but pick the brains of high school basketball recruiting gurus on a variety of topics.

> UM's quest to land John Wall, the nation's No. 1 available point guard, should probably be considered what has been for a long time -- shaky at best. With John Calipari leaving Memphis for Kentucky this week, many gurus believe it won't necessarily stop Wall from following him. As I was told by SI's Andy Staples last night, Kentucky is probably the most ideal situation because they are desparate for a point guard. Wall has told several publications he plans to take an official visit to UM on April 24. But like Dwayne Collins told me last night when I bumped into him in the BankUnited Center parking lot at around midnight, "if I was him or anybody else living up in that cold, I'd want to take a trip to Miami, too. But that don't mean he's coming here."

> Speaking of Dwayne Collins, although there have been reports that the 6-8, 240-pound forward is considering leaving UM after this season to enter the NBA Draft, I'd consider the likelyhood of Collins leaving about the same as Wall coming to Miami. "Really, I'm just waiting on Coach Haith to tell me what he thinks," Collins said. "If he thinks I should go, I'll go. If he doesn't, I'll be back." NBADraftexpress.com ranks Collins 37th among the nation's Top Juniors. That's not close to being a first round pick.

> Jack McClinton's NBA Draft stock, meanwhile, remains up in the air -- especially after a knee injury slowed him toward the end of the year. McClinton will get a chance to make an impression on NBA Scouts again, however, when he participates in the Three-Point shootout of the State Farm College All-Star festivities Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at the site of the Final Four in Detroit.

> Florida-bound and local guard Kenny Boynton Jr. had a pretty good night (10 points) in Wednesday night's McDonald's All-American Game at the BankUnited Center. I asked Boynton Tuesday if there ever really was a bone in his body that considered playing at Miami, in front of his friends and family.

"There definitely was," Boynton said. "They did recruit me. Coach Jorge Fernandez recruited me real well. Coach Haith recruited me also. But I didn’t think he put more into it like Duke and Florida. I think coach Haith didn’t show me he really wanted me. He came to see me a few times. But he never called a lot. I think it would have been a good situation [coming to Miami]. It’s close to home, Miami is on the rise. I think I could have helped. But it’s a good situation where I'm going too. I like Florida a lot."

> Coming off their second series loss in 23 series in the ACC, UM's baseball team will open a three-game homestand against Florida State this weekend at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The biggest news, though, is UM has decided to move No. 2 starter David Gutierrez into the Friday night starter role in place of the struggling Chris Hernandez Gutierrez is 2-2 with a 1.51 ERA. Hernandez is 2-2 with a 5.88 ERA.

By the way, the Canes will honor the 1999 National Championship team before Saturday night's game at 7 p.m. Get there early if you want to catch it.

End of the year wrap-up with Frank Haith

His team has been to the postseason four of the five years he's been here, second only in the ACC to North Carolina, Duke and Maryland which have been there all five. He's made the University of Miami a major player for some of the nation's top recruits -- from Devin Ebanks a year ago to the country's No. 1 recruit this season John Wall (who will be making an on-campus visit sometime after the McDonald's All-American Game). And he's elevated Miami's basketball program from the depths former coach Perry Clark left it at by making the Hurricanes a relevant player in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

So why does it feel like Frank Haith is getting the Rodney Dangerfield treatment instead of the love Norman Dale felt at the end of Hoosiers? Why are some crazy fans calling Haith a failure and calling for his head after he couldn't take Jack McClinton and a senior-laden team back to the NCAA Tournament? Because there are very few people in South Florida who appreciate and understand how tough it is to win in college basketball. Because at The U (forget that, every sport in Miami) everything is measured by championships and greatness.

Haith understands that. He's learned that in his five years on the job. But just because the 43-year old coach knows there's still work to be done to get the Canes where he wants them to be and to turn more fans onto college basketball in South Florida, he's not about to jump ship. Even though some internet message posters and people on this blog say UM needs a bigger name coach, Haith sees signs of progress, hope, believers in him and his program. Although he admits it hurt him to see only 2,000 people in attendance on Senior Day when Jack McClinton was honored earlier this month (that was before the game started and when the ceremony took place), Haith said he was touched last week when he received a standing ovation from fans when he walked out of AmericanAirlines Arena during the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  

Friday morning when I caught up with Haith for about an hour interview over the phone, he sounded just as passionate about his aspirations for this program as the day when I first met him a little more than three years ago. But he also sounded like someone whose learned a lot and is willing to try new things to make basketball work at UM. He talked about why no one should believe he'd leave no matter if the job pays more or has better tradition or support from its fan base. He made a passioned plea about how fans shouldn't see his team's 19-13 season and loss to Florida last week in the second round of the NIT as a step back. And he talked about the future, how he expects a Top 20 recruiting class (one that could strengthen even more) to take his program to the next level, and how the 2009-10 season should not be seen as a rebuilding year. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation...

MN: At the beginning of this season you guys were ranked in the Top 25, picked to finish fourth in the ACC and you fell short of that. But I get the sense you don't see it as huge of a disappointment as others. How would you sum up the season?
FH: "I think it was disappointing what happened to us, but it was not a disappointing season. Other people may look at it differently. But I think this team had a lot of bright moments, beating a Top 10 team like Wake Forest by 27 points at home. Jack [McClinton] makes All-ACC First Team for the second year in a row. Here's the thing, you can't just look at what we're doing here year-by-year. When you look at a five year period, we've won more games than anybody in the history of the program, more postseason games than anybody in the history of the program. There are a lot of positives you can draw. I think we've made basketball pretty relevant. It's not because we're winning, but because attendance is getting better. Our student section has gotten a lot better. We're getting involved with big time recruits. Every year, there are a lot of teams that would love to do what we've done. that. I think other than UNC, Duke, Maryland we've been to the postseason more than anybody. I'm really proud of that. That's a nice thing this program can hang their hat on as far progress."

MN: But is that going to be enough for you to want to stay here? There have been rumors out there linking you to other jobs like Alabama, Georgia, Arizona. Here's a two-part question: Have you been contacted by anybody? And ultimately, what would it take for you to leave Miami?
FH: "For the record, I have not been contacted by anybody. Not this year. I have been in the past and I've told you about that. But right now, it's only rumors and speculation. Here's the thing, I don't work everyday looking for my next job. I'm really seriously looking to stay here for the long haul. I love living here. But I do want to win."

MN: So does it bother you when fans say things like 'He should be fired'? Do you take it to heart?
FH:  "I know our fan base is kind of disgruntled about this season. It is a little mind boggling. We've improved. I know what the program was like when I got here. Like I said, we've made UM basketball relevant. But in terms of jobs, I don't look at certain jobs and say I want that one day. I just really want to win. And I want to win big here. Obviously, every coach will say that. But I really want to win big. I want to do to help that program win big. I don't know. Are there things we can get better at? Yes. Do we still have areas we need to improve on? Yes. Our fan base is getting better. Our student turnout has improved tremendously. The energy in the building has gotten better. We just need it more consistently. To win big, we need a home court advantage."

MN: Do you feel like you can have that here? Do you feel like the support you have or could have will be enough to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel like you can win big here?
FH: "As long as I can feel like... [pause] Here's the thing, [athletic director] Kirby [Hocutt] and the president [Donna Shalala] have been great. As a coach, you are always skeptical when the guy that hired you is no longer here. But Kirby and I have a really good relationship. It's made me even more comfortable being here. And I have the best president in the world, who is so, so supportive. You don't know how many times I've gotten pick me up texts or emails from her. It honestly makes it difficult to look elsewhere. I'm very loyal and appreciative of people giving me opportunities. That's just who I am and I want to be here as long as Miami people want me to be here. And I hope that's for a long of time."

MN: So is there something that could drive you away?
FH: "If I don't feel there's appreciation and support. Not just from the fans, but from the athletic department. But that's not what I feel. I feel like people want to see us succeed. It definitely made me feel good last week when I was leaving the Cleveland State-Syracuse game and fans got up and gave me a standing ovation. Like I said before, I'm real proud of the support we've come to earn from the students, too."

MN: Let's get back to basketball. Not to put the blame on anybody,  but were there guys you were counting on this past season that just didn't come through for you that ultimately led to the 19-13 finish and the second round loss in the NIT?
FH: "I don't point to guys, I point to situations. Who would have known Lance Hurdle was going to be hurt at the beginning of the year and miss, four or five games. Who would have known the situation with Eddie Rios would play out the way it did? It definitely hurt us not having that third ball-handler, having to put Jack at the point. Who would have known Dwayne [Collins] would turn his ankle down toward a crucial part of our schedule? Who would have known Jack would have an injury at the worst time of the year. You talk personnel, but we were one win away from getting back to the NCAA Tournament. We lost four games on final possessions. I don't know if we can point to one guy or one situation. The one thing I can point to as a whole was free throw shooting. That won us a lot of close games last year. And we really didn't shoot free throws well all year. That made a difference."

MN: Let's look ahead to next year. In the five years you've been here, you've had that go-to guy for big shots. Guillermo Diaz and Rob Hite and then Jack McClinton. Are you guys going to have that guy next year? Can you survive without one?
FH: "I think if you go back to when Rob was a senior and Guillermo decided to go pro, you asked me the same question then. Nobody then knew about Jack McClinton. Yet, he turned out to be that guy. I think the same thing could happen with this team. And if it doesn't, tha's still OK, too. This team may not have a 20 point scorer when those guys leave. But I think we're going to have a number of guys that can score for us. I think our offense will be spread around. We're going to be young, but athletic and we're still going to have a few seniors, too. I think James Dews, Dwayne Collins, Malcolm Grant, Dequan Jones, Durand Scott, all those guys could score. Maybe that will be good for this team, more guys that can score. I would think Dwayne could be that go-to scorer in the post."

MN: Speaking about Dwayne, there were moments this year -- I think back to that dunk over UConn's Hasheem Thabeet -- when he lookied so promising, so dominant. And then, there were moments when he could not score, couldn't do much at all. Do you worry at all he's just not ever going to be that consistent guy?
FH: "I think with Dwayne it's his motor. He's a really good player, who can defend. But he's got to get that consistent motor. When he does, he can be one of the best big men in the country. When he realizes that potential. We're going to hammer it home this summer. He's going to be one of the best big men not only in the ACC, but the country. He has to be a tremendous spark all the time. You're right. At the beginning of the year, he played with tremendous energy and had moments where he was not as good. But I think he played really hard. He just didn't have a lot of breaks. I think that's what he boils down to. He has to realize great players can't turn it on and off."

MN: Without Jack and the offense you guys ran for him and with a lot these new additions, one has to believe you guys are going to look a lot different on both sides of the ball this coming season. Can we expect a different attack?
FH: No question. I think athletically, we'll be our most athletic team ever next year. With Dequan being able to play more of his style next year, I expect him to be a totally different player. I think the one thing we will be able to do, which we really haven't is extend the floor more. We didn't have a lot of depth. I'm not saying we're going to be a full court press team. But we'll spread the team more with our length and have our hands in guys' faces more because we're bigger and more athletic.

MN: What is Malcolm Grant going to be able to give you guys that maybe you didn't have this season?
FH: "He's going to give us a true point guard that can score. The type of player he is, he'll do things help guys become really good. He's going to make guys around him better. He'll get them shots. I think Malcolm can do that. He's also really skilled. He can shoot the basketball. He's not your typical New York guard. He's also got a great feel for the game. Him and Durand [Scott] both are guys who can drive the ball. That's one thing we weren't very good at. We're not going to be as good a three-point shooting team. But we'll be able to run. When Jack played the one this year, we could not run. We were a little bit better when Lance [Hurdle] had the ball. But there's no question he was not the same Lance he was two years ago. I think next year's team will have more athletes, Dequan, Garrius [Adams], Durand and even with Dews coming back. Plus, a couple other guys we'll add on our team. I think this will be a team that can run. Don't get me wrong, we'll still have a bruising effect. Julian [Gamble], Cyrus [McGowan], Dwayne, there will be big bodies. Plus, a guy like Adrian Thomas, who had a nice run, will add his abilities. I think we got a lot of guys who will contribute."

MN: It sounds like you feel pretty confident about next year's team. Most people probably think you won't be very good without Jack, that this might be a rebuilding year. But it sounds like you feel differently...
FH: "I think we're still going to be good. Yes, it's going to be an extremely young team with only two, three seniors. But I don't ever want our team not to focus on postseason. Our goal is to make postseason. Obviously we'll be young and most people probably won't expect us to be competitive. But maybe that will be great for us. We won't be on anybody's radar and that will be good for us. What I want is for this team to be tough. I don't know if we were as tough this year as we were last year. I think we'll be a tougher team. That's the thing that hurt us this year. We could not do all the things we needed to do all the time because we had knicks and pains we didn't want to turn into something else. We need to be bruisers and have a tough man mentality. If we do, I think we'll definitely be back in the hunt."

MN: Beyond Malcolm Grant, it seems like right now you don't have another primary ballhandler lined up for next year with Eddie Rios gone. Is this something you'll address through recruiting? FH: "[Recruiting is] one way. But to be honest with you I think we have a few other guys who could handle the rock. Durand is a guy who can play all over the floor. At 6-6, he's a lot like [ACC Rookie of The Year] Sylvan Landesberg. I'm not saying he's him. But Durand can play the 1, 2, or 3. We also have another young man I can't talk about [Antoine Allen] who will be coming and we could sign another perimeter player [possibly John Wall]. We definitely don't want to go into next year without enough ballhandling. You got to have enough ballhandlers to be successful. That being said, we did win 19 games with only two ball handlers."

MN: Last question: Anything you can tell us about next year's schedule?
FH: "Here's what I know for sure. We're playing in Charleston in a preseason tournament ESPN is putting together. I hear South Carolina and Penn State are going to be there, too. We're going to play FAU again and we're going to have a Big Ten Challenge game at home because we'll play an ACC game at home in December. The Big Ten game might be against Indiana. We're still looking for a home and home series. Our schedule just won't be as heavy as it was last year. We'll still have some very good matchups. Right now, because Rick [Pitino] and I are good friends, there is talk of us maybe playing at Louisville. But that's kind of still in the air."

NIT blog: UM 78, Providence 66 (F)

PROVIDENCE -- We're definitely in the NIT. An ugly first half of basketball here from the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Ugly, but still kind of pretty for UM considering how this team looked last week against Virginia Tech.

Miami has a 33-28 lead at the break despite 12 first half turnovers. While the Canes have been sloppy handling the basketball, they've done a great job rebounding. 11 offensive rebounds have led to 12 second chance points. UM also has done a good job scoring in the paint. Jack McClinton still doesn't look like the old Jack McClinton, but he's at least got a bit of his three-point stroke back. He's got 9 points on 3 of 8 shooting to go with four boards.

The Canes should be up more, but Providence exposed their weakness -- the full court press -- right before the half. UM turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions to and the Friars went on a 6-0 run to cut into the Canes' 33-22 lead. If Miami can protect the basketball better and continue to rebound well, they've got a great shot of moving on.

By the way, I spoke with UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt -- who nearly didn't make it to tonight's game -- right before tipoff. I'll have my interview with him tomorrow. If UM wins, they'll play at Florida (assuming the Gators win) on Friday night. 

Eye On The U Bracket Pool

PROVIDENCE -- Still haven't filled out a bracket? Interested in becoming the expert bracket person here at Eye On The U? The clock is ticking. You've got 18 hours before the tournament gets started.

Join our bracket pool over at Yahoo. It's free. No grand prize -- just bragging rights and the opportunity to write a guest blog after next weekend's spring game. I filled out my bracket. Take a few seconds to fill out yours. Our group name is Eye On The U Bracket Pool. Password: faithinhaith

I'm buying into the hype. I think the Big East ends up sending all three of its No. 1 seeds to the dance. UM coach Frank Haith picked Louisville when we asked him for a favorite in this year's tournament. I like Pittsburgh and Dejuan Blair.

