One thing that has impressed me about Al Golden (beyond the manner in which he's handled the Nevin Shapiro bombshell, and pulled in a strong recruiting class, to boot) is how available he has made himself to promote the University of Miami program. At least that's my view from the other side of the state, where Al Golden came on my radio show shortly after national signing day and gave one hell of an interview where other coaches and/or athletic departments from major programs in the state and region gave us the cold shoulder. I've heard him on other shows both in this market and in South Florida. And, if you're the U, why not? It's a terrific way to sell your program to pipeline areas. I've never understood why coaches are so closed off to making offseason media appearances when it's nothing but free advertisement for their programs, but I digress to some degree.

And now, Al Golden embarks on a summer of love.......with Hurricane alums and supporters. Golden will be embarking on a multi-state, seven-city tour that began on May 1 and wraps up on June 5. The full schedule can be found here. Golden will be joined at various stops by Shawn Eichorst, Jedd Fisch, Art Kehoe, Micheal Barrow, and a cast of coaches and special guests, which will vary from site to site. The tour started May 1 in Atlanta and will also touch down in Chicago and New York City. In-state stops include South Florida, Orlando, and Tampa.

So, if you feel like rubbing elbows with the Hurricane staff and talking Hurricanes football with other loyal diehards, make your reservations now.

The announcers just said that Kenny Kadji and Reggie Johnson have no interest in being in this game during the opening minutes. I can't disagree. Hopefully they snap out of this early funk and bounce back against the Gophers, because they would host MTSU with a trip to Madison Square Garden on the line if they win tonight.

Go Canes.........

The Canes start what will hopefully be a run into the weekend in the ACC tournament, matching up first with the Yellow Jackets, whom the Canes thumped 64-49 in Atlanta earlier this season. That Georgia Tech team was with its star Glen Rice, Jr, who will not play tonight due to suspension. At this point, I don't care. Great. Just find a way to advance to tomorrow night vs. Florida State, and this certainly makes it easier. This game should do nothing but hurt the RPI anyways.

However, as Northwestern showed us today, first-round tourney games can be disastrous to a bubble team. The 75-68 loss puts the Wildcats out in Lunardi's latest projection. A loss tonight by the Canes almost certainly would send the Canes to the NIT.

Stay the course. One game at a time, starting with Georgia Tech. Let's hopefully enjoy the ride.

Go Canes...

For seniors Malcolm Grant and DeQuan Jones, it will be a farewell to the Bank United Center, as the Canes take on Boston College today on Senior Day. Hopefully, it won't be another bitter ending to a Miami men's sports regular season by a team from beantown, and there's plenty to play for for Miami today. With UVa's come from ahead tank-job loss to FSU Thursday, Miami remains alive for a 1st round bye in the ACC tourney with a win today and road losses by NCSU and UVa tomorrow. Also, Miami has a chance to finish with a winning record in the ACC for the first time ever. Oh yea....and a loss could pop that whole bubble thingy, and all that jazz.

So hopefully, the Canes can put Wednesday's 77-73 loss to the Wolfpack behind them and close the BUC for the year on a high note. Go Canes.......

They're all big now, so no use going down that road. Please don't waste Sunday's big win. Hopefully Reggie's return will give the Canes the edge.

Go Canes...

Last regular season chance for the Canes to get a quality win to pair with their win at Duke....and with their second best win being over UMass, this is a necessity. A win puts the Canes squarely on the right side of the bubble. A loss puts the Canes on life support for the tourney.

Go Canes...

Miami is looking to build off a dominant 2nd half Saturday as they take on the Terps for the 2nd time this season. This is one that could push Miami marginally closer to the right side of the bubble, but a loss could be a strong blow to the Canes tourney chances. Hopefully Durand Scott and Shane Larkin can contain Terrell Stoglin, who is one of the top players in the ACC and broke the 30 point barrier vs Miami the first time around, a Miami 2OT victory.

Go Canes.....

Not dead, can't quit. Miami's tourney chances weren't necessarily crippled by a 73-64 loss to UNC Wednesday, but it was a missed chance to maybe all but lock up a spot in the field of 68, if not at least get to the right side of the bubble. Now, at 6-5 in the ACC, they'll have to do it by beating all the teams they're supposed to, starting today against Wake. Time to start a new winning streak.

Go Canes......

