Melih Onvural
The ACC season for Miami has been a slowly developing storm.
It started as a tropical depression with an opening loss in Raleigh to N.C. State. Then it upgraded to a tropical storm with wins against North Carolina, Maryland and Clemson. Now the winds — and wins — have picked up and the league may be in the path of a destructive, full-fledged Hurricane.
In only their second season in the ACC, the Canes find themselves in the midst of a three-game winning streak, all against conference teams.
Two of the wins came on the road, which means a lot to coach Frank Haith who, despite having been in the league only a year, is well aware of the difficulty posed when playing away from home.
“I’ve been in this league before as an assistant coach and I knew how hard it was going to be in terms of how competitive it is and how hard it is to win on the road,” Haith said. “Our kids that have gone through it before are better at it.”
It’s been the experienced backcourt tandem of Guillermo Diaz and Robert Hite who have led the Miami surge thus far. Both players are averaging more than 16 points per game and sit near the top of the ACC scoring list this season.
However, Haith said, in addition to maturity, getting key position players back and healthy has been the main staple to his team’s improved play as of late.
“We’re more experienced, and having guys like Anthony Harris back, as well, has caused us to play better basketball,” he said.
Harris, who came into the season as Miami’s starting point guard, suffered a hairline fracture in his foot that forced him to the sidelines for the first six weeks of the season. This injury forced Haith to move some players around and bring more inexperienced players into the starting lineup.
“I’m never going to make excuses for our ball club as far as injuries go, but when you lose a position like your starting point guard who you’ve been practicing with all the way up until the start of the season, it takes some adjustments,” Haith said. “Guys have to change their roles.”
Most notably, freshman Denis Clemente was forced to assume the point guard duties for the injured Harris. Haith saw this is as more of a blessing in disguise for the young guard and his adjustment to playing at the college level.
“He got a chance to play in some high-level games on the road,” Haith said. “This has helped him to handle the pressures of ACC play when he got his minutes and he has had some big games.”
Haith said he’s happy to see more players emerging for his Miami team. In their last win against Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes saw consistent scoring from several players.
“Seeing five guys score in double-figures shows that we’re getting some balance and that definitely helps our team,” Haith said.
The Hurricanes will hope to bring this swirl of experience and balanced attack into their game tonight when they host No. 16 N.C. State (18-4).
Haith said he knows his team must either put a clamp on the Wolfpack’s outside shooting or a muzzle on their backdoor cuts in order to come out with a fourth consecutive ACC win.
However, as appealing as this game strategy may seem, Haith knows it does not necessarily spell a victory over the No. 2 team in the ACC.
“When you play N.C. State you have to make them do one of the two,” Haith said. “However, they are going to exploit whichever you don’t take away.”