I'm supposed to meet up with UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt before tonight's tip-off. If I can get him to fill out a bracket, I'll enter it into our pool. 

> Couple quick notes to pass along before the Canes take on their old Big East Rivals here in the first round of the NIT. Haith said the Friars will present problems for his team because UM has yet to see the type of defense Providence plays.

"They play very similar with to a matchup zone, which we haven't faced all year," Haith said. "They do a three quarter press, a 1-2-2, 1-2-1-1 press to slow you down, slow your flow. It will be to their advantage because we don't play against that all year.

> Providence's best player is 6-5 guard Weyinmi Efejuku. Haith talked about him and several other of the Friar's top players: "He's a really good player, comes from Rice High School, the same high school as [UM recruit] Durand Scott. He's a good player and he's developed over his time there," Haith said. "He's really improved his jump shooting. When he went to sign with Providence, he wasn't really a good shooter. That has emerged over his time at Providence. [Guard Jeff] Xavier can shoot the ball. [Geoff] McDermott reminds me a lot of [McCauley from N.C. State] in our league, he can pass and is a very good post player. [Sharaud] Curry, the point guard, he was hurt last year and we didn't see him. He's their best 3-point shooter. All those guys are seniors and good players and have played together for a long period of time."

> I'll check in with you at halftime and once its over.

Haith: Alabama interest "just a rumor"

(We now interrupt the Bryce Brown announcement watch party for a basketball update from the University of Miami. We hope this does not ruin your afternoon).

UM men's basketball coach Frank Haith met with reporters Monday for the first time since his team was blown out in the first round of the ACC Tournament, denied an invite to the NCAA Tournament and rumors of his possible interest in leaving the program for Alabama surfaced late last week. Before getting to any questions from the media, Haith put an end to the questions about the latter first.

"Obviously I've heard the rumors about me looking at other jobs, or people being interested in me and that's just what they are -- rumors," Haith said. "I'm not going to give that any time, each time my name is mentioned with a job. I want to get that out there first so we can move on to something important which is us being in the post-season four out of five years."

Interested or not interested, false rumor or simply the first sign UM's head coach is testing the waters, Haith will still have another game to coach Wednesday night in the NIT. And he made it perfectly clear he's not happy the fourth-seeded Hurricanes (18-12) will have to do so on the road while the BankUnited Center gets rented out to host other events. 

According to Haith, UM made a last ditch effort to find another venue in South Florida to host Wednesday's game against fifth-seeded Providence (19-13). But just like earning a trip to the Big Dance two years in a row, UM couldn't find a way to get it done. Oddly enough, Kentucky, whom UM beat earlier this season, was in the same dilemma with Rupp Arena being rented out. But the Wildcats will still be hosting UNLV because another venue, Memorial Coliseum (where the men played until 1976), is available. 

Haith said he thought his team, which finished tied for seventh in the ACC standings with a 7-9 record, would have likely been a 2 or a 3 seed with an opportunity to host two games in the tournament had BankUnited Center been available." 

"I don't know what to say. It's disappointing," Haith said when asked how he felt about having to play on the road. "We don't have a venue. It is what it is. I think our seeding was hurt because we don't have a venue to play in. It is what it is."

Among other topics discussed...

MCCLINTON'S KNEE: Haith said the team made sure to get Jack McClinton's sprained left knee checked out before he returned to practice last week. According to Haith, it's a grade one sprain with "stretched ligaments." Haith said it's up to McClinton to shake himself out of the nagging injury. The 6-1 point guard returned to full practices shortly before the ACC Tournament kicked off in Atlanta last week. He struggled with only nine points in the loss to Virginia Tech.

"It's a fine line there. I don't think he can play well unless he practices, in terms of getting a feel for it," Haith said. "He did practice the day before the ACC Tournament game. He did well. But I think he needs that practice to go out and play. We practiced yesterday and he went. I think Jack needs practice to play well."

DISAPPEARING DWAYNE: There have been a lot of disappointments this season on this team, but none has been bigger than Dwayne Collins, who never lived up to his role as the team's No. 2 scorer behind McClinton. Haith sounded like a coach who has tried everything with Collins and simply has no idea what else to do with him.

Collins broke double figures in scoring only once after scoring 18 points at N.C. State on Jan. 27. He had 10 points at Georgia Tech in the second to last game of the regular season, the only time he scored more than 9 in UM's final 10 games.

"Dwayne has made some improvement in his game," Haith said. "He's a better player. It's just been the consistency thing. I don't know how to... we've tried everything to make him more consistent. 

"He was 3 for 11 at the Georgia Tech game. He had a lot of touches. He was active. He played hard. He just didn't make shots. I just want him to play hard. That's the key thing, just play hard. He'll get his touches if he plays hard and is running the floor. He'll get his touches. There's moments when feeding the post and the posting up isn't working. We've emphasized getting the ball to Dwayne. But when you add in the fact he's shooting the ball sub 60 percent from the free throw line, sometimes those attempts don't show up. He's getting touches, he just has to produce.

It wasn't just Collins' lack of scoring that hurt, but his overall aggressiveness. He has a total of eight blocks this season, 24 less than his sophomore season and five fewer than freshman Julian Gamble, who played 550 less minutes than Collins.

"It goes back to his assertiveness, aggressiveness," Haith said. "There's no reason Dwayne Collins should only have eight blocks. We just want Dwayne to be more active. He's capable. It's just, I don't know. We need more of that. Yesterday at practice, he was swatting everything. I can't figure it out. But hopefully he can here at the end of the year.

> If the Canes are able to beat the Friars Wednesday, Haith said UM would likely end up playing either at 11 a.m. Saturday or Monday night at 7 in primetime TV game against top-seeded Florida, which should cruise past Jacksonville Wednesday.

> In case you missed it, the UM football team will be off for spring break until next Monday, March 23rd. The spring game is at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium on March 28th. 

Canes open NIT at Providence Wednesday

Jack McClinton and the Miami Hurricanes are not going to the Big Dance, but they're season isn't over yet.

UM (18-12) earned a bid to the National Invitational Tournament late Sunday night as expected and will play at Providence (19-13) Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

If the fourth-seeded Hurricanes beat their former Big East Rivals they could earn a bonus -- a date with the Florida Gators (23-10) in Gainesville in Round 2. Top-seeded UF is set to host Jacksonville (18-13) in its NIT opener.

Sunday's invitation to the NIT is the third for the program under coach Frank Haith. UM began its season ranked as high as No. 16 in the country, but lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament to Virginia Tech Thursday and finished in ninth place in the regular season.

UM beat the Friars the last time the teams met, which was in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic in San Juan on Nov. 18, 2007. UM is 3-8 all-time in the NIT and will be making its first appearance in the tournament since it reached the quarterfinals before losing at Michigan in 2006.

UM can not host any games in the NIT this season because the BankUnited Center has been rented out for the next two weeks.

Report: Haith interested in Alabama job

ATLANTA -- CBSSports.com is reporting that University of Miami coach Frank Haith is apparently interested in filling the opening at Alabama.

According to an industry source that spoke with the website, Haith is willing to leave UM if the Crimson Tide come with a respectable offer. Haith received a raise and a new contract after leading the Hurricanes to the NCAA Tournament's second round last season.

The Hurricanes were eliminated in the first round of the ACC Tournament Thursday and will miss the NCAA Tournament after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason and ranked as high as 16th in the national polls. UM is expected to receive an invitation to the NIT Tournament Sunday night.

Despite a disappointing season, Haith is still considered one of the best young coaches in the business and an excellent recruiter. His name has come up as candidate at other schools -- including Georgia -- throughout the season. I haven't had a chance to have a personal conversation with Haith since these latest rumors have come up, but he's said on multiple occasions he's very happy at Miami and coaching in the ACC. 

Still, next season UM will be starting over without Jack McClinton. One has to wonder if this might not be the best opportunity for Haith to move onto a place that pays better and supports basketball better than UM does. After all, the Canes play to half-filled arenas on most nights and this coming week won't even be able to host games on their own floor in the NIT because the BankUnited Center has been rented out. Haith has one of country's Top 25 recruiting classes coming in. If he left, it would be a huge blow to the Canes who would likely lose recruits if he bolted.

I'm waiting to get on my flight back home to Miami. I'll try to reach Haith when I get back home.

Courtside blog: Va. Tech 65, UM 47 (F)

ATLANTA -- Checking in from the Georgia Dome before tipoff. For those of you at work and nowhere near a radio or TV, I'll be here to provide updates and highlights from today's game. You can also follow the game on the ACC's website.

Just a couple quick notes before the game gets going...

> UM's Adrian Thomas and Jack McClinton were honored Thursday with special awards from the ACC. 

Thomas will presented the Bob Bradley Spirit & Courage Award at halftime of today's game. The award, named in honor of lthe ate Clemson sports information director who passed away in 2000 following a long bought with bone cancer, is given annually to a male or female basketball player, coach or team administrator who has overcome significant injury, illness or adversity in life to become a valuable contributor to their program. Thomas obviously personifies that for the Canes, battling back from season-ending injuries twice in his career. This year he's become a good three-point threat for Frank Haith.

McClinton, who was honored with All-ACC First Team honors and All-ACC Academic honors earlier this week, was named the recipient of the 2009 Skip Prosser Award emblematic of the top scholar-athlete in men's basketball. Prosser coached at Wake Forest for six seasons before passing away in 2007. 

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS...

> Another terribly slow start for the Canes who once again can't seem to get going early. Virginia Tech jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on back-to-back three-pointers. Brian Asbury finally got UM on the board after an 0-for-5 start with a jumper at the 17:07 mark. Jack McClinton finally looks like he's over his sprained left knee. But he's started 0-for-2 with a missed three-pointer. 

> This looks like the same Canes team who was in Atlanta last week to play Georgia Tech. UM started 1 of 9 from the field. Virginia Tech is having no trouble whatsoever picking apart Miami's zone defense, starting 6 of 9 from the field. Right now the Hokies came out with the right game plan and UM didn't.

> It's now 22-8 with 6:51 left to play in the first half and nothing is going right at all for the Canes. UM is 4 of 20 from the field and has a high number of turnovers. Even the open three-pointers are not falling. 

> Miami has gone on a 7-2 run since falling behind by 14. Adrian Thomas hit UM's first three-pointer with 6:46 left. McClinton finally got on the board with a runner with 3:29 left. Its been an ugly ball game. 

> Just when you think the Canes are doomed, they rely on their old best friend -- the three-point shot -- to get right back in it. Adrian Thomas has three now, inlcuding two during UM's 9-0 run to close out the half. McClinton had the other. 

ON THE ROAD IN THE NIT: I had an interesting conversation with UM radio announcer Joe Zagacki over the break. Turns out if UM goes to the NIT, they'll have to play all of their games on the road. The BankUnited Center has been rented out according to Zagacki leaving the Canes without a home venue.  

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS...

> The Hokies have stretched their lead back out to eight points thanks to some strong play from A.D. Vassallo. VT has made a concerted effort to drive the ball more to the basket and its leading to trips from the free throw line. Jimmy Graham has come through with a few keys player early for Miami despite continuing to struggle from the line himself. He had a steal and dunk and grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a put back.

> Graham has now missed nine consecutive free throws dating back to the Boston College game when he was 2 for 4. That's not the only problem UM is having in the second half. The Canes are just lucky Virginia Tech hasn't been able to pull away. 

> Game, set, match. Since Lance Hurdle hit a three-pointer with 10:56 left to trim the Hokies lead to 43-37, it's been all Virginia Tech -- and fast. Following a J.T. Thompson jumper, the Hokies turned two Adrian Thomas into quick points before Dorenzo Hudson capped the 8-0 run with a putback. It's 51-37 and it feels like there are only 9 minutes left to live for the Hurricanes' NCAA tournament bubble.

McClinton practicing at full speed again

ATLANTA -- The Miami Hurricanes didn't have a healthy Jack McClinton for their final three games of the regular season and it showed. McClinton, the ACC's third leading scorer this season at 19.7 points per game, shot an astonishing 9 of 37 from the field including a sub-par 6 of 18 from three point range.

The old Jack McClinton may finally be ready to lace them up Thursday at noon when the Canes (18-11) take on the Hokies (17-13) in a game vitally important to UM's NCAA Tournament chances. I didn't get a chance to talk to the team when they went through their walk through early Thursday morning at the Georgia Dome (my flight got in just after they were finishing up), but word from other reporters is McClinton looked awfully sharp. 

UM coach Frank Haith said Tuesday McClinton has been practicing at full speed since Monday. "[Monday] was the first day where he was full-go," Haith said. "We’re trying to get his knee right and I think he hasn’t been playing as well because of it. Yesterday he really let it go and hopefully he can build on that in practice today and have a great game Thursday."

The Canes have won their last three ACC Tournament openers and will face a Hokies team that has lost six of its last seven. But just because it looks like McClinton is finally healthy and Virginia Tech is sliding should we take it to mean UM is a shoe-in to be playing No. 1 North Carolina on Friday. The Hokies' last three losses came to three of the top four teams in the conference. UM, which has won 3 of its last 4, picked up two of its wins against teams behind them in the standings. Oh by the way, the Hokies have won two in a row against UM, too, including an 88-83 win in OT in January.

"We did a really good job last time in terms of execution offensively," Haith said. "But we did not defend as well and we have to defend a lot better. With that said, I thought [A.D.] Vasallo and [Malcolm] Delaney were outstanding in that ballgame. They both shot the ball extremely well and we have to do a good job on both of those guys and the big three – [Jeff] Allen, Delaney and Vasallo. They all had great performances against us."

> HAITH: 2009 NOT A DISAPPOINTMENT Despite being picked to finish fourth in the preseason and starting the season ranked 16th in the polls, Haith reiterated Tuesday that even if UM does not get an invite to the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday, he still would not consider this season a disappointment.

"I think this team has done well," Haith said ."I still go back to five years ago when I took the job and now you look at where it’s at now – we’re in the talk every year. Obviously I want us to win and get to the NCAA Tournament. I think that’s our goal every year, but in terms of a disappointment, I think some of our fans may feel something like that. I don’t feel like that. We have great seniors that will graduate and have won some big games. We’ve put ourselves in position to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Some years we may get there and some years we may not. Four games have come down to the last possession. This team could be totally different if the ball bounces our way. It’s not like we have lost games by 20 or 30 points every night. We’ve been in every game and I think that shows there is progress in this program."

Just one sports writer's opinion, but the two games I'll point to should Miami miss the tournament are the road losses at Maryland, and the let down at Georgia Tech last week. Both of those games, UM didn't show the type of desire and fight it needed to. Despite being more talented, they were inexcusably flat emotionally. It's hard to point the finger at Haith for that. With a team full of seniors and veterans, it's on the players to show up and play better than that.

> NO LAWSON?: Not that I'm looking ahead, but if UM gets past the Hokies Thursday, the Canes could see a North Carolina team without ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson. The Tar Heels point guard injured his toe in the win against Duke is a bit questionable for this week's tournament. Lawson was huge in UNC's win over UM on Feb. 15. Of course, Lawson does have an extra day to rest that toe before Friday. UNC did not practice on the Georgia Dome floor Wednesday.

> CANES TO SCRIMMAGE THURSDAY: I won't be there because I'll be up here covering the ACC Tournament, but Randy Shannon's football team will be scrimmaging for the second time this spring on Thursday night at Traz Powell Stadium in Miami. It's supposed to get started at 6:30 p.m. Our Susan Miller Degnan will be there along with Barry Jackson. They'll send me some notes for the blog when it ends. The football team will be off after Thursday until March 23rd.