An opportunity missed in Tallahassee becomes a golden opportunity tonight, as Miami hosts the Tar Heels in a game the Canes desperately need to pair with the Duke win in the quality "W" department.

UNC topped the Canes 73-56 in Chapel Hill on January 10, but that's not quite the same Miami team that has won 5 of its last 6. UNC comes in averaging a blistering 83.5 ppg and is the nation's leading rebounding team at over 46 per game. Reggie Johnson, who flopped against Florida State, will have to be a force inside with Kenny Kadji in order to have a chance in this one.

Go Canes.......

Yea, this one's big. You don't need me to lay this one out.

Go Canes.......

After back-to-back overtime games, this was a welcome change, at least for my ticker.

Miami jumped ahead 20-8, and cruised to a comfortable 65-49 win before a seemingly sparse crowd at the BankUnited Center. Miami was led by Reggie Johnson, who led the team in points (15), rebounds (7) and assists (4). Tech was led by their star, Erick Green, with a game-high 17 points on 7-17 shooting.

However, it's what Johnson had that Green didn't that made the difference --- help......

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Opportunity is knocking. Will the Canes answer?

Following a season-changing victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday, Miami looks to build off of it tonight against the turkeys Hokies in what hopefully will be a run to the big dance. At 2-6 in the ACC, this matchup appears to be one that strongly favors Miami. However, looking at VTech's conference results, it's not a matchup that Miami can take lightly, as the Hokies have been competitive in nearly ever game. Each of their conference losses have been by 4 points or less, with the exception of Duke/UNC.

Tech is led by point guard Erick Green, who is averaging 15.7 ppg and shooting an impressive 38.5% from behind the arc. Hopefully Shane Larkin or Durand Scott, whichever will be on him, can continue Miami's streak of solid perimeter defense.

National audience tonight, as the game is being carried on ESPN2. Go Canes.......

With Lamar Miller heading off to play on Sundays, Miami has a big hole to fill in its backfield come September. Miller was one of the closest things to a complete college running back you'll ever see and will be very difficult to replace. Speed, power, vision, home-run-on-any-given-play kind of player. Special. And we really aren't sure what we have with junior Eduardo Clements, who will battle the steady, if not unspectacular Mike James and converted cornerback Dallas Crawford for the starting job.

However, what the Canes lost in Miller, they might have gained in a pair of new signees.

Miami Norland's Randy "Duke" Johnson (and this is the last time I will probably ever write "Randy"), a longtime Miami commitment, comes into Coral Gables this fall with as much hype and expectation as any Hurricane back in recent memory, and we know how ridiculous the Canes' track record of backs has been. He will be counted on to bring explosiveness out of the backfield that the team might seem to lack right now. Conversely, Venice High running back Danny Dillard comes in as maybe the team's biggest tailback right off the bat at 6'2 205 pounds. He's a guy who won't make a lot of defenders miss, but they might not be happy that they didn't miss him when they hit him.

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Screaming fans, jazz hands, officials, a great coach......all of them be damned today.

For the first time in program history, the University of Miami basketball team entered the hallowed confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium and sent the home fans back to Kryzwewski-ville in a tiffy with a 78-74 nailbiting victory in overtime. Reggie Johnson was the catalyst, going for 27 points and 12 rebounds, and making key baskets late in the second half to help keep pace with a surging Duke squad that overcame three deficits of 16 points. It was nothing short of poetic for a kid from Winston-Salem, NC who got only one ACC scholarship offer coming out of high school.

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Huge opportunity today for Miami, as they take on the Blue Devils and the Cameron Indoor jazz-handers this afternoon. The Canes haven't beaten Duke since Feb 2008 at the BUC, when they went on to make the NCAA tourney.

That's no accident. Miami sits at 4-3 in the ACC, but at the end of the day, you need a marquee win or two, and Miami doesn't have one so far this year. They'll have several chances down the stretch, and this is the first and likely most improbable opportunity.

Kenny Kadji will return today from a head injury that kept him out of Wednesday's victory vs Maryland, and will be key with Reggie Johnson to try to keep the surging Plumlees from dominating down low. It will also be interesting to see what Miami does against Rivers. As good defensively as Shane Larkin and Durand Scott have been recently, they can't guard him one-on-one consistently.

Go Canes....

