Wahoo Wire

With basketball season gearing up, Wahoo Wire will be previewing each ACC team.

Miami Hurricanes

Last Season:

ACC: 20-13

Overall: 4-12

Postseason: None

What they lost:

The Canes lost their top two scorers from last year, Dwayne Collins and James, who accounted for 23.5 points per game.  Along with his 12 points per game, Collins also averaged 8 rebounds and made 60 % percent of his field goals.  These two seniors brought a lot of leadership, Dews at the guard spot and Collins as the highly-capable forward, and they will be difficult to replace on a team that only has one senior this season.

What they gained:

In the spirited run Miami made to the ACC Championship against Duke, three names emerged: Durand Scott, Malcolm Grant, and Reggie Johnson.  Scott had already started his roll in the weeks prior to the ACC Tournament, but those games created the spotlight which makes the sophomore a safe bet to become a star this season.  Reggie Johnson, also a sophomore this season, came on strong at the end of the year but averaged only 13.6 minutes a game last year.  Yet, the 6 foot 10 inch, 295 pound Johnson was able to score over 6 points and grab almost 5 rebounds in those limited minutes and is expected to break out this year.  Malcolm Grant, a junior, is a solid guard for the Canes, averaging almost ten points and over 3 assists a game last year and should run the offense smoothly this year.  Grant, along with lone senior Adrian Thomas, averaged over 41% from behind the 3-point arc and will provide outside shooting presence for Miami.

Summary:

Miami should be able to avoid the worst part of last season, their 0-8 road record, but it is unclear if they can improve that much on their record of 4-12 in the conference.  Yes, from their play at Memphis last night, it seems that they are a very fast and athletic team and Scott, Grant, and Johnson should score a great deal.  The question will be whether or not they can keep up that kind of pace for the entire season and keep all three players healthy while depending on them so much.  It would make sense to expect between 6 and 8 wins in the ACC from this team and maybe, just maybe, they could sneak into the Tournament if they can be consistently as athletic as they were last night.

• Boston College
• Clemson
• Duke
• Florida State
• Georgia Tech
• Maryland
• North Carolina
• NC State
• Virginia
• Virginia Tech
• Wake Forest