If you go, be sure to enjoy watching running back Mike James (No. 22), Miami's talented receivers (you'll be really impressed by Kendall Thomkins) and safety Vaughn Telemaque (No. 7). If your looking for improvement, keep your eyes on the backup quarterback battle between Tyler Cook and Cannon Smith, how some of the new offensive lineman (Matt Pipho, Ben Jones, Harland Gunn) are handling a talented deep defensive line core, and if UM's young linebackers are winning any of the one-on-one battles with a talented stable of running backs.

> RIVALS TOP 100 RELEASED: I finally got around this afternoon to taking a gander at Rivals first Top 100 player rankings for football in the 2010 class. Rivals will end up juggling this list 1,000 times before National Signing Day. But I was a bit surprised at some of the names I saw on the list and didn't. Northwestern defensive tackle Todd Chandler, Miami-Dade's No. 1 recruit, wasn't on there. Miami Palmetto defensive end Delvin Jones (in the 20s in The Miami Herald preseason rankings) is in there. Not trying to rip Rivals, who does a good job following the right kids for the most part. But I'll take our Larry Blustein over any of those guys. There's only so much you can gain from watching a combine. Larry and I knew Sean Spence would be a star at UM. Rivals never had Spence in its Top 100. 

> ON A PERSONAL NOTE: I normally don't share too much about myself here, I wanted to pass along the happy news that Tuesday night my wife and I closed on our first house. I'm definitely thrilled to finally have a real place to call my own. As happy as I am about that, I can't be more upset or heartbroken about the news we learned today about several colleagues who lost their jobs. The Miami Herald cut more than 200 jobs Wednesday in an effort to keep surviving in the struggling newspaper business. Thankfully, I still have a job. But I'm praying for the families of the people here no longer don't. It's a sad day at The Miami Herald.

Jack is back on All-ACC First Team

A sprained left knee slowed Jack McClinton down toward the end of the regular season, but it didn't stop him from capping his senior season by earning more special honors.

Monday afternoon, the 6-1 senior from Baltimore joined Tim James as the only the men's basketball players in Hurricanes history to earn all-conference first team honors twice. The 76 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association voted McClinton to the All-ACC First Team with 188 votes, only three more than Wake Forest guard Jeff Teague for the fifth and final spot on the top team.

McClinton was joined on the first team by first-time four-time selection Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, who was a surprising unanimous selection. Florida State guard Toney Douglas, UNC's Ty Lawson and Duke's Gerald Henderson were the other first team selections. No other Hurricane was selected to any of the other teams.

McClinton struggled down the stretch of this season, shooting a combined 9 of 37 over his final three games. But he obviously did more than enough during the rest of the regular season to impress voters including a spectacular stretch during the middle of the season in which he produced back-to-back-to-back 30-point games against the leagues' top three teams -- Wake Forest (32), Duke (34) and North Carolina (35).

He finished leading the league in three-point field goal percentage (.464), three-point field goals per game (3.1) and free throw percentage (.885) for the second year in a row, while ranking third in scoring with 19.7 points per game – including a 21.8 point average in ACC games (second-best in the league).

So, now, it's only right I ask you, where should Jack McClinton rank all-time in UM basketball history? Tim James won the Big East Player of the Year in 1999. Rick Barry was an All-American and first round NBA pick. Dick Hickox and Don Curnutt were All-American Second Team selections in the 60s and 70s. John Salmons earned All-Big East Second Team honors and now has a budding NBA career. Give me your thoughts on Mr. McClutch and what he's meant to the program.

Canes face Virginia Tech in ACC opener

Frank Haith's basketball team now knows who it will open the ACC Tournament against on Thursday in Atlanta -- the Virginia Tech Hokies. 

Virginia Tech (17-13, 7-9 ACC) lost at Florida State Sunday afternoon 63-53 and fell to the eighth seed based on a three-team tiebreaker system used by the ACC. Maryland (18-12, 7-9) has a better cumulative record between themselves the Canes and Hokies (having gone a combined 2-1 against the teams) and will go in as the seventh seed. The Terps will play N.C. State at 7 p.m. Thursday.

UM (18-12, 7-9) earned the ninth seed Saturday when it beat N.C. State 72-64 to close out the regular season. 

UM still has slim hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament. The good news for the Canes is they are now even with the Terrapins and Hokies when it comes to conference record. Stacked head-to-head by their resumes, UM boasts a stronger RPI and strength of schedule ranking. Right now there are six teams from the ACC considered locks to reach the tournament. Most experts believe UM needs to win at least two games to earn an invite. But ESPN analyst Andy Katz thinks it might only take winning the opener for UM to stay in contention for at-large invite. If UM wins Thursday, they'll meet a well rested Duke or North Carolina team in the second round. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels met Sunday night to decide the regular season conference title.

Thursday's tip-off against the Hokies is scheduled for noon at the Georgia Dome. The Hurricanes lost to Virginia Tech at home in overtime 88-83 back on Jan. 25 and were beaten by the Hokies in the second round of last year's ACC tournament. Guard Malcolm Delaney beat the Canes with a rainbow three-point shot last time and figures to once again have a classic battle with fellow Baltimore native Jack McClinton.

BASEBALL SWEEPS N.C. STATE: Just wanted to send out more props to Jim Morris' baseball team for pulling off a three-game sweep this weekend of the Wolfpack. Sunday, UM came back from a 7-0 deficit early to beat N.C. State 9-7. The Canes are now 10-2 on the season with slight hiccups against two bad teams.

The story so far this season for the baseball team has been junior right-hander David Gutierrez. He tossed a 4-0 shutout Saturday and has helped fill a huge void as the team's No. 2 starter with Eric Erickson out this season... freshman center fielder Nathan Melendres has also been a huge steal. He's had a hit in all 12 games this season and had three more on Sunday. He came in hitting .341. 

Canes holding onto slim NCAA hopes

It's not impossible to go dancing with a sub .500 conference record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. It just doesn't happen very often.

Coming off what most believe was a crippling loss to its NCAA Tournament hopes Wednesday at last-place Georgia Tech, the University of Miami still has at least some hope -- albeit faint -- of receiving an invite to March Madness if doesn't earn the automatic bid by winning next week's conference tournament. One look at the ACC history book shows us some examples.

N.C. State, for instance, went dancing just in 2005 despite finishing 7-9 in conference play and with a 17-12 overall record. The Wolfpack, like UM, didn't beat Duke or North Carolina in the regular season and didn't have many impressive wins at all. But they won twice at the ACC Tournament -- including over a highly-ranked Wake Forest team -- and then got their invite. State then made it all the way to the Sweet 16 with superstar Julius Hodge. The Wolfpack, like UM, had began the regular season ranked in the teens before falling off.

There are more examples, but you have to go back to the 1990s to find them. The most staggering example belonged to Florida State when in 1998, they went dancing despite a 6-10 conference record. They actually won a first round game as a 13th seed before losing in the Round of 32. That same year, Clemson made it with a 7-9 mark. Others include: Virginia '97 (7-9), Clemson '96 (7-9), Wake Forest '92 (7-9), Georgia Tech '91 (6-8) and Maryland '88 (6-8).

Of course, the Canes have to take care of business beginning Saturday at noon against the aforementioned Wolfpack, who are coming in with a similar 6-9 ACC record and have already beaten UM once earlier this season.

A FEW MORE LATE NOTES...

> Jack McClinton was named to the 2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Men’s Basketball Team for the third-straight season Friday. UM and Duke lead all ACC teams with seven All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball Team selections over the last four years. McClinton was among a group of eight to earn the recognition this season, requiring a student-athlete to earn a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintain a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career. 

Earlier this week, McClinton was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 2 First Team alongside FSU's Toney Douglas, North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson and Wake Forest's Jeff Teague. So, basically, the coaches believe he should be All-ACC First Team. 

> Courtesy of my friend Brian "The Beast" London over at WQAM, UM coach Randy Shannon said on Hurricanes Hotline reiterated last night the Canes are done with recruiting. So, for those of you still faintly hoping the Canes might still take running back Bryce Brown, that's the coach's latest response to the indirect question.

Courtside blog: GT 78, UM 68 (F)

ATLANTA -- I'll be here providing updates tonight from UM's next must-win game, against Georgia Tech.

It's supposed to be Senior Night here, but it might as well really be empty seat night. Alexander Memorial Coliseum is pretty empty. Hard to blame Yellow Jackets fans. Georgia Tech is 1-12 in conference play this year and there really hasn't been a whole to get excited about.

I stopped the Fifth Street Ribs & Blues restaurants nearby about three hours before tip-off. The cook chatted me about tonight's game and asked me why I was bothering to show up. Yikes. The ribs at least were very good. 

If you want to follow the game live you can listen to Joe Zagacki with my friend Josh Darrow on WQAM, spend the $5.99 on ACCSelect (it didn't work for me before) or follow it on the ACC Gametracker.

> By the way, in case you missed it, former Canes safety Ed Reed gave the team a pep talk before they left for Atlanta. Coach Frank Haith has used ministers, priests, and former Canes James Jones for a pre-game pep talk in the past. But Reed is probably the best in the business.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

> Horrible start for UM. They've fallen behind 10-2 with a lack of any sort of execution on offense and they've been lazy on defense. Haith just let his team have it, slamming his clipboard and dropping a few "adult words" during the timeout. Looks like GT is going to try and let Lewis Clinch set the tone with his outside shot. He's nailed two three pointers early and has six points. 

> UM started the game 2 of 15 from the field before Jimmy Graham hit a jump hook with 11:32 to play in the first half. Clinch has another three-pointer and now has nine points. Miami looks totally out of sync and offense. Jack McClinton got pulled at about the 14 minute mark and has not returned yet. He took one shot and missed. Haith told me McClinton practiced for the first time since spraining his knee against Boston College on Tuesday. But it was a light practice.

> The Canes used some defense to key a 6-0 run to cut into Georgia Tech's lead at 16-12 with 9:21 to go. But the Yellow Jackets just went on a 7-0 run to negate it and go back up by double-digits. 

> Jack McClinton is supposed to be the best three-point shooter in the league. But tonight, it looks like Lewis Clinch is that guy. He's hit five three-pointers, each has negated UM rallies.

> Clinch now has 17 points. McClinton finally broke through with his first field goal with 4:35 left. UM simply hasn't been able to cut into Georgia Tech's double digit lead. The slow start has put them in a huge hole. 

> Canes are down 16 points at the break. Lewis Clench has 20 points. UM shot 36 percent in the first half. Those NCAA Tournament hopes are officially dangling by a thread. 

> FYI, the 16-point halftime deficit is the largest UM has faced this season. The largest comeback for UM this season was from 17 down to Maryland with 12:30 to go in the game. Miami won 62-60.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

> The first 52 seconds of the half were exactly what you wanted to see if you were a Canes fan. James Dews hits an open jumper, Miami traps on defense, Dwayne Collins gets a steal and Jack McClinton makes a three-pointer before Paul Hewett calls timeout. GT leads 41-30 with 19:08 left.

> So much for that great start. Lewis Clinch and the Yellow Jackets came right back with a 5-0 run and their lead is back up to 47-33 with 15:55 left. Miami has completely dominated the boards today. The Canes simply haven't been able to put the ball through the hoop. 

> GT extended its lead to 19 points on an Iman Shumpert steal and dunk with 14:34 to play. Then, Miami went on a quick 9-0 run to pull within 52-42 with 13:19 left. Miami had a chance to trim it closer, but James Dews missed a long three-pointer.

> It's just been another frustrating night for McClinton. He picked up his third foul trying to create a jump shot and foul when he got his defender in the air. Instead, he got called for charging. 

> The Canes are not going quietly. After falling behind by 14 again, UM used a 7-0 run and a few gutsy baskets from Brian Asbury to trim Georgia Tech's lead to 58-51 with 8:37 to play. They need one more big run to really get back into the game. 

> You can never say a team with Jack McClinton is done. But with 5:14 left and UM down 12, the Canes looked overcooked. 

Aubrey Hill: "We want to hit on more big plays"

ATLANTA -- It used to be the staple of the University of Miami offense. Ken Dorsey, Gino Torretta, Vinny Testaverde would drop back in the pocket scan the field and then fire a laser beam deep down the field. On the other end, Michael Irvin, Andre Johnson and Lamar Thomas would come racing under it, hands stretched and in a flash, they'd be gone, one their way to the end zone for six.

It's felt like an eternity at The U since a Miami offense provided such excitement. Last year with Patrick Nix, fans were treated more often to the wide receiver bubble screen than the good old Hail Mary. But in the first few days coach Randy Shannon has allowed the media to watch his team practice this spring, we've noticed something strange (an unidentified flying object if you will). That would be the football being thrown deep down the field again.

Could it just be an early spring practice aberration? Could be Jacory Harris just practicing the deep ball here and there? Or is Mark Whipple's new offense showing signs it's going to take advantage of the new big, strong, speedy weapons the Canes recruited two Februarys ago and stretch opposing defenses? At Tuesday's practice, I caught up with receivers coach Aubrey Hill to find out what the deal really is.

"You look back to last year, we definitely want to hit on more big plays," said Hill, whose young receiving corps . "That's something you want to do every year... Not necessarily making a comparison [to last year], but I will say this about our [new] playbook: we're attacking all areas of the field and also were trying to move a lot of guys around and put the ball in their hands in all different places. We have an NFL playbook."

And, quite possibly, NFL-caliber receivers to make those plays. While Hill said he's been impressed with all of his receivers in some way shape or form, he pointed to Laron Byrd and Aldarius Johnson as the guys look like they're ready to take the next step. Johnson led the team in receiving last season with 30 catches for 321 yards and 3 scores. Byrd finished fifth with 18 catches for 184 yards and 3 scores. Both look more physically imposing this spring even if they aren't weighing a lot more than last season.

"You look at those guys and you can definitely see they have been in the weight room with coach Swasey," Hill said. "You can see the maturity and hunger for those kids. They compete with each other all the time. Both of those guys can be all-conference type players soon."

Hill admits he's been impressed from what he's seen early from two players he didn't have a year ago because of injuries, redshirt freshmen Tommy Streeter and Kendall Thompkins. 

"He's a big target," Hill said of Streeter. "He's a smart kid. He can run. He has decent hands. He didn't play last year. So we obviously want to make sure he's going fast and getting into the playbook. But the good thing for him and Kendall is we have a new playbook. They're all learning from scratch together. The one thing you see with Tommy is he's better each day. As long as he can continually improve, that's what we want to see."

As for Thompkins: "Without a doubt he brings versatility because he can play slot and the outside receiver. He becomes a valuable player already. He's very elusive. He can make the first guy miss. He can catch the passes. Kendall and Streeter are two great additions for us."

With Sam Shields moving over to defense and several seniors from last season gone, Hill doesn't have many veterans. His oldest player is junior Leonard Hankerson. While Hankerson has struggled with drops throughout his career (including this spring), Hill said the 6-3, 215-pounder is making strides.

"With Hank, it's almost like you want to put a glue on the ball when the quarterback throws it to him because that's the last piece he needs," Hill said. "But in fairness to him, he's been a lot better in other areas. Your talking about the kid that has the right size, the right speed, has the right mentality and is very smart. We're trying to put that last piece together. When that ball is in the air and its a big situation for the team, we want him to do well. That's what this spring is all about."

> I'll be at tonight's UM-Georgia Tech game in an about an hour. Just a couple more quick notes to pass along...

> Shannon told us Tuesday he's going to keep practice open for the media. I obviously wasn't at Wednesday's. But I'll be back out there on Friday and Saturday when the Canes are set to scrimmage for the first time.  

Canes need more than two wins to go dancing

Frank Haith's basketball team has one of best NCAA Tournament bubble resumes is the country, one that features a strong strength of schedule, no bad losses (teams ranked higher than 100 in the RPI) and four wins vs. Top 50 RPI teams. But UM is still probably going to need to do more than just beat Georgia Tech and N.C. State this week to guarantee themselves a shot at getting back to the NCAA Tournament.