We interrupt your national signing day euphoria for a basketball game between your Canes and Merrrrrrrrrland. Both teams sit at 3-3 in the ACC, with Miami having won 5 of the last 7 meetings. Miami will have to deal with MD guard Terrell Stoglin and his 21.3 ppg, but the Canes' D has been strong recently.

Go Canes....

Miami takes on Boston College, who at 7-13 (2-4), present a potentially winnable game and a chance for the Canes to creep back to .500 in the ACC. With matchups looming against Duke and Maryland, games like this are critical if Miami wants to have any kind of realistic shot of hanging around the middle of the ACC this year. Miami is coming off its best defensive performance of the year Tuesday night in Atlanta, holding the Yellow Jackets to 49 points and moving the ball efficiently on offense with Shane Larkin starting at the point.

Let's see if they can make it two in a row today in Chestnut Hills. Go Canes......

What a difference a couple of days can make.

After an embarassing 78-73 home loss to NC State that was far from close for most of the game, the Canes responded in a big way Tuesday night. Kenny Kadji scored a game-high 21 points with 8 rebounds, Malcolm Grant added 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc, and the Canes beat Georgia Tech in the Phillips Arena 64-49 to earn their second conference win.

Larranaga ran out a new starting lineup of Shane Larkin, Durand Scott, Grant, Kadji, and Reggie Johnson, and the results were compelling.....

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Pretty tough loss Sunday, 78-73 to the Wolfpack. Miami put themselves in a 12-point halftime hole, and never recovered. As such, sitting at 10-7 and 1-3 in the ACC, it might be time to alter expectations for this squad, if you haven't already. Jim Larranaga said as much with his frustrated post-game comments, dropping bombs like "I was anticipating what our squad would be like before my staff and I arrived and I've found that we have a lot more work to do than we originally thought" and a first half that was "really disappointing and very discouraging." Bah.

If there is any hope to salvage a respectable season, it needs to start with winning games vs fellow basement-dwelling teams, ala the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets tonight at 9 pm ET. Tech sits at 8-11 (1-4 ACC).

Go Canes.....

If the Canes want to get where they want to go this season, ala 8-8 or 9-7 in the conference (yes, orange-and-green-hued glasses here, people), then they need to get past the NC State's, Marylands, and Virginia Techs of the basketball world. And protect home court. They have a chance to do both today in a nooner at the BUC.

Go Canes.......

If coffee is for closers, Coach Jim Larranaga needs to open up a Starbucks inside the Canes locker room in the BankUnited Center.

Miami jumped ahead 74-66 with 1:35 to go following a thunderous dunk by Rion Brown on an alley-oop pass from Durand Scott over Clemson's half-court trap. From there, Miami saw Clemson chip the lead away to a single point at 74-73 on a putback by Milton Jennings with 5 seconds to go. The comedic stretch saw a missed layup, a three point play allowed, and a turnover where Trey McKinney Jones inexplicably fell down out of bounds with the ball with :34 left while dribbling down the shot clock.

However, Shane Larkin got free against the press and did what he does best --- made a pair of free throws. Scott picked off a deep pass and dribbled out the clock.....and just like that, the Canes finally cracked the win column in the ACC with a 76-73 win.

Up 42-39 at the half, the Canes crept out to leads of 46-39, 49-42, and 54-49, before Clemson took the lead 64-60 with 7:05 left and seemed to have the momentum. Clemson's 7-footer Calatlin Baciu found room inside and guard Andre Young sliced through the Miami defense for easy layups.

Miami countered quickly, as it did most of the evening when Clemson made a run, with a three-pointer by Jones on the next possession, and took the lead for good with a pair of Kenny Kadji free throws with 5:41 left.

Scott, Jones, Kadji, DeQuan Jones and Malcolm Grant reached double digits points for the Canes, with Grant leading the way with 16 points and a couple of clutch three-pointers in the second half. It was a big bounce back game for Grant, who'd been struggling recently on the court while coping with the tragic loss of his brother off of it. Reggie Johnson had an off night with 7 points, but collected a game-high 7 rebounds despite struggling with foul trouble for most of the night.

Up next for Miami is NC State on Sunday at noon at the BankUnited Center.

Dear God, let's finally get an ACC win. Go Canes.............

