PROFILE
The Yellow Jackets are expected to go through a transition year as they become accustomed to the style that new head coach Brian Gregory is preaching. The loss of Iman Shumpert, last season ’s leading scorer and rebounder, won ’t help Tech ’s cause.
Most experts ’ preseason pick to win it all, the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels certainly have a lot going for them. With sophomore Harrison Barnes deciding not to declare for the NBA draft, the ACC Rookie of the Year will headline a team loaded with talent.
Despite having to adjust to a lot of newcomers, Duke is expected to make another run in the division. They will rely on the play of No. 1 recruit Austin Rivers, along with freshman Quinn Cook to embark on another championship run.
Last season, the Cavaliers finished seventh in the ACC after being projected to finish last. Mike Scott returns to the team after recovering from a broken ankle, and with three other starters returning, Virginia could make a run to the top of the conference.
A year after finishing third in the ACC and making the Sweet Sixteen, this strong, defensive-minded team has the ability to hold back highscoring teams. Though they will clearly miss Chris Singleton, head coach Leonard Hamilton believes his team can make a splash.
A 22-win season and an NCAA appearance last season has the Tigers excited for what can be accomplished under second-year head coach Brad Brownell. Though their top two scorers from last year are no longer with the team, the Tigers still have some depth in the frontcourt.
The Eagles may struggle at the start, as they will have to figure out a brand new starting lineup after all five of last years starters have moved on. Though they finished fourth last season, it remains to be seen just how competitive they can be in this tough conference.
The Wolfpack have much to be excited about with the arrival of new head coach Mark Gottfried, who has seven NCAA tournament appearances in his career. The team will have to adjust, but watch out for sophomore C.J. Leslie, who could have a breakout year.
Finishing last in the ACC with only eight wins last season, head coach Jeff Bzdelik will have his work cut out for him to get his team out of the ACC gutter. The roster does have talent; look for freshman Chase Fischer to carry the team offensively.
The Terrapins will be looking for help at forward early on after Jordan Williams decided to go pro. Guard Pe ’Shon Howard and center Alex Len both will be out during the early part of the schedule. Maryland will have to overachieve in order to stay competitive.
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BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEW
THE MIAMI HURRICANE
Long, successful journey delivers coach to ACC BY PATRICK RILEY CONTRIBUTING SPORTS WRITER
He quotes Albert Schweitzer, reads books about everything from management to self-help and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the sixth round of the 1971 NBA draft. But Jim Larranaga, head coach of the men ’s basketball team at the University of Miami, is best known for something completely different. “Well, first thing I thought about was [the] Final Four run, ” said shooting guard Rion Brown when asked what initially crossed his mind upon hearing of Larranaga. However, while his famous run with George Mason in 2006 certainly catapulted “Coach L ” into the national spotlight, it was 20 years earlier that his success story started when he began his head coaching career at Bowling Green University. “They had had four straight losing seasons, ” the Bronx native said. “My first year they were picked to finish last in the league and we were able to go from being picked last to finishing tied for second. ” After 11 seasons with Bowling Green, which included three NIT appearances, opportunity came knocking again when Richmond, James Madison and George Mason were all looking for new head coaches. “I inquired with all three schools and only George Mason returned my call, ” Larranaga said. “When I got the job they had had seven straight losing seasons from 1991 to 1997. I think four of those seasons they finished last, so they happened to be looking for someone who had already built a program. ” It soon became clear that Larranaga was just the man for the job. During his 14-year tenure with George Mason, he transformed the Patriots into the winningest program in Colonial Athletic Association history and become the most successful coach in the history of the conference. His unprecedented accomplishments culminated in the much-talked about Final Four run. To get there, he had to first employ a quote from one of his favorite books: “Get the right people on the bus and then decide where you ’re going. ” “When we first arrived … we told everybody we were going to recruit locally and they said, ‘Well, you ’ll never win, because Georgetown, Maryland and George Washington will get all the best players and you ’ll stink. ’ But on our Final Four team we had eight local players; the five starters were all from within an hour and a
Nov. 10 - Nov. 13, 2011
half from campus, ” Larranaga said. It was also during his time with the Patriots that Larranaga introduced the country to his motivational skills and powerful pregame speeches, like when he told his team before facing UConn in the Regional Finals in 2006 that the CAA stood for Connecticut Assassins Association. The famous pregame talk was developed the morning of the game, when Larranaga read an article that made it very clear that the George Mason players knew everything about their opponent, while the opposite was true for UConn ’s team. “They didn ’t know anything about George Mason, ” the triumphant coach said. “They were asked who the coach was, they said, ‘I have no idea. ’ They asked what league we were in, one of them said, ‘They ’re in the Missouri Valley. ’ And the other guy said, ‘No, they ’re in the Patriot League. ’ So in formulating my thoughts going into the pregame I structured it so that our players understood that they don ’t know anything about us, we know everything about them. We ’re better prepared to win this game than they are. ” Larranaga ’s pregame speeches are often not quite so spontaneous, but rather meticulously conceived much earlier. “I normally start writing my pregame talks in July … I have thoughts about what a game might be like so I might use a quote, I might use one word, I might use a story to share with the team to put them in the … best mental frame of mind to play. ” His love for reading and broad arsenal of motivational quotes often aid Larranaga in instilling such a frame of mind in his players. “One of my favorite books is called ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. ’ So there are stories there that I always share with the team, ” he said. “They always have a moral to them; there is always a point … Some nights it ’ll be a quote. It might be a quote by Albert Schweitzer, who once wrote, ‘Success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success. ’ ” But even though success has been following him wherever he goes, Larranaga has never lost sight of his main motivation for coaching. “Everything he does, he does for the players, ” said Miami assistant coach Chris Caputo, entering his 10th season at Larranaga ’s side. “He always has their best interests at heart. ” At Miami, Larranaga is looking to do many of the same things that have brought him so much success in the past, and his goals are as ambitious as ever: to be mentioned in the same vein as Duke and UNC. If history has taught us anything, that goal is not out of Larranaga ’s reach.
SHOOTING STARS
ZACH BEEKER // The Miami Hurricane
Pu SE fo ll o AS r s ff t ON pe hi s P co cia ou RE l ve b ter VIE ra as se W ge ke ct . tba ion ll
The Hokies are dealing with a slew of offseason injuries as the season approaches. Senior J.T. Thompson and freshman Marquis Rankin both underwent knee surgeries. Still, this is a team that is always on the NCAA bubble until the end.
THE MIAMI HURRICANE
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Larranaga’s preparedness, motivation could lift Canes
Vol. 90, Issue 22 | Nov. 10 - Nov. 13, 2011