The Canes (17-10, 6-8) are more than likely going to have to win a game or two next week at the ACC Tournament to play their way in. OR, they must get some help this week from other teams to move up the final regular season standings and strengthen their case before the selection committee announces the 65-team field on March 15th.

As it stands, the Canes have no choice but to win out to even stay in the bubble discussion. The dilemma facing the Canes, however, is if they do win and get back to 8-8 in conference play, there are still eight teams who could finish in front of them in the ACC standings. And each can present strong cases of their own to get asked to the dance before Miami. By all accounts (including those from ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi), it's highly doubtful the selection committee would stretch beyond taking eight teams from the ACC -- even if it is considered the No. 1 RPI conference in the country. That means a first round loss in Atlanta by Miami -- even after four straight wins to finish the regular season -- would likely spell doom for its NCAA Tournament hopes.

So what does that mean UM can do to avoid going into next week's ACC tournament still in complete must-win mode? Climbing the final regular season standings, which UM can do. But as it stands right now, unless others lose, UM will finish ninth.

Mathematically, there is no chance for UM climb past North Carolina (11-3), Duke (10-4), Wake Forest (9-5), Florida State (9-5) or even Clemson (8-6). But according to the ACC tiebreakers (which take into account head-to-head meetings and group record before going to the best win scenario), UM could still catch and pass Boston College (8-6), Maryland (7-7) and Virginia Tech (7-7) in the standings this week. They're just going to need help.

While there are several scenarios in which UM could finish as high as a sixth seed (including if BC, UM, VT, Maryland all finish 8-8), most of the head-to-head tiebreakers don't go in UM's favor. So, the best thing to do if you bleed orange and green is root for the Terps, Hokies and Eagles to lose their final remaining games. Here is a guide to help you keep track of the season-ending madness, which should answer some questions you might have this week. 

> Boston College (20-9, 8-6): The Eagles could still soar as high as the fourth seed because the own the tiebreaker with FSU and turn out to be an RPI boom for UM, which beat them twice. But BC could also help UM out by losing twice and moving out of UM's way. Remaining schedule: @N.C. State (Wed), GT (Sat). 

> Maryland (18-10, 7-7): The Terps split the season series with UM, but own the individual tiebreaker (their best win came versus North Carolina). Still, if they drop their final two games and slip past UM in the standings they'll likely play their way out of the tournament and help UM's chances significantly. Remaining schedule: Wake Forest (Tue), @Virginia (Sat). 

> Virginia Tech (17-11, 7-7): The Hokies own the head-to-head tiebreaker against UM because of their overtime win at the BUC back in January. But they've got the toughest schedule to close out the season and are the most likely team of the three in front of UM to slip past the Canes. Remaining schedule: North Carolina (Wed), @FSU (Sun).

Dunbar just the start at Booker T?

Unless you forgot to pay your monthly subscription to InsideTheCanesportTimes or were out enjoying two days off on South Beach like I was this past weekend (leading my best friend's bachelor party), you probably know by now the Canes picked up their third football "commitment" of the 2010 class Sunday in Miami Booker T. Washington receiver Quinton Dunbar.

Monday night, I caught up with Dunbar and Booker T. receivers coach Andre Brown (who handles most of the recruiting talk between colleges and the Tornadoes). Dunbar, a 6-3, 177-pound All-Dade First Team selection last season, is obviously a nice get for the Canes and a tremendous talent. But the bigger story is he might just be the first of a handful of talented Booker T. players in the 2010 class who decide to make their way down the road to UM from Overtown next February. 

"The first thing I thought when I got back this weekend and heard Quinton had committed was 'Alright, whose next?," said Brown, who coached current Canes Davon Johnson and Thearon Collier at receiver at Booker T. "It's obvious having Ice over there [former Booker T. coach Tim Harris] helps Miami a lot. They're very aware what we've got coming out in our next class."

What Booker T. has next season is arguably the best class in Miami-Dade County, which by all accounts is absolutely loaded with talent. Dunbar is rated the 13th best player in the county according to our Larry Blustein's Pre-Spring Top 30 list. Other Booker T. players included on the list: talented running back Eduardo Clements (7th), defensive end Lynden Trail (18th), receiver Ted Meline (20th) and offensive lineman Jose Jose (24th). Brown said UM has already offered all of them, except Meline. 

Clements, the MVP of the Class 4A state championship game in 2007, is the prized recruit. At 5-11, 175-pounds there isn't a more complete running back in South Florida in my opinion. I've been told UM considers him its No. 1 running back target for 2010 and another reason coach Randy Shannon doesn't feel so bad about losing out on Bryce Brown. "He's just as good a pass catcher, if not better than Bryce and has played against tougher competition his entire life," one recruiter told me. "Miami wants him badly."

The Canes were the first school to offer Clements and according to Brown, who is Clements brother-in-law, it means a lot. But the roadblock for UM appears to be Florida State, whom Clements grew up rooting for. According to Brown, the Seminoles decided to finally drop Clements an offer Monday. "He's a Florida State guy at heart," Brown said. "The situation is going to be real tough. We've had a lot of family gatherings to talk about everything, but we're allowing him to make up his own decision."

As for Dunbar, consider him about as sound and committed a Canes recruit as there can be. He grew up rooting for UM and living down the street from the Orange Bowl. He wears No. 5 because his favorite player, Andre Johnson, wore it (he said Shannon already promised it to him after Javarris James leaves). His second cousin is UM cornerback Chavez Grant. And, his best friend is Collier. Brown said he expects Dunbar, who has a 3.0, to be a full qualifier.

"The thing that makes Quinton special is that he has just a great knack for getting to the football," Brown said. "When that ball is in the air, he gets into attack mode. He might not run a 4.3, but he has great game speed. We're going to work a lot on catching the ball and knowing what to do in open space. He can get better at route running too. But it's utilizing head fakes, those hips so he can be more like Larry Fitzgerald after the catch."

THIS AND THAT

> Got to give some props to the UM baseball team for their series sweep of Florida this past weekend, especially the 16-2 pounding the Canes delivered on Sunday. It marked the first time under Jim Morris UM swept the Gators in Gainesville, and it helped move UM up in the polls. The Canes are now ranked as high as eighth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll (there are too many college baseball polls). David Gutierrez, by the way, earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for his seven scoreless innings in Saturday's 2-1 win.

> Among my many phone calls Monday, I caught up with one of the weekend's heroes in left fielder Jonathan Weislow. I don't want to give away too much about Weislow, but there might not be a player whose gone through more excruciating injuries than this guy. It's a good story I'll share with you later this week as UM kicks off a 12-game homestand against Rhode Island on Tuesday at 6.

> It turns out Jack McClinton will not have his jersey number retired this weekend after all. Coach Frank Haith said during his weekly ACC teleconference with media on Monday morning that UM wants to be bring Jack back next season and honor him during another game. It's a smart move. Saturday's noon tip-off against N.C. State is going to be emotional enough. Not only will it be senior day, but if UM beats Georgia Tech Wednesday then the Canes will have the opportunity of getting back to 8-8 in the ACC (likely what they need to reach the NCAA tournament). The last thing you want is an extra distraction at a time like this.

> ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Canes still in his bracketology report. Right now, Lunardi (who hit on all 65 invitees last season) has UM seeded 12th and facing UCLA in the first round. I think the highest seed UM will get if it wins out this week and wins at least one ACC Tournament game is 10th. But I'd like to ask Lunardi, who is supposed to have a teleconference with the media Wednesday, what he thinks the best case scenario for Haith and the Canes is if they accomplish that or better to get in.

> Since some of you have been asking, I finally got around to uploading several audio bites from spring practice, baseball and basketball from the last two weeks. Just visit the usual place to find them.

Jack, Canes get job done at Virginia

I wasn't in Charlottesville for tonight's must-win game for the Canes, but I did catch UM's 62-55 win over Virginia at home and wanted to share a few observations...

> Before we get to the highlights, here's what Thursday's win means: Miami's NCAA Tournament hopes are still alive. UM has now improved to 6-8 in ACC play and moved up one spot in the conference standings after N.C. State fell to 5-8 with a loss to Wake Forest Thursday. What the Canes would love to do by the end of the season (at the very least) is move into eighth place in the ACC standings. Maryland is the next team ahead of UM, a half-game in front with a 6-7 record. The Terps have N.C. State, Wake Forest and Virginia left on the schedule.

> Thursday night's performance for Jack McClinton wasn't spectacular. But it was still special. The Cavaliers ripped the defensive playbook from Florida State and played McClinton face-up the entire night, denying him any breathing room when he got the ball. But when the going got tough, Jack still did what he had to do to put Miami over the top. People will point to his three-pointer with 46 seconds left, which put UM up 60-55. But his steal on Virginia's possession right before it was an ever bigger play. Most people weren't aware of this, but apparently McClinton was playing with a brace on a recently sprained left knee. He didn't practice all week because of it. McClinton's final stat line says he finished with 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting to go with three turnovers. But he still was the reason UM was able to come away with a good road win.

> While Dwayne Collins has disappeared down the stretch this season (he had 6 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes Thursday), senior Brian Asbury deserves a lot of credit for stepping his game up and being the second leader UM has needed. In my opinion, AB has been the second-best player on the court in ACC play for UM night in and night out. He led the Canes with 13 points Thursday and had four rebounds to go with two assists. His numbers aren't eye-opening, but he does all the little things UM has needed from him to win these close game. His offensive rebound and put-back with 2:41 left gave UM a 57-55 lead. He made plenty more big plays before that, too.  

> The Canes have two games left and a nice little break before their next game -- at Georgia Tech on Wednesday. That's a nice six day break for McClinton, who obviously could use more time to get over that sprained knee. 

Courtside blog: UM 69, BC 58 (F)

BANKUNITED CENTER -- As usual, I'll be here to watch Frank Haith's basketball team try and save its NCAA Tournament hopes with a win today against Boston College.

Haith told us in his pregame press conference Friday he was going to shrink his rotation a little bit to get the best players on the floor more. We'll have to see if that happens today. The starting lineup certainly features UM's best five in my opinion: Jack McClinton, James Dews, Brian Asbury, Dwayne Collins and Jimmy Graham.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS/THOUGHTS...
> Canes jumped all over Boston College and had as much as a 17-point lead in the first half thanks some terrific shooting. UM connected on 9 of 13 from three-point range, including four from James Dews who had 12 points. Brian Asbury and Jack McClinton each have 10 points. UM shot 58 percent in the first half and held everyone but Joey Trapani (8 pts) scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the game.

I had a couple of other quick notes I wanted to pass along from conversations I've had in the past week and from some of my personal experiences...

> Like most of you, I think its more than unfortunate the University of Miami's baseball stadium has been renamed in honor of an admitted steriod user. But I definitely liked the upgrade to the facilities. The new press box, locker rooms, media interview rooms, everything associated with the final phase of the $14 million facelift looked great. A program that has won four national championships was long overdue in receiving facilities on-par with just about every other major Division I school in the country.

But, I've got one complaint: Where is the ATM machine? If you don't come to Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field with cash, you are basically screwed. Only one of the vendors (the pizza line) takes credit cards and you have to pay a minimum of $10 to be able to use it. Not cool. Also, don't make the mistake of getting in one line and thinking everything on the menu is on the menu. InsideTheU's Chris Stock thought he got in line for chicken fingers and fries. He found out 10 minutes later, it was only the line next to him that was serving it.

> Associate Athletic Director Jim Frevola told us late last night he expects the final finishing touches on the stadium (2,000 bleacher seats along the left field and right field lines) to be in place before UM hosts Florida State at the start of April.

> For those of you wondering if UM's basketball team is done recruiting, the answer is no. Haith can't talk specifics about unsigned recruits but basically confirmed his team still has a scholarship available to use in April. I've heard point guard Lisandro Ruiz-Moreno is no longer being recruited by Miami because of academics (most of his transcripts are still in South America) UM would probably like to get a point guard considering none of the three guards they have signed or lined up to come (Durand Scott, Antoine Allen or Garrius Adams) are not natural point guards.

Brian Butler makes radio appearance

TALLAHASSEE -- Just a couple quick messages to pass along. Got a text message on my way up here earlier today from 790 The Ticket radio personality Jorge Sedano to pass along that he's supposed to have Brian Butler (Bryce Brown's mentor) on his show tomorrow at noon. UPDATED: I'm not sure if Sedano did finally get Butler on his show, but here is the link to an interview with Evan Cohen on 760 ESPN in Palm Beach.

> Friday night before the baseball season opener against Rutgers, UM will induct Baltimore Orioles first baseman Aubrey Huff into the Hall of Fame. Jim Morris, along with Pat Burrell, will present Huff with his Hall of Fame ring and jacket in an on-field ceremony before the game. Huff hit 21 home runs and drove in 95 RBI his final season at Miami in 1998. He hit .400 in his career (2nd all-time) and had a career .719 slugging percentage. For more information on a Parrott Jungle Banquet and the UM Sports Hall of Fame golf tournament on April 24th, go to UMSportsHallofFame.com.

Courstide blog: FSU 80, UM 67 (F)

TALLAHASSEE -- It took me awhile to finally settle in at the Donald L. Tucker Center (I had to fly into Jacksonville and drive) but I'm here for tonight's big Canes-Noles basketball tilt. We know Miami needs a win badly. I'll be here to provide you with a halftime update and postgame update.

> For you football fans, the Palm Beach post and Sun-Sentinel got a chance to talk to coach Randy Shannon "exclusively" today and collected some good nuggets before the start of spring next week. The most eye-opening news to come out is that Micheal Barrow is no longer the linebackers coach. Defensive coordinator John Lovett will now handle the linebackers and Barrow will be allowed to roam freely as a defensive assistant. The positive? Barrow is without question an excellent recruiter and this may allow him more time to go out on the recruiting scene.

> Sam Shields is indeed moving to cornerback as Canesport first reported last week. Shannon told the Sentinel he wanted more bodies there. My question is can Shields honestly help the team there or was this move simply made so he stops running out on the field at the wrong time on offense? I'm convinced the only place we are really going to see Shields on the field anymore is as a flier on punts and kickoffs.

> Well, the day has come and gone and Bryce Brown did not sign his National Letter of Intent. While UM has obviously told several reporters (including me) they will not renew the offer, I'm not going to buy it totally until I hear Bruce Brown, Brian Butler or someone from the Brown family say that's the case. The one thing I've learned covering this team is that things change quickly. And if Brown was told his scholarship offer was no longer available to him, he wouldn't be carrying on like normal. We would have had to have an update on potentialplayers.com, right? 

> Almost forgot: I've been told The Miami Herald will have its "exclusive" day with Shannon on Monday. Feel free to begin leaving me some questions you would like for us to ask if we indeed get the interview. 

FIRST HALF THOUGHTS/HIGHLIGHTS...

> Dwayne Collins apparently did enough in practice Wednesday to convince Frank Haith he deserved to play tonight instead of resting his sprained left ankle one more day. Haith is glad he did. Collins has come out strong with seven points, four rebounds and two assists. 

> The bigger news is that Jack McClinton finally has some help. James Dews leads the team with 8 points at halftime. Dews replaced Lance Hurdle in the starting lineup and is showing us why. He's done a good job defensively. Hurdle by the way has obviously gotten a boost from being benched. He had 6 points in 13 minutes and was effective.

END OF REGULATION

> Tough loss for the Canes. Jack McClinton gets held to 13 points. I'll have more for you tomorrow. I've got to drive to Jacksonville and fly home from there in the afternoon.

Haith: "Collins 50-50 decision for FSU"

For those of you Canes basketball fans, I got off the phone about an hour ago with UM coach Frank Haith right after his team's flight landed in Tallahassee and have some news to report.