	January 10, 2012 Smith Center, Chapel Hill, TN 9:00 PM EST TV: Raycom (Regional) Internet TV: ESPN 3 Live stats: Gametracker Local Radio: AM 560 WQAM
9-5 (0-1 ACC) NR		14-2 (1-0 ACC) #3 (AP) #3 (ESPN/USA TODAY)

In case you missed, it, the Canes started their 2012 ACC campaign Saturday night in Charlottesville with a kick-to-the-groin 52-51 loss to the Cavaliers. The Canes came from 10 points down in the second half to take the lead with under 4 minutes to go and had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but Durand Scott missed a tough contested shot on the baseline and was tied up on the rebound as time expired. Kenny Kadji, who led the Canes with 14 points and 10 rebounds, had a second consecutive solid game and looks to be giving the Canes an additional presence inside along with Reggie Johnson.....although we will see how he fares against top-quality front courts.

Tonight, Miami rolls into one of the most hallowed cathedrals in all of college basketball, the Dean Dome, to take on a Tar Heel team that has destroyed its competition since last losing at Kentucky 73-72 on December 3. The last time these teams met, Miami squandered a 19-point lead in the 2011 ACC Tournament and lost in gut-wrenching fashion 61-59. The Canes have not won in this series since January 2006, when they won in the Dean Dome 81-70.

If you are in Yuma, AZ, Topeka, KS, or other random cities across the country, you can watch this game on Raycom. Sadly, in Tampa, I apparently cannot. Go figure.

Go Canes......

Coach Al Golden continued to add to the growing list of Hurricane commitments, picking up four new commitments over the weekend. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the Canes started by landing DT Jacoby Briscoe from Lafayette, LA. The 6'4, 290-pound lineman was a late recruitment by Miami and held scholarship offers from Memphis, Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, and Tulane. There's certainly a place for Briscoe in this class, as he's only the second defensive tackle commitment, and Adewale Ojomo and Marcus Forston are off the roster. However, Briscoe is supposedly best friends with a four-star RB recruit, Davante Bourque, who recently de-committed from LSU. Certainly doesn't hurt the Canes' chances of landing Bourque by adding Briscoe.

Saturday's Army All-American game saw the Canes land two major players, both four-star-rated players by Rivals.com. First, safety Deon Bush, who was considering Bama/Auburn/Miami, donned the Miami hat, flashed the U, and vowed to put his city back on the map right now. Top-ranked safety Landon Collins picked Alabama Thursday night at the Under Armor All-American Bowl, which may have helped Miami with Bush. He gives the Canes an elusive potential impact defensive back in this class, who is versatile and talented enough to come in and compete right away at any of the defensive back slots.

Next, DE Tyriq McCord picked the Canes over Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and USC.....the second time in 2 years the Canes have pulled a major defensive end prospect from the Tampa Bay area (Anthony Chickillo). McCord is ranked 7th by Rivals.com and, at 6'3, 222 lbs, gives the Canes some versatility with what they can do with him. He could ultimately end up at linebacker, and a damned fine pass-rushing linebacker at that, or he could add a bit of weight and step in as a weakside DE. Given his size, one has to wonder how he will hold up against the run, but, again, he should add bulk and strength. Regardless, with the departure of Sean Spence and Olivier Vernon, there certainly are some options for what the Canes can do with him. McCord is still expected to visit Southern Cal, which is concerning given USC was a finalist. If he stays true to his commitment, Miami will have a promising group of young defensive ends, with McCord, Chickillo, and commit Jelani Hamilton.

And finally, out of left field, Miami pulled JUCO WR Robert Lockhart away from Virginia Tech at the last minute. Lockart committed to Virginia Tech out of high school (West Boca Raton), but failed to qualify and attended Fork Union Military Academy last fall. Apparently the 6'3" receiver has put on good size, adding about 25 pounds of weight last year. He gives this class another potential impact receiving threat, along with Angelo Jean-Louis and Malcolm Lewis.

The Canes' currently sit with 31 commitments and have increased their overall team ranking to 6th in Rivals.com and 7th in Scout.com.

Oh yeah... We have a basketball team! Amid the excitement of today's recruiting coup, the Canes hoops team starts Acc play at #23 Virginia tonight. UVa has won 11 straight, most in almost 20 years. After slopping through November and December vs quality teams sans their big man Reggie Johnson, Miami is at full strength with Johnson and DeQuan Jones back. Johnson's return is huge, given how badly Memphis and West Virginia dominated inside.

So, let's see if our boys can start ACC play off on the right foot...