> Forward Dwayne Collins, who suffered a sprained left ankle in practice last week, is expected to be a game-time decision for UM (15-9, 4-7) Wednesday night at FSU (19-6, 6-3). Haith said Collins, who missed Sunday's game and had a 32-game starting streak snapped, practiced some on Tuesday and the decision will come down to how he looks in practice Wednesday before the game. The one thing Haith said he doesn't want to do is make it worse. Miami does have four more ACC games after Wednesday.

> If Collins doesn't start, look for redshirt freshman Julian Gamble to be in the lineup instead of Cyrus McGowan. Haith said Gamble has really been coming on of late and probably deserves his first career start. "Julian needs court time," Haith said. "He has to get on the court. I think Julian is going to be good. He really has played well in limited minutes. He's got a good feel now."

> Lance Hurdle is going to the bench. Haith said he's trying to do whatever he can to get Hurdle going and has decided to bring James Dews back into the starting lineup. "Lance has to be better. Point guard has been our achilles' heel," Haith said. "The better he plays, the better we're goign to play. We got to do what we can to help him get his confidence back.

Beyond the Boxscore: North Carolina

BANKUNITED CENTER -- It is amazing how quickly things can change for you in college basketball. One minute, you are celebrated for beating a Top 10 team like Wake Forest by 27 points on your home floor. The next, some people want to roast you for losing by a combined seven points to Duke and North Carolina.

In all honesty, Canes fans who have something negative to say rather than positive after what this team has accomplished the past two weeks ought to realize they know very little about college hoops. Sunday, Miami played without Dwayne Collins. They got very little help from the refs (Miami didn't get to the free throw line until 6:01 to play and only made it there once). And still, some how, the Canes were a Ty Lawson missed three-pointer away and another Jack McClinton basket from beating the team everyone picked this season to win it all. Instead, heartbreak, a 69-65 Tar Heels victory and now a new dilemma. The Canes must win at least four of their last five to get to 8-8 in the ACC and have a chance at reaching the NCAA tournament.

UM coach Frank Haith wasn't trying to sugar coat anything in his post-game press conference. He knows there are no awards for coming close to wins. But he realizes this has to end and his team has to start winning some of these down to the wire games. Miami has lost five of its past six. Three came in OT and the other two by fewer than five points. UM had two possessions with the opportunity to take the lead late. The first one, McClinton drove to the basket and had his shot partially blocked before Jimmy Graham missed a tip-in. The second, Brian Asbury was called for a charge with about 44 seconds remaining. I am not sure what Haith could have done to prevent the last turnover, one other than ask Asbury to pull the ball back out and giving McClinton a chance. But on the other hand, how can you fault Asbury for trying to make a play? Bottomline: another tough loss. 

Some more notes/thoughts...

> Ty Lawson finished with 21 points in 34 minutes. But those five three-pointers he made were a career-high and pretty much unexpected. Lawson has never been a big-time perimeter shooter. The game-winning three he hit with about three seconds left on the clock was basically a step-back prayer. Lawson, it should be noted, had been battling the flu since Thursday.

> Tyler Hansbrough's 8 points and 4 rebounds against UM wasn't a season-low (he had 8 points and 5 rebounds against FSU), but it was a tremendous effort for the Canes who were obviously short-handed without Collins. Jimmy Graham finished with 15 rebounds and five blocked shots in 27 minutes. He basically did it all without much help from Cyrus McGowan, who was held scoreless in just 15 minutes -- as much a redshirt freshman Julian Gamble (who scored four points and had five rebounds). 

> Jack's 35 points marked his third consecutive game with a season-high. He had 32 vs. Wake, 34 vs. Duke and now has eight career 30 point games. Prior to Sunday night, Eric Brown (1988-89) was the last Cane to score more than 30 in three straight games. McClinton is now second all-time at UM in 3-point field goals (one shy of tying the school record held by Steve Edwards 265).

> McGowan wasn't the only starter to put up a stinker for the Canes. Lance Hurdle was 2 of 9 from the field with 4 points, 2 assists and 2 turnovers. It's amazing to think where UM would be today if Hurdle, Collins and McGowan had managed to show up for the last two games. FYI, Brian Asbury was the only other Hurricane in double figures Sunday with 12 points. 

Canes trail Heels 29-26 at half

Tremendous first half effort for UM defensively, holding No. 3 North Carolina to 36 percent shooting in the first half. It just wasn't enough to establish the lead. 

The Tar Heels finished the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 29-26 lead at the break. UM is obviously playing shorthanded without the injured Dwayne Collins, its No. 1 scoring option in the post. The problem for UM tonight is they can't get any offense generated inside the paint. Everything they are putting up is a tough shot. 

Jack McClinton leads all scorers with 12 points. Lance Hurdle is still struggling with his shot. He was 1-for-6 from the field in the first half. We'll see if Miami can continue to play this way and remain in the game.

Dwayne Collins out tonight vs. UNC

The Miami Hurricanes are going to be shorthanded tonight against third-ranked North Carolina. 

Forward Dwayne Collins, the team's second-leading scorer, suffered a left ankle sprain this week in practice and will miss his first game this season. Collins had started 32 straight games for UM.

UM sports information director Margaret Belch said Collins is listed as day-to-day. But his loss tonight is obviously going to hurt. Look for Jimmy Graham to start in Collins place when the game tips off at 7:45 p.m. -- and more minutes for redshirt freshman Julian Gamble, who hasn't played since he was in for four minutes against Maryland two weeks ago.

I will not be blogging tonight during the game, but will check in at halftime and once it is over.

Canes fall in Cameron, 78-75 (OT)

DURHAM, N.C. -- I'm here for the showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium where the Canes will try to chop of the second head of what Adrian Thomas referred to as the three-headed monster (a three-game stretch against Wake, Duke and Carolina).

UM coach Frank Haith has never won in this building. Obviously, never have the Canes. Duke is 13-0 here this year. They've won by an average of 20 points. This game is going to be awfully tough for UM to win. Clemson had a lot of success against Duke because of their full court press. We know Miami can't play that way. If Duke is on their game today shooting the ball, this one could be over quickly.

Miami won at home last year because they had an interior presence and because the Canes were red hot. UM shot 60 percent in the second half and 50 percent from three-point range in the game. They had a 30-point lead last year and still managed to only win by 1-point. Today, everything is going to have to be clicking for them to win again.

I'll check in at halftime and again once it's over to give you my thoughts. The game is on locally on WBFS-My 33. The radio broadcast is online at WQAM.com.

*** FIRST HALF THOUGHTS *** 

> You couldn't have asked for a better first half if you wear green and orange. I thought on Wednesday Miami's zone defense caught a break because Wake Forest was "off." Not so much. Whatever Haith and his staff devised is working wonders. Duke was 6 of 31 in the first half. You could see their players just flat out frustrated and confused, not knowing what do with the ball when they had openings. Kyle Singler was 1 of 9 from the field. 

> On the flip side, Miami wasn't spectacular on offense either. But the Canes were effective. Jack McClinton has 10 points. But I thought the real lifts came from Brian Asbury and James Dews, who combined for 14 points. Miami had nine turnovers at halftime. So, they are doing this -- holding a 32-19 lead -- despite still struggling to be safe with the basketball.

> If Miami can continue to play this way in the second half and hold on for the win, this would all but guarantee an NCAA Tournament bid. Big opportunity here. 

*** POST GAME THOUGHTS ***

> It's hard to win in this building, much less a 16-point lead. The Hurricanes found out the hard way Saturday -- coming oh so close to a huge upset of Duke. Instead, they're going home wondering what could have been. What can you say about Jack McClinton? 34 points. So many big shots. Tough loss.

Canes stun Wake Forest and me

Consider be me officially done trying to figure out Frank Haith's basketball team -- or the madness known as the Atlantic Coast Conference (Did anybody see Duke's blowout loss to Clemson?)

Tremendous win for Haith and his boys, one I didn't see coming after their worst "effort performance" of the year at Maryland Saturday. I thought this three-game stretch of Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina, on the heels of a three-game losing streak, were going to be the final nails in UM's coffin. Turns out I was dead wrong.

Miami played phenomenal Wednesday night, scrapping for loose balls, battling for boards and setting screens which left guys like L.D. Williams flattened in the first half. It certainly was an impressive 79-52 blowout of one of the nation's previously-ranked No. 1 teams. But don't mistake it for a sign of something much greater. UM coach Frank Haith said himself his team caught the seventh-ranked Demon Deacons on a bad shooting night.

Whatever Miami did with its zone (something Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said his team hadn't seen in awhile) made everyone other than Jeff Teague look confused. Consider this little gem of a stat on exactly how insane the ACC is. Miami plays the worst shooting team in the league and loses Saturday night. Then, the Canes face the league's best in Wake Forest and hold them to season-low 31.7 percent -- including 29 percent in the second half. In other words, these nights don't happen often.

The bigger thing to take away from this game is that this team isn't folding. That defensive presence Haith mentioned Tuesday lacking in the paint showed up wearing double-0 and looking like Jimmy Graham Wednesday. That tough stud off the bench Haith said his team lost after Ray Hicks left, showed up wearing Adrian Thomas' jersey. The lackluster point guard play? It ended at halftime. Like Haith said afterward, however, this kind of effort is the only way his team is going to win.

A coupe of quick notes...

> Jack McClinton's season-high 32 points moved him into ninth place on UM's all-time scoring list and past two names you'll remember -- Johnny Hemsley and Guillermo Diaz. Wake Forest coach Dino Guardio called Jack's performance one of the best he's seen in eight years in the ACC. I don't know about that. It was Jack's season-high, but not even close to being his best performance in his career. He's had six career 30-point games.

> There were more than 20 NBA representatives in attendance for tonight's game -- including Heat President Pat Riley. I've been told the Heat love Jack McClinton's shooting ability. I think tonight's performance certainly helped Jack. Maybe he will get drafted after all.

> The 27-point blowout gave UM it's biggest margin of victory over a ranked team in the school's history and the larget margin of victory in ACC play. It was the 12th win over a Top 10 team, but only the second under coach Frank Haith.

I'll have my Signing Day rewind section for you tomorrow. I got too bogged down today with stories to feed you everything I learned from Randy Shannon's press conference. But I promise to come back strong tomorrow.

Maryland thoughts

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- A University of Miami representative tried to get me to shut the door to the media room so the profanities flying around the adjacent Hurricanes locker room couldn't be heard by reporters following Saturday night's loss to Maryland.

The thing is you don't have to have good hearing to figure out this basketball team is frustrated. And you don't have to have 20/20 vision to see this team and this season is in trouble. All you have to do is look at the standings and the schedule and you see Frank Haith's team has once again backed itself into a corner at the midway point of ACC play.

Frank doesn't like to talk much to the media after losses. He said even less than usual Saturday. He was hoping his veteran team, the one picked to finish fourth in the preseason, would respond to their back-to-back overtime losses like a a team picked to finish fourth in the conference is supposed to. 

But it was the same old troublesome song and dance with a new twist, the disappearance of Miami's post players. Dwayne Collins? Somebody might find him at the lost and found. He had five points and seven rebounds, and two field goals on five attempts in 21 minutes. The new Adrian Thomas who hits big threes? He had more fouls (5) than points (3) Saturday. 

The problem for UM is two-fold. While they are better at the ACC half-way point this year (3-5) than they were last year (2-6), this conference is tougher than last year's. And, the schedule down the home stretch is also tougher than last year's. 

Miami's next three are at home against Wake Forest, on the road at Duke and home for North Carolina. Go ahead and pick the former No. 1-ranked team you think this Canes team can beat. It's not easy is it? Neither are the final five games after that -- at Florida State, home for Boston College, at Virginia, at Georgia Tech and home against N.C. State. 

Yes, Miami has a deeper, more experienced and a more talented basketball team than it did last year. Yes, the Canes have a better record at the halfway point. But they certainly don't have an easier path. And after tonight, I'm not sure they're going to make it back to the tournament. 

Maryland Q&A

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- This week, I exchanged emails again with Terps beat writer Patrick Stevens of The Washington Times, who shared my thoughts on tonight's showdown with his readers over on his blog D1SCOURSE. 

1. What on earth has been happening up there the last few weeks? Gary Williams is having a war of words with school officials, the team is struggling, blowing leads. Is this Maryland basketball team on the verge of falling apart? Or, is this just a hiccup?

PS: In two words, needless craziness. This week brought the bubbling over of some long-held tensions between Williams and higher-ups in his athletic department --- notably AD Debbie Yow.  

From a micro perspective, it all depends on how you define "on the verge of falling apart." If you mean enduring blowout after blowout, it's hard to see that coming. Maryland, for all of its talent deficiencies, has played hard. Of its five losses in the last seven games, it was only completely horrible once (a 41-point loss at Duke). This just doesn't seem like a team that will tank in the second half of the league schedule. Now, does it have the talent to get even a .500 league record? That's highly debatable. From a macro perspective, the program suffered some damage this week. Gary Williams has taken heat for his recruiting, and his ability to do so was further compromised with the in-fighting. It's tough to see things getting much better for the Terps until there is some demonstration of stability and unity --- and it sure doesn't look like that will come easy. 

2. The Terrapins have lost four straight to Miami, so there is obviously going to be extra motivation for them to win Saturday's game. But did the blown 17-point lead the last time around shake Maryland's confidence to the point where maybe some guys are believing they just can't beat Miami? 

PS: It sure does seem like the Hurricanes have Maryland's number, and the blown 17-point lead doesn't help matters. But the Terps have blown a 14-point lead to Morgan State and a 16-point lead to Boston College this month, so ugly second halves certainly aren't confined to games against The U. That said, no one on Maryland's roster has played in a victory over Miami (or Virginia Tech for that matter), and if any team might happen to have the Terps' heads, the Hurricanes certainly would rate as the best available candidate.  

3. Maryland did a great job forcing turnovers and pushing the ball up the floor last time against Miami. Any reason to believe there will be a change in philosophy this time? Or, are the Terps just going to try and do the same thing they did last time? 

PS: Maryland built that 17-point lead by remaining aggressive, pressing and making sure it collected plenty of points in transition. Then, as coach Gary Williams acknowledged that night, the Terps became tentative and the lead quickly vanished. Miami's absurd 3-point shooting had something to do with that, but until those closing minutes Maryland's defense (especially on the interior) was impressive. Maryland struggled to score in the halfcourt in the final 12 minutes that night, and it's been a common refrain for much of the month. If the Terps can get into transition, they would be wise to do so since points are so hard to come by elsewhere. I'd expect to see Maryland try to push things again Saturday night.

Suspended Rios adds arrest to resume

    When Eddie Rios signed with the University of Miami two years ago he told me his goal was to take the Hurricanes to the NCAA Tournament and turn the program around. Rios was a senior at Miami High then and on top of the world, considered one of the best players to come out of South Florida in years.

His life has been taking a U-Turn ever since. Wednesday morning, the suspended sophomore point guard was booked into a Miami-Dade County jail on charges of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and third-degree grand theft. Late Wednesday, he was out on bail. But I'm not sure where he'll be going now.

Earlier this week, his family contacted UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt with hopes of trying to get him reinstated after being suspended on Jan. 12 by coach Frank Haith for failing to communicate with his coaches. Rios was sick, but didn't go to UM trainers  according to Haith to get checked out until a week after first disappearing from the team. Now, whatever thoughts his family had of getting him reinstated are out the window. And, so could his opportunity of playing college basketball anywhere else.

I'll be interested to hear what Haith has to say about this at 2 p.m. press conference tomorrow. Rios' family, which emails me on a regular basis, could not be reached for comment.

> For those of you wondering where I've been since Mark Whipple's press conference Tuesday, I'm finally done filming a new show for MiamiHerald.com with Larry Blustein called the Recruiting Report. It is set to debut on Monday. It's nothing too spectacular, but will serve as a nice preview of National Signing Day for the Canes and Golden Panthers. I'll be back on the Canes beat full-time tomorrow.

Canes pick up 19th commitment

BANKUNITED CENTER -- I'm here at the BUC for today's showdown with the Hokies. I've come to realize the courtside blogs don't get much attention. So, I've decided to abandon them until we get into some bigger games later in the year (I'll try to keep up with Beyond The Boxscore blogs for you hoop fans for now).

Let's get to the football news. For those of you who missed it, Barry Jackson reached the Canes' leading cadidate to fill the offensive coordinator position, Mark Whipple. UM is waiting to see if Whipple will take the job. If not, the search will continue. I'm not going to speculate on any other names until Whipple officially declines.

As for immediate news, the first of two big recruiting weekends ended earlier this morning. Miami was able to pick up one new commitment from the group of eight visitors, linebacker/defensive end Shayon Green from Tift County, Ga. I caught up with Shayon when I got to the arena to ask him what happened over the weekend to make him switch his commitment from Purdue to the Canes.

"It was just a great visit. I saw it with my family and from the moment I got there I knew I wanted to be a Cane," Green said. "I had come here last year and stopped by and I liked it then. But after I talked with Coach Shannon, he made me realize this was the place I needed to be. I'm excited."

Green said he was hosted by linebacker Darryl Sharpton and said he spent a lot of time with Sean Spence during his visit. But he said the special relationship which helped UM sway him from Purdue and the other 15 offers he received during recruiting was his relationship with fellow Tifton County native Wesley McGriff, UM's secondary coach. The fact his grandparents lived in Homestead also helped.

Green said Miami coaches told him he'd likely start out at linebacker when he gets to UM in the summer. But he could play anywhere. At 6-3, 225 pounds with 4.67 speed, his high school coach played him at defensive tackle, defensive end and linebacker during his three seasons on the varsity level. As a senior playing mostly at linebacker, Green tallied 67 solo tackles, 48 assisted tackles, eight tackles for loss, one sack and one caused fumble. 

"He's got a pretty good knack of getting off really well on the snap," his coach Jay Walls told me before the visit on Thursday. "I think you'll see him play [weakside] linebacker or defensive end. He's going to get bigger too. He'll probably get close to 250 pounds. We've got a real good weight program here already. He power cleans over 300 pounds and benches over 300 pounds and squats about 600. He's a good one."

> The other non-commitments UM hosted this weekend included linebacker Sam Barrington and offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche and Marcus Hall. I'm going to try and reach them or their coaches sometime this week. I know Barrington is expected to announce his decision Feb. 3.

Beyond the Boxscore: UM-Maryland

Frank Haith opened his post game press conference with the same thought everyone in the room had: "What a game." He was right. No team in UM history -- at least since 1991 -- had mounted a bigger comeback than the Canes did in their 62-60 win over Maryland, rallying from 17 down with a little over 12 minutes to play.

> GAME BALL: Who else? Jack McClinton. Maybe the greatest news aside from the fact the Hurricanes are now 2-1 in ACC play was that McClinton showed us he's still McClutch. Although McClinton has had some pretty good games this season (he put up 27 against UConn and 24 on the road at Kentucky), tonight was the first time all we really got to see him perform like the player who comes to life late in games and tears the heart out of opponents with big shot after big shot. McClinton did it plenty through the 2007-08 season. Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia and St. Mary's all got a taste of it. And Miami likely wouldn't have made the NCAA Tournament without those performances. Wednesday, with Miami trailing 60-59, McClinton asked for the ball and delivered again.

> PLAY OF THE GAME: For all the big shots McClinton made, Lance Hurdle actually takes home the honors. Hurdle stripped the ball clean from Adrian Bowie with a little over a minute to play to give UM its first lead at 60-59. Hurdle finished with 10 points and three assists in 28 minutes. He also was one of the three players to hit key three-pointers during Miami's comeback. James Dews deserves a pat on the back for his eight points.

> TALKING STRATEGY: The Hurricanes didn't do anything special to aid their comeback other than hit some big shots. It was actually Maryland coach Gary Williams who deserves credit for putting together a great game-plan. Despite being undersized, he took Dwayne Collins (6 points on five shot attempts) completely out of the game by double-teaming him in the post and forcing him to pass out of it. Williams turned UM's one strength and made it irrelevant and for 30 minutes, he used his team's speed to get into the frontcourt for easy baskets.

> KEY STATS: After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half, UM cleaned up its act in the second, turning it over only twice. Other than that, Maryland dominated Miami with points in the paint (32-16), points off turnovers (14-8), and fast break points (15-2).

Shooting 3: Maryland Q&A

I know we usually keep our Q&As with out of town writers strictly to football, but with ACC play really heating up and the Canes (12-3, 1-1) set to take on Maryland (12-3, 1-0) tonight in a rather large early conference game I figured I'd try to do it with hoops.

This week, I exchanged emails with Terps beat writer Patrick Stevens of The Washington Times, who shared my thoughts on the game with his readers over on his blog D1SCOURSE. This 3-point shot of questions should get U ready for tonight's big game.

Q: Considering Miami has won five of the six meetings since it joined the ACC, I've got to imagine the Terps are very much looking forward to this meeting Wednesday night. Is this a game Gary Williams and his players circled on their calendars with red ink? Or, is it just another ACC game?
A: It's certainly an important game for Maryland, but it is probably best the Terps don't think too much about their repeated debacles against Miami.

Three things stand out about Wednesday. First, it is Maryland's first true road game of the season. The Terps have played four neutral-court games, but they might be the last team in the country to actually venture into an opponent's home gym (determining that, by the way, is my Tuesday morning project). Three, Maryland is the only team in the league playing Duke and North Carolina twice, and it gets a home-and-home with Miami on top of that. That is a big hole to climb out of on paper, and poaching one of those three opponents on the road would go a long way to making a successful season.

Q: The Terps haven't participated in the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years. I know they've gotten off to a nice 12-3 start. But why should people believe this Maryland team will get back into the tournament this year? How are the Terps better?
A: It's three of four years in the NIT, as a lot of cranky fans in the Baltimore/D.C. area would no doubt quickly remind anyone who asked.

In terms of resume analysis, Maryland is better because it has a couple nonconference victories (vs. Michigan State, Michigan) that should hold up for the rest of the regular season. As for actual on-court reasons, this team defends better (out of necessity) than the Terps have in the last few years. Though it is prone to spells of shaky play, those woes are more a function of ability than effort.

In many ways, this is a true test of Gary Williams' ability to coach up his kind of players. All the highly regarded recruits who entered the program in the years immediately following the 2002 national title are gone. In their place are a bunch of steady, useful players --- but of them, only Greivis Vasquez qualifies as a standout right now.It's anyone's guess if this actually can be a tournament team. Certainly, the last week offered plenty of reasons doubt it can happen. But if there's a logical argument in support of a team without a true consistent post option making the postseason, it's the presence of a wily coach with a shiny national championship trophy on his resume who still feels he has plenty to prove.

Q: When you look at this matchup, what is the one weakness you think Miami can expose to win this game?
A: Maryland is going to feel like it's stuck in "Groundhog Day" by the time the ACC tournament rolls around. Assuming a team (a) is smart; (b) has some decent size in the post; and (c) doesn't commit 28 turnovers like Georgia Tech did, it is going to try to maul Maryland inside.

The Terps start the 6-foot-7 Dave Neal at the five. The interior rotation also includes the 6-foot-7 Dino Gregory and the 6-foot-8 Braxton Dupree. Both are Baltimore products, and Dupree in particular has looked lost for much of the season. That's a harsh blow for the Terps, because he is the one true big body they have even after dropping 20 pounds in the offseason. (Miami fans might remember sophomore Jerome Burney, who played well off the bench last year in Coral Gables. Burney, a truly unlucky fellow who redshirted his first season because of foot problems, hasn't played since early December with a stress fracture in his right foot).

If I'm Miami, I am trying to figure out how to get it to Dwayne Collins. And Cyrus McGowan. And Brian Asbury and Adrian Thomas. And Collins again. And again. And again. That's not to say Jack McClinton couldn't fill his usual role as perimeter assassin. But Maryland is more vulnerable inside, and even Williams conceded last week the Terps still must figure out how to counteract bigger teams. Wednesday represents a huge test in that regard.

Vernon ready & other burning recruiting questions

With only three weeks left before National Signing Day, the recruiting rumor wire is going bananas.

Bryce Brown talk is at a fever pitch. Is Rivals.com's new No. 1 national player sticking with the Canes or heading elsewhere?

Does Miami have a chance at getting receiver Reuben Randle, the country's No. 2 overall recruit? Or will he stick with those SEC schools in his backyard?

Are the Canes going to lose any other recruits now that tight end Billy Sanders (UCLA) was the first one to jump ship? Will Kayvon Webster, Luther Robinson, or [gasp] will Brown be next?

All of those are nice burning questions for you recruiting junkies. Here's one at least that looks like it will finally be resolved: Defensive end Olivier Vernon told me he's made a final decision and will announce it Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at his school. Vernon, a 6-3, 240-pound defensive end at American High in Miami, was one of the first players to commit to Randy Shannon's 2009 signing class last August. But he's been flirting with Alabama and Florida State ever since. While UM expects Vernon to begin taking classes Jan. 20, I was told by someone last night Vernon still hasn't given the Canes his final notice he's really coming.

I finally got down to chatting with Olivier last night -- two weeks after he told me he had planned to make a decision. Why was he holding out? To allow Bama's Nick Saban, FSU's Chuck Amato and Shannon to make in-home visits. Each made a different pitch. Vernon said Saban talked about how 'Bama could use him as a hybrid linebacker/defensive end; Amato talked about FSU's tradition and academics; Shannon didn't even talk about football, preferring to stick to life. Now, Vernon says he's ready.

"I already know where I'm going, I'm just got to let everybody else know on Thursday," Vernon said. "I just wanted to decide on the best school. All I really care about is going to the school where I think I have the best chance at winning a national championship at."

> Much the same way Vernon needed some extra time before making his final decision, Bryce Brown needs some time, too. According to reports from Canestime and Canesport, Brown is waiting to see who UM hires as its next offensive coordinator and waiting to plan his final recruiting visit for either Jan. 23 or 30th so he can meet and greet the new coordinator. The good news? Now, you can follow this saga all on your own. According to Canesport, Brown's mentor, Brian Butler is building a webpage at www.potentialplayers.com so fans can track Brown's latest thoughts. Amazing how far we've come in recruiting isn't it?

> Defensive back Prince Kent, who was supposed to graduating early, is holding off on enrolling at UM until the summer time. I spoke with his mother Bernetta Walker this afternoon who told me Prince needed some extra time to pass an online trigonometry class and fell behind because of football (the Under Armour All-American game). Kent, who grew up following his mother who was in the U.S. Army, has spent most of his life trying to rally his academics after falling a bit behind when his mother was stationed in Hawaii. But, he's been working with UM's academic department throughout the recruiting process to make sure his academics are in order. Prince is retaking the SAT soon to try and score higher than 1,000. "Our plan is to have all our paperwork in hand by the time we head down there for signing day," Walker said.

> Scratch Michigan standout and tight end Dion Sims off the Canes' list of potential recruits. Sims, rated Rivals.com's 7th best recruit, committed to Michigan State Tuesday. He was supposed to be visiting the Canes on Jan. 23, but those plans now look nixed. Sims picked Michigan State in part because he also hopes to play basketball. You can't blame the Canes for not trying to sell both sports. I spoke with Frank Haith Monday, who told me he and Shannon have spoken in the past and present about potential recruits playing in both sports. "We definitely work together when we've had to," Haith said. "[Assistant] Jorge [Fernandez] has made calls to kids when he's had to and I definitely know the kids they were looking at recently were good enough to play basketball for us, too, if they wanted."

Rios' likely departure hurts team

I know many of you have been waiting for me to start answering questions in our weekly Q&A and I apologize for not getting to them yet (I'm hoping to at around 4 p.m.), but this Eddie Rios news has been keeping me busy this afternoon.

If you don't know by now, Eddie Rios was suspended indefinitely by coach Frank Haith for the second time this season Monday and now it looks very likely his days as a Hurricane are over. Haith went into details Tuesday, basically telling reporters he wanted his backup point guard to see team doctors. Instead, Haith said there was a lack of a communication on Rios' part with his coaches as he stayed home in bed battling a stomach virus. I caught Haith in the hallway after his press conference and he told me he was disappointed because he really wanted things to work out with the former Miami High guard, who started the first four games of the season for him with regular starter and senior Lance Hurdle out.

"We really like Eddie," Haith said. "But  he can't be doing what he did. We needed him at Boston College. We wanted him to see our doctors, get help, get healthy. I've got a team playing gritty, trying to win in a tough ACC. We can't afford to have those distractions that type of attitude at a time like this."

The problem is losing Rios is going to hurt Miami this season and moving forward. While Haith has a solid point guard in waiting in Villanova transfer Malcolm Grant (he's sitting out per NCAA transfer rules) for the future, Rios' presence at the very least provided depth for this team. Haith said Tuesday Rios' suspension will lead to more minutes for Lance Hurdle and Jack McClinton -- the team's leading scorer -- at the point. But the loss of Rios means Miami doesn't really have another go-to ballhandler after that.

The scenario already played out last Saturday and the Hurricanes were able to escape with a 77-71 win at Boston College. But earlier this year, when Rios was suspended for Ohio State and McClinton was ejected, the Hurricanes set a season-high for turnovers with just Hurdle available. Haith said Tuesday he could play freshman swingman De'Quan Jones more in a ballhandling type role and already has gone with James Dews and Brian Asbury more when McClinton and Hurdle have been out. But it's not a longterm solution. It looks more like a longterm problem.

Courtside blog: UM 77, BC 71 (F)

BOSTON -- Checking in from the Hurricanes' house of horrors, aka The Conte Forum. Got a little good news and a little bad news to report pregame.

> Jimmy Graham looks like he'll play tonight. UM SID Margaret Belch told us Jimmy practiced some this week and will see some action. The bad news? Eddie Rios (sick) didn't make the trip and Julian Gamble is out. Gamble collided with Graham during practice this week and suffered a mild concussion. He made the trip, but won't dress out.

> Another rough start for UM from the field. The Canes started 2-for-20 last year and 0-for-6 tonight. But this time, they started hitting buckets before getting into a real slump. Jimmy Graham has a pair of stickbacks and looks good in his first real action in about three weeks. Rebounding is going to be the difference in this game. Miami came in leading the league in rebounding margin. They're going to need to win it tonight to win the game.

> Got a lot of national media in attendance tonight -- ESPN's Digger Phelps and Andy Katz and FoxSports national columnist Jeff Goodman.

> It will just go down as a basket on the boxscore, but I got to take note of Bryan Asbury's steal and eventual dunk over Rakim Sanders midway through the first half. That was about as an athletic a play I've ever since Asbury make in his time at UM.

> Since falling behind 22-16 on a beautiful Tyrese Rice up-and-under layup with 9:08 to play, Miami has gone on a 6-0 run to the score at 22 with 7:23 left. Miami is playing good defense for the most part on Rice. He's 2 of 7 with two assists. Where he's killed Miami is with four long offensive rebounds.

> Miami used a 9-0 run to take the lead at 25-22 and have held on. Most of it has been with free throw shooting from Dwayne Collins, who is 7-of-8 from the field. Looks like the career 55 percent free throw shooter got his problem corrected.

> Key halftime figures with the Canes leading 38-33... Miami outrbounded BC 18-15 and 8-3 on the offensive boards... UM was 12 of 14 from the line.

> Amazing how the Canes are up right now 49-41 with 15:54 to go. Here's the basic formula -- Dwayne Collins hitting free throws and Adrian Thomas hitting three-pointers. Three weeks ago we would never imagined Collins going 10 of 12 in a game. After two years being shelved by injuries, we would have never imagined Thomas being Miami's second-leading scorer in an ACC road game.

> There's 11:42 left, UM is up 55-48 and Jack McClinton has five points and is 2-of-10 from the field. What does that tell you?

> Couple big momentum swings here in the second half -- all end up going in UM's favor. First, Dwayne Collins gets blocked by Rakim Sanders leading to a BC fastbreak. But on the other end, James Dews steps up and draws a charge on Tyrese Rice on a basket that would have gone for a 3-point play. Then, trailing 55-51, Rice misses a three, BC gets the offensive rebound and gets two close range shots only to be turned away. Then, on the other end, Brian Asbury scores a post basket with three guys on him and draws a foul to give UM a 57-51 lead with 7:25 left. Big series of events.

> Canes clinging to a 65-60 lead behind lots of grit. BC cut the Canes lead -- once as large as 8 -- to 57-56 with 5:23 to go. Adrian Thomas came through with a big offensive rebound and putback before McClinton and Hurdle hit threes to stretch back out a little. J-Mac and Hurdle both have four fouls and are going to have to play safe down the stretch.

Hocutt: 'No urgency' in filling OC spot

As I was writing my game story on deadline Monday night out at the BankUnited Center I got a visit from UM athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who was nice enough to come back and look for me after the game to follow through on a chat I had requested with him while he was busy earlier in the evening. On a night when he was hosting other guests and chatting with President Donna Shalala, Hocutt could have just forgotten about it entirely. But the fact he remembered was nice.

Anyway, it wasn't a very long conversation, but I did get to throw a few questions at him. I didn't have my tape recorder, but I did have my notebook. So, some of this will be paraphrased off my notes. We'll start with football.

> The first question was obvious -- what if anything could he tell us about the search to fill the offensive coordinator vacated by Patrick Nix. While he obviously wasn't going to drop any names or give us any hints he did provide some insight. "One thing I can tell you is we're looking for the best candidate possible, somebody who is experienced and can do the best job at not only developing these young players, but helping us win games. There is nothing we're in an urgency to do. We're in the process of talking to some people and finding the best candidate to run the system that Coach Shannon wants to run. That's really the biggest factor."

> I brought up the fact that last year Miami took its time -- about a month -- before replacing Tim Walton with Bill Young. "Again, we're not in a rush," Hocutt said. "We don't see hiring a coordinator before national signing day as a necessity. We see choosing the right person as the top priority."

> I asked him how he felt about the team's fade from being in the ACC title hunt to losing its final three games. I asked him if there was going to be more pressure on Coach Shannon and his assistants next season to compete for a conference title and national championship.

"That's the goal to compete for championships here. It was a tough finish to the season. But I saw it as a step forward. This was a really young football team. What I really admired about the team was that those players never gave up. They were hurt, short-handed, but the kept fighting. It's a testament to the coaches. I really believe we have the right guys coaching this team. The future is bright. Randy is with us for the long haul. I know everyone wants to see this program win a championship tomorrow. I do. But I really believe we're doing it right. Randy is not out looking for the quick fixes. He's recruiting not only great athletes, but great kids. We're looking to build a winner to stay over time. And I think we've got the right man leading us."

> Before I had to run back to finish my game story, I had to toss a couple basketball questions his way. Hocutt's face lit up talking about coach Frank Haith, who got an extension and a raise this past offseason through the 2013-2014 season. Hocutt, who watched Monday's win over FAU, said he expects UM's new basketball practice facility to be completed by March 1st -- just in time for the McDonald's All-American game. As for other facility upgrades and endeavors... "We're in the planning stages right now of planning some major upgrades to the Hecht Athletic Center. We really want to get the work on the football locker room and training room done. After that, the athletic training center, Cobb Stadium upgrades, the Hall of Fame and the tennis center."

MORE HOOPS...
Not everything I wanted to get into my basketball game story made it. Here are some leftovers...

> UM coach Frank Haith said he was proud of his team's 11-2 non-conference schedule. "11-2 non-league, with the schedule we played, I feel real good about us being in good shape, where we want to be. No bad losses, strong RPI, strength of schedule top 5 in the country, we are where we want to be. That strength of schedule won't change in the ACC."

> Forward Jimmy Graham, who bruised his right wrist severly two weeks ago when he slipped in the shower, saw his first action in three games. He played with what appeared to be a soft cast for nine minutes. He grabbed four rebounds and had one steal. Haith said Graham practiced for the first time Sunday in a few weeks. "Jimmy is quite yet back to form," Haith said. "He's going to need to get a few more practices in. He's not quite ready yet."

Courtside blog: UM 85, FAU 69 (F)

BANKUNITED CENTER -- Just checking in from the BUC where Frank Haith's team will get its final tune-up before entering ACC play for good against coach Mike Jarvis' 4-10 Florida Atlantic Owls.

I'm hoping to have a halftime chat with athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who is entertaining a few special guests -- not sure who they are -- for tonight's game.

As usual, I'll be here to provide you with my thoughts on this game. UM (10-3) has been blowing out everyone they've played since the Clemson loss. Not that they were really facing world-beaters of late, but UM is actually in the Top 10 nationally in three impressive statistics: 3-pt defense (2nd), rebound margin (3rd) and field goal pct. defense (9th).

> Jack McClinton has hit a pair of threes early to put Miami back in front 10-8 after it fell behind 8-5. Apple Jacks has been shooting the three less than he did in his first two seasons and driving past opponents more this season. Maybe Haith wants him to get warmed for ACC play. I can't wait to see him and Tyrese Rice go at it in Boston Saturday.

> Just read Mike Bakas' latest story over at Canestime.com and it looks like the Canes' football team received some good news this afternoon: Offensive line recruit Jermaine Johnson will be reporting for class in two weeks. "I just wanted to let you know that I just got cleared by the NCAA so I'm all ready to start school on the 20th," Johnson told Bakas. "I'm real happy about it. It's a big relief knowing that I'll be there for the spring."

> Down 13-10, the Canes went on a 14-2 run to take control of this game. They used the three-ball to do it. Adrian Thomas hit back-to-back threes before Edwin Rios and Cyrus McGowan capped the run with back-to-back treys.

> Miami is struggling with the Owls tonight. They've expanded the lead to double digits twice only to see the Owls come back and make a game of it. UM is 9 of 18 from three-point range. The Owls are 9 of 22 -- including 6 from Carderro Nwoji.

Courtside blog: UM 94, North Florida 41 (F)

BANKUNITED CENTER -- Out here at the BUC where UM is taking on North Florida in the final game in 2008. As usual, I'll share thoughts and highlights as this one moves along.

> The top story today -- Jack McClinton not starting this game for the Canes. He was replaced in the starting lineup by freshman DeQuan Jones. Not sure what is up. But I'll ask.

> Nothing to get alarmed about I guess regarding McClinton. He came into the game with 16:52 left along with Brian Asbury. This could just be Frank Haith wanting to show the guys it doesn't matter who starts, something he talked about in his press conference Tuesday.

> This is some ugly basketball. Miami leads 11-3 with 11:58 left. The Canes have shot 2 for 12 from the field. North Florida finally got on the board with a three-pointer with 13:55 left. The Ospreys (2-8) have shot 12.5 percent from the field.

> So far, the best part of this game has been watching longtime message board poster Paul Burkhart miss a halfcourt shot during a timeout. Paul, a student, had an opportunity to win the Sweet 16 contest -- a suite at a game for him and his friends. His shot bounced just beyond the foul line and about three feet to left to the hoop.

This and That: Canes holiday updates

Hello and welcome back to the Holiday edition of Eye On The U. As you can see, I'm not in San Francisco with the football team this week as it prepares for the Emerald Bowl. And, I won't be going to New York either for Saturday's showdown at Madison Square Garden with St. John's. But The Herald still has you covered.

Susan Miller Degnan has the football team covered this week and Jeff Darlington will be watching Frank Haith's team try to rebound from a bad loss last Sunday against Clemson. Me? I'll be enjoying the holidays and trying to provide you with what I learn this week aside from covering the Orange Bowl. I hope your holidays thus far have been good to you. They have been to me. I got a chance to check out Cirque De Soleil's Corteo Tuesday night with my wife and loved the show. I recommend it.

As for the Canes...

> Recruiting is certainly starting to heat up. Earlier this week, Canesport reported Miami received an official commitment from the nation's No. 2 prep school player, offensive tackle Jermaine Johnson. The 6-6, 310-pound former St. Thomas Aquinas basketball-turned football player is a big get for Miami considering UM's need on the offensive line. Look for Plantation American Heritage's Jared Wheeler to possibly be the next o-o-lineman to jump on the Miami bandwagon. His dad told me late last week distance would likely play a factor in his son's decision between UM and Vanderbilt. Also good news: highly-touted guard Peter White, a 4-star guard from the Washington, D.C. area, told Canesport UM will get a visit from him along with Tennessee and Maryland.

> Defensive end Olivier Vernon, an early UM commitment, called me Tuesday while I was doing my weekly Q&A and talked to me for about 10 minutes about his current status. The 6-3, 240-pounder from Miami American High told me he's likely going to call me the day after Christmas to let me know where he's ultimately headed.

There's no question the kid is confused. He told me he wished had never committed to UM in the first place and just let the recruiting process play out. He definitely liked his visits to Alabama and Florida State and it now seems his decision is coming down to whether or not he really wants to leave South Florida. Miami is definitely pushing hard. Vernon said he got an in-home visit from Randy Shannon last week. He said while he loves UM's tradition, he wants to pick the school he thinks has the best shot at winning a national title. Alabama obviously came close this year and is enticing Vernon with the thought of playing a outside linebacker/defensive end role. I'm favoring the Canes right now on a hunch, but not by much. If he doesn't come to UM, I think he goes to Bama. Vernon, by the way, is still not 100 percent healthy after his left ankle sprain early this season. He said he's still rehabbing.

> Out in the Bay area, Susan tells me the Canes are having a great time visiting some historic San Fran landmarks. The team visited Alcatraz Monday and then went on a cruise with Cal players later that afternoon. UM coach Randy Shannon told reporters Wednesday he expects receiver Travis Benjamin to play in the bowl game. I'm hoping to have a Q&A with California Bears' beat writer Demar Richardson from Scout.com for you later this week.

> As for the basketball Canes, UM coach Frank Haith said after Sunday's loss his team's recent free throw woes come down to mental toughness. The Canes were among the best in the ACC last year as a team, shooting a shade below 75 percent as a team. Jack McClinton, James Dews, Lance Hurdle and Brian Asbury all shot over 85 percent individually. This year, UM is shooting 65 percent as a team. And McClinton leads the team with at 84 percent. Dews, Asbury and Hurdle are all shooting under 75 percent.

> They aren't going to be nearly as good as last year's team, but the baseball Canes are at least earning some respect. Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll debuted earlier this week and has the Canes at No. 18. Miami returns three Preseason All-Americans in sophomore left-hander Chris Hernandez, junior shortstop Ryan Jackson and junior right-hander Kyle Bellamy.

Courtside blog: Clemson 91, UM 72 (F)

BANKUNITED CENTER -- The Canes are opening ACC play tonight. I'll be here to provide you with my thoughts as this one rolls along. Clemson (11-0) is going to be a real tough opponent for Frank Haith's team.

> No band and hardly and fans, but this one has started just as intense as we expected it -- only fitting since Kimbo Slice is among the 3,000 or so in attendance. Cyrus McGowan scored UM's first nine points, showing Clemson forward Trevor Booker and everyone else he came to play tonight. The Tigers came out with their full court press early, doubling Jack McClinton at times. But UM has been able to beat it down court for open shots. The Canes don't have any turnovers four minutes in -- a very good sign against this Clemson defense.

> Since Cyrus McGowan tied the score at 7 with 17:39 left, UM has gone on a 12-2 run, turning up their defensive intensity. Sophomore point guard Eddie Rios has scored the last five points for UM. I'm happy for the kid. After turning the ball over on a bad pass, he rallied, knocked the ball away, came back down the floor and hit a three-pointer. Lance Hurdle, whom Haith had run to the substitution table after Rios' errant pass, quickly returned to the bench.

> So much for that 21-9 lead and great defensive start (Clemson started 3 of 14 from the field). The Tigers have started hitting three-pointers and creating Canes turnovers in a flurry to tie the score at 21 with 9:05 left in the half.

> It's hard to believe bad a free throw shooting team the Canes have become. UM came in shooting 67 percent, but is 2-of-9 from the stripe tonight in the first half. Last year, UM shot a shade under 75 percent for the season.

> Here's the only stat you need to know in order to explain UM's first half: 16 Canes turnovers. That's two shy of the season high against Ohio State.

> Clemson has continued to keep its distance from Canes here early in the second half. Dwayne Collins and Jack McClinton have begun to step up their game. But James Dews has missed three three-point attempts and just hasn't been able to hit the big shot to help Miami get back into this game.

> Miami is starting to turn up its defensive intensity after falling behind by 11 here in the second half. But they are going to have to start making free throws to have a chance down the stretch. Canes have started 5 of 16 from the line with 13:12 left.

UM-FIU rivalry could end on court Friday

The University of Miami will host crosstown rival Florida International in a men's basketball game Friday night in a game that probably won't be very exciting. FIU, without four of its five regular starters, have never been much of a match for UM on the basketball court anyway -- with the Canes owning an all-time record of 11-1 against the Golden Panthers.

But the reason most of us ought to care about this game Friday is because as of now, it's the last time the Canes and Golden Panthers will meet in any of the major sports (football, basketball or baseball). We all remember what happened in football three years ago and why these teams probably won't meet on the gridiron any time soon. And we all know how the baseball relationship has soured between UM coach Jim Morris and FIU coach Turtle Thomas, his former assistant of 11 years. But basketball -- at the very least -- was a place the Canes and Golden Panthers have never really had any beef.

UM coach Frank Haith said Thursday while the two schools are looking to keep the rivalry on the court going, nothing looks close to being done. "This is the last game of the series, but we're considering playing down the road – nothing definite yet," Haith said. "It's a game that for the city they get excited about. I know FIU's had some injuries, but I anticipate them playing extremely hard. They'll always play hard and defensively be very aggressive. I anticipate a very hard-fought game."

From what FIU beat writer Pete Pelegrin tells me, UM is looking for a four-game deal in hoops, with three games at UM and one at FIU. That's doesn't sound like a stretch, considering UM has hosted 10 of the team's 12 meetings. But FIU athletic director Pete Garcia is looking for a basic home-and-home series with the Canes. As far as baseball in concerned, Garcia told The Miami Herald in April he hoped the series would continue. But according to the FIU 2009 schedule, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. The Hurricanes have yet to release their baseball schedule.

> As for the Canes basketball team, which slipped out of the AP poll and are No. 25 in the ESPN/Coach's poll, this will be the first of two games in three days. UM hosts Robert Morris Sunday at 1 p.m. before taking a week off and opening ACC play against Clemson on Dec. 21. It's going to be a nice little break during finals week for the team.

> I spoke with freshman DeQuan Jones for more than half an hour after Haith's press conference and met his father, a steel worker and former junior college basketball star from Birmingham, Alabama. DJ is certainly loving his time at UM and talked a lot about learning how to be a leader from Jack McClinton. It's something Jones will definitely have to be next season when the Canes lose four seniors to graduation and welcome an entirely new starting backcourt.

One of those weapons will be Villanova transfer Malcolm Grant, who is sitting out the season per NCAA transfer rules. I asked DeQuan about Malcolm, who is his roommate, and how he's doing in practices with the team. "Malcolm's a bad boy," Jones said. "He's the most vocal guy on the team. You can tell when he's not out at practice because it's not as loud. Malcolm is loud all the time. He's going to be a great leader next season."

> Haith said he wants Jones to focus more on defense and rebounding. So far, in seven games, Jones is averaging 3.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and has 10 turnovers. He's averaging 12.7 minutes a game. "I think he's getting closer and closer to having one of those breakout games," Haith said. "With him it's a matter of him beining comfortable, understanding what we do and defensively – I'd like DeQuan to focus on rebounding and defense and let the offense take care of itself."

> Haith talked a little about Miami's other freshman who is seeing minutes, forward Julian Gamble, and said he was really good in the Kentucky game even though he didn't score. "We look at the little things, clogging the middle up – he blocked three shots in that game," Haith said. "He's very active. I think Julian is coming along fine. The more the season progresses I think you'll see him get more and more minutes and be more productive, particularly on the offensive end because I think Julian has great skills."

Courtside blog: UM 73, Kentucky 67 (F)

RUPP ARENA -- I'll be here in one of the most famous places to watch a college basketball game. The game will be carried on ESPN. Feel free to share your thoughts with me as this one rolls along. Shandel and I got great seats -- right next to the UM bench. This is probably the closest access we've gotten all season.

> I got to hand it to the Wildcats. This is the first place I've been in where fireworks go off during introductions. I thought Wake Forest and its motorcylcing mascot was cool. This is better.
> By the way, please let me know if Ashley Judd is in the house. If one of you guys spot on her TV, I want to know where she's sitting.
> Kentucky has come out with the same offense Ohio State used against UM in the second half, spreading the Canes wind and attacking the lanes. So far, Miami has done a decent job against it.
> Jack McClinton has come out aggressive. He's taking the ball to the basket. He's not settling for jumpers or threes. That's a great sign.
> We may finally see freshman Reggie Johnson. He just took off his sweats and looks like he might come in. Is it a false alarm?
> Got to give the Canes credit. That was probably the best first half effort I've seen from these guys ever. They thoroughly dominated that first half. Great defense.
> Kentucky fans have tried taunting Jack with 'Please Don't Slap Me' chants. He's done that. 17 points in the first half. James Dews has also played great. He has 11 points.
> Guess Ohio State is pretty good. They just knocked off No. 7 Notre Dame 67-62. If there ever was such a thing as a good loss. Looks like OSU is one.

Kentucky game important for Canes

LEXINGTON, K.Y. -- You don't play must-win games on the basketball court in December. You play them in March, deep in conference play when you are trying to get off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament. But today is still an important day for Frank Haith's basketball team.

With losses to UConn and Ohio State, Miami (4-2) really has just two non-conference games left against power conference schools. The Wildcats (5-2) are one and St. John's, a team that has slipped down in the Big East, is the other. If UM loses today and goes 8-8 again in the ACC and I can see Dick Vitale and company questioning Miami's non-conference wins at the end of the season and the guys at the selection table passing on the Canes. Haith, who has never been to Rupp Arena, is trying to make sure his players don't gain a sense of pressure.

"It's an important game," Haith said. "It's a great opportunity to play on national TV against one of the premier programs in the country. That's how were going to attack it. Our guys are excited about this opportunity. I don't want our guys thinking if we don't get this game, this season is over. I want us to be excited about playing our best and letting the rest take care of itself."

Kentucky started the season with losses to VMI and No. 1 North Carolina, but the Wildcats have been coming on of late. They beat West Virginia and Kansas State -- two NCAA tournament teams from a year ago and will present plenty of problems for the Canes at Rupp Arena, a place that can get loud and can be tough to play in.

“Kentucky is obviously a tall task," Haith said. "They've won five in a row after getting off to a slow start. I look at their team and I see two outstanding players in [Patrick] Patterson and Jodie Meeks, outstanding scorers. But they've also have other great athletes.

"They’re a team that prides themselves on being able to turn you over. We got to do a good job handling the ball. And that's something we have not been able to do well at times this year. So, we got to be good ball handlers. We got to run better offense because they're going to pressure us. And that building is going to be another advantage for them too. I haven't played in that building or been in that building, but I know there going to have 24,000 and it's going to be a tough place. We got to be able to handle all that -- their defensive pressure -- with our ability to pass and handle the ball better."

Meeks, who will likely be guarded by James Dews, is averaging 24.6 points and 4.4 rebounds. “He's a really good scorer,” Haith said. “When I watch him on tape, he scores a lot of different ways. He puts the ball in whether its an offensive rebound, driving the ball, shooting the three, free throw line. We obviously don't want him to have as many touches. They're good in transition. Finding him early is going to be extremely important.”

Patterson, who will likely be guarded by Dwayne Collins and Jimmy Graham, averages 17.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and is shooting an eye-opening 74.6 percent from the floor. “He's a presence. Physically, he's strong. He's got great footwork. He does a great job of grabbing the basketball and scoring with two feet in the paint,” Haith said. “ He shoots free throws well too. He's a tough matchup. He's a McDonald's All-American and playing like it. He's had some injuries in the past year and he's starting to step up. Dwayne and Jimmy and our post guys will have their work cut out for them.”

> In case you missed it, I had a rather lengthy feature today on Jack McClinton, who will be the obvious storyline after what happened on Tuesday night against Ohio State. I've read and heard a lot of people make negative comments about McClinton for his slap of Anthony Crater. It's a shame most people across the country, who probably only knew of him for what he did against St. Mary's last year in the opening round of the tournament, could have that image of him now.

As for Haith, he said Thursday he reviewed the incident from Tuesday's game with Jack and told him he's going to have to do a better job controlling himself. Haith said he expects more opponents to try and get in Jack's head as the season progresses.

"That's the next step for Jack. When you have situations where someone employs that kind of tactic, you have to voice that to the official. You go back a couple plays there and you can see there is some aggressiveness. And on the play there if Jack gets hit in the face even if there was nothing before that, I don't think Jack would have reacted like that. It was a buildup of some things in the last couple of minutes before that happened. But obviously Jack is going to learn from this. He learned a valuable lesson the other night. He got kicked out of the game.

"I don't like our guys doing a lot of jawing and talking and sometimes that's how people play. You got to work through that. The game of basketball is a competitive sport and you can't react to that. You got to just play."

> By the way, last night I was hanging out in downtown Louisville with the Sun-Sentinel's Shandel Richardson and we had a good time at Wet Willie's. Comedian David Alan Grier was there hanging out. Grier, who is performing in Louisville this weekend, is a cool cat. He spent more than an hour mingling with people at the bar and dancing. It's cool to meet a guy who has his own TV show is so down to earth.

McClinton apologizes, Rios returns

The Miami Hurricanes basketball team had a tough night Tuesday. But things are looking up and now it appears the 21st-ranked Canes will be at full strength when they travel to Kentucky Saturday.

Thursday morning, the ACC decided it would not take further action against Jack McClinton for his slap of Ohio State guard Anthony Crater, passing on a possible one-game suspension. Then, moments ago, UM sports information director Margaret Belch confirmed point Eddie Rios, who was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday for violating a team rule, will also be back with the team on Saturday.

Miami obviously struggled without both of them against Ohio State. With only one primary ballhandler in Lance Hurdle, UM had a season-high 18 turnovers. McClinton met with the media an hour ago and BankUnited Center and apologized for his actions.

"It definitely was a mistake on my part," said McClinton, who watched his team blow a 14-point lead to Ohio State without him in a 73-68 loss.
"I should have been the bigger person. I know I made a mistake. I just want to apologize to the Miami fans, my teammates and everybody came out to support us or watch us or watch me. I made a wrong decision and I have to learn from it.

"I'm a competitor. That's was definitely not me. I'm passionate about basketball. I love to play basketball and I would never do anything to put myself in jeopardy or my team in jeopardy and it was just a bad reaction on my part. It happens all the time. But you have to stay composed. I think the best ones do that. And you have to stay composed."

UM coach Frank Haith, who was angered when he reviewed the tape that Crater also did not face some sort of penalty from the refs, supported his star guard.

"It's very uncharacteristic of Jack," Haith said. "I know Jack feels really bad about what happened. Jack has handled it with his teammates, he knows his actions hurt us. I think Jack's situation and what happened was reactionary. It's not an indication of what Jack is.

"You look back at Jack's career here at Miami, he even hasn't had a technical foul. I don't know how its been viewed because I don't watch much TV in terms of the situation and whether all the facts were put out there. I just want to make one thing clear and nobody knows Jack better as a person than I do, there were things that went on in that game that led to up to Jack's situation. But obviously Jack knows what he did was not right and as we move further on Jack will know there will be other situations where he may be antagonized or people being physical with him. That's going to happen and you got to have better composure than that."

As for Rios, Haith admitted Miami certainly could have used him on Tuesday night.

"Eddie is a guy that can definitely help us when Eddie's right mentally," Haith said. "Ball handling is such a key ingredient to having success. Eddie is definitely a ball handler we didn't the other night and it showed not having Jack or Eddie against their 2-2-1 press. When you have good teams, you have good ball handlers. We're going to need it on Saturday."

Here's the link to the full press conference from this afternoon.

Jack McClinton will play Saturday at Kentucky

Jack McClinton's slap cost him and the 21st-ranked Miami Hurricanes dearly in Tuesday night's prime time showdown against Ohio State. But it will not cost McClinton or Miami any further repercussions.

The Atlantic Coast Conference reviewed tape of McClinton's slap of Ohio State guard Anthony Crater and determined Thursday UM's star guard did not use malicious intent when he grazed Crater's face with his fingertips. Therefore, McClinton will not be suspended an additional game and will be in the lineup when UM (4-2) plays at Kentucky (5-2) in another prime time ESPN showdown Saturday at 5:30.

Miami blew a 14-point halftime lead without its leading scorer Tuesday and struggled to protect the ball because it was short-handed at guard in the second half. Without McClinton and with backup point guard Eddie Rios suspended indefinitely for violating a team rule, Miami (4-2) had to rely on senior Lance Hurdle as its only ballhandler Tuesday.

Hurdle played a career-high 37 minutes and led UM with 14 points. But Hurdle admitted he was gassed at the end. UM committed a season-high 18 turnovers and struggled mightily against Ohio State's full-court press. Tuesday was the first time in McClinton's career he drew a flagrant foul and the first time he had been ejected.

UM coach Frank Haith told ESPN Wednesday morning he was even more angered about the incident after he had a chance to see replays of it himself.

"After watching the tape I was disappointed and I felt that Jack reacted to being hit in the face,'' Haith told ESPN. "I was told by the official, Bryan Kersey, that [Crater] had bloodied his nose and that's why Jack was ejected. I never saw any blood. The kid stayed in the game. Jack was reacting to being hit in the face.''

Haith told ESPN he's concerned a future opponent could try to bait McClinton, who leads Miami in scoring with 15.2 points a game.

"Jack is a great kid and I don't see that being an issue with Jack, but I do worry how other teams may try to antagonize him, physically taunting him,'' Haith said. "Jack does have to be smarter and play with more composure. He's just got to play.''

ACC reviewing McClinton's slap

Frank Haith told reporters after Tuesday night's loss to Ohio State, he didn't think star Jack McClinton would face any future suspension after being ejected for slapping the Buckeyes' Anthony Crater midway through the first half. Looks like that isn't necessarily going to be the case.

Haith spoke with ESPN's Andy Katz Wednesday morning and told him ACC associate commissioner Karl Hicks, who was in attendance Tuesday, would review tape Wednesday to determine if there was malicious intent worthy of a one-game suspension. Miami plays at Kentucky Saturday and could ill-afford to be without McClinton, especially now that backup point guard Eddie Rios has been suspended indefinitely.

Miami committed a season-high 18 turnovers in the loss to Ohio State and had Lance Hurdle, who played a career-high 37 minutes, as its only legit ballhandler. Haith told Katz he was even more upset after reviewing the tape of the McClinton incident. I'm sure he'll be even more steamed if his best player misses out on Miami's next most important out-of-conference game on Saturday.

UM-Ohio State thoughts

BANKUNITED CENTER -- Just got done filing my story for tomorrow's paper. I kind of feel for Frank Haith. Not only did we set a record here on Eye On The U for posts on a basketball blog, but tonight was a night I really felt Haith had a chance to draw in some new fans.

Instead, he starts the night by suspending Eddie Rios indefinitely. Then, Jack McClinton gets ejected on his way to what probably would have been a huge night for him in front of about 30 NBA scouts. And, the Canes blow a 14-point halftime lead and lose to Ohio State of all teams, a team hated perhaps only less than Florida in the eyes of Canes fans.

There were 5,870 in attendance for tonight's game. Most were students, including a few hundred were left standing outside without tickets before the game. The place was electric even though it wasn't a sellout. Instead, most fans (who were probably tuning into this team for the first time) now probably feel like this team can't win without Jack McClinton. Losing Jack hurt. But it didn't cost the Canes this game.

Haith talked afterward about the disappointing defensive effort his team gave in the second half. He's right. Nobody could guard Evan Turner or Jon Diebler on the wing. This Buckeyes team is young. But talented. Two McDonald's All-Americans and a NBA prospect in Dallas Lauderdale, who will swat shots for a living one day.

Now, it's onto Kentucky.

> Haith wasn't sure afterward if McClinton's ejection could incur more of a suspension. But it's doubtful. He certainly was also upset Ohio State's Anthony Crater, who was seen on replays hitting McClinton before the play, didn't also get a flagrant. But he said Jack should know better. OSU coach Thad Matta said he didn't see the foul, but his assistants pointed it out.

> Nothing new on the Eddie Rios front. But I'm of the opinion this was probably the end of Rios' career as a Hurricane. Who gets suspended indefinitely? Rios came here with high expectations and did very little. Haith wasn't happy with the way he played in the Virgin Islands. He played Rios all of four minutes against UConn. Rios' family wants to see him play. They know Malcolm Grant is waiting in the wings and John Wall could be coming in, too.

> Miami came in with the 19th-best RPI in the country. This loss could hurt them down the road come tourney time -- especially if they are on the bubble. But I got a feeling this Ohio State team is going to once again be one of the best in the Big Ten.

Courtside blog: Ohio State 73, UM 68 (F)

BANKUNITED CENTER -- I'll be here to provide you with thoughts and highlights as the 21st-ranked Canes take on Ohio State tonight on national TV. Miami will be a man short at point guard with Eddie Rios suspended indefinitely. Look for Jack McClinton to spend a lot more time at the point. That could hurt this team tonight against a good Buckeyes zone defense.

> The Canes come out guns blazing. UM takes five three pointers and sinks three, going on a 9-0 run behind a Lance Hurdle 3 and back-to-back McClinton threes before OSU calls time out 15:55. Ohio State loves to play zone defense. Let's see if they keep it going.

> By the way, for the first time in a long time, every seat on media row has been taken. There has to be over 20 scouts here tonight to watch this game. Randy Shannon isn't one of them. But he's watching the game not too far from us. Maybe I should ask him about Patrick Nix.

> We've played four minutes since the last time out and each team has scored two points. Ohio State can't buy a basket. The Buckeyes have started 2 of 10 from the field.

> Got to give the student section some cred tonight. They've come with some creative taunts -- and it's not even ACC season yet. They keep taunting freshman B.J. Mullens shouting "BJ's ugly!"

> In probably the most strange play I've ever seen on a basketball court. Jack McClinton hits his fourth three-pointer of the game with 10:13 left in the first half to put UM up 19-7. Then, after review, he gets thrown out of the game for a flagrant foul (not sure if it was a slap or a punch because I couldn't see it from this angle). The Canes are now down two guards.

> The loss of McClinton has invigorated the Canes. After two OSU free throws and a three-pointer cut into Miami's lead 19-12, Miami responded with six straight points behind Dwayne Collins, James Dews and Brian Asbury.

> Freshman DeQuan Jones picked up his third foul with 5:33 left in the first half. That's going to leave Miami shorthanded at guard. Jones had been rotating Dews and Hurdle at guard to stay fresh. Tonight is the night this team's depth and mettle gets tested. No Jack McClinton and short-handed against a talented Buckeyes team.

> The Buckeyes trailed 36-22 at the start of the second half, but have come out determined here early and are doing a better job getting to the rim. They've opened with a 6-2 run to pull within 38-28 with 16:58 left.