HurricaneSportsMagazine-Dec.12 by Miami Hurricanes

Shane Larkin

ACC Rookie of the Week

www.HurricaneSports.com

December 12, 2011

Get to Know Miami Hurricane Student-Athletes Brittany Dubins, Shayon Green, Rion Brown

Photo of the Week

The Miami student section cheers for the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hoops team at the game against nationally-ranked Memphis.

Video of the Week

Raising Canes - Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hoops vs. Rutgers

Click to play

2011-12 Calendar of Events

Click the text below for more information about each Hurricane athletic event

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@HurricaneSports

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Games of the Week

Save the Date December 15

Join in on Canes Hoops action by purchasing your tickets for ACC men’s and women’s basketball games at the BankUnited Center. Check out the tickets tab on HurricaneSports.com for more information.

December 28 & 29

Catch the women’s basketball team in action at the Holiday Tournament held at the BankUnited Center. Miami faces Holy Cross on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., then will match up against either Virginia Commonwealth or Morgan State on Dec. 29. Check HurricaneSports.com for the gametime on Dec. 29.

W. Basketball vs. ULM

Miami faces the University of Louisiana Monroe at the BankUnited Center on Friday, Dec. 16 for a 7 p.m. matchup.

M. Basketball at Orange Bowl Classic

The men’s hoops team will battle FAU in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., on Dec. 17.

December 30 & January 2

The Canes return to the BankUnited Center for back-to-back men’s basketball games against Appalachian State at 7 p.m. on Dec. 30 and UNC Greensboro on Jan. 2 at 9 p.m.

Season Hoops Tickets

The basketball season has tipped off. The men’s team is off to as strong start and the ninth ranked women’s team is looking to repeat as ACC Champions. Season tickets are still available for both men’s and women’s basketball. Men’s season tickets start as low as $99 and women’s as low as $50. For more information visit flip to page 10.

Quick Links > Are you following the rivoting Raising Canes series on HurricaneSports.com? Here’s a link to 40+ plus episodes on YouTube. > The UM Ticket Office can now be reached through Live Chat during standard business hours. > UM Athletics and Spanish Broadcasting Systems have inked a new deal to bring Spanish language radio broadcasts to CIMA 106.3 FM. > UM has launched a ProCanes Monday Morning Recap that highlights the exploits of Miami alums in the NFL. > Text “canes” to 55888 to join the Canes Mobile Fan Club.

@HurricaneSports Tweet of the Week @561canesfan: @proCanes i get pumped everytime I hear an #NFLU player say #TheU in the Sunday night games.

UM Alum Will Allen Receives NCAA’s Highest Honor Allen has been recognized as a Theodore Roosevelt Award

Former University of Miami basketball player Will Allen has been recognized as a Theodore Roosevelt Award winner by the NCAA. Allen graduated from the University of Miami with a B.A. in physical education and went on to be drafted No. 60 overall in the fourth round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. After a short career in the ABA and playing professionally in Belgium, Allen started a career in marketing with Proctor and Gamble. In 1993, he left Proctor and Gamble and purchased Growing Power, a plant nursery on the north side of Milwaukee, Wis. The Rockville, Md., native has since been recognized as a leader in the industry of urban farming and sustainable food production. The “Teddy” award is the highest honor the NCAA bestows upon individuals. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, whose concern for the conduct of intercollegiate athletics led to the formation of the NCAA in 1906, this annual award is given to an individual “for whom competitive athletics in college and attention to physical well-being thereafter have been important factors in a distinguished career of national significance and achievement.” More specifically, “The Theodore Roosevelt Award shall be presented annually to a distinguished citizen of national reputation and outstanding accomplishment who -- having graduated from an NCAA member institution and having earned a varsity athletics award in college or having participated in competitive intercollegiate athletics in college -- has by a continuing interest and concern for physical fitness and competitive sport and by personal example exemplified most clearly and forcefully the ideals and purposes to which collegiate athletics programs and amateur sports competition are dedicated.” Below is the full release from NCAA.com: When Will Allen was a lanky seventh-grader in rural Maryland, his lack of coordination and meager basketball skills didn’t deter his middle school basketball coach. The coach saw only a six-foot four-inch 13-year-old who had a passion for a game he learned on his family’s farm, aiming for a peach basket attached to an old oak tree. Allen fell in love with the game, which he saw as a more exciting alternative to playing the outfield for his middle school baseball team. That passion led Allen to the University of Miami (Florida) as the school’s first AfricanAmerican men’s basketball player, a professional hoops career in Europe and eventually his life’s work as an urban farmer and creator of the nonprofit Growing Power.

Allen will be honored with the NCAA’s Theodore Roosevelt Award, the Association’s highest honor, at the 2012 NCAA Convention in Indianapolis. Allen, the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant,” and grants from both the Kellogg and Ford foundations, said the NCAA honor will be particularly special to him. “I really value this award, because it shows that student-athletes can aspire to be more than just entertainment symbols for people,” said Allen, who will be formally recognized at the Honors Celebration on Jan. 13. “You can do something positive with your life to impact other people’s lives in a different way than just having them watch you play a sport. I hope other student-athletes will realize earlier that there’s more to life than just playing (their sport). You need to start envisioning the day when you’re not playing sports.” Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, whose concern for the conduct of intercollegiate athletics led to the formation of the NCAA in 1906, the award is given annually to an individual “for whom competitive athletics in college and attention to physical well-being thereafter have been important factors in a distinguished career of national significance and achievement.” Dwight Eisenhower was the first recipient of the “Teddy” in 1967. Allen’s career almost never got started. By his own admission, he was a terrible basketball player when he started, gifted with height but little else. His own work ethic – and a summer job at a swimming pool next door to the armory where the American University men’s basketball team practiced – developed his skills. From the time he was a rising eighthgrader, Allen spent his summers scrimmaging against college players, eventually holding his own. By the time he graduated from high school, he had more than 100 scholarship offers. He left his family’s farm and swore he’d never return to that life. He chose Miami for a variety of reasons, including the climate, the diversity of the city and his sense of ease with his future teammates. The fact that he would be the first African-American to play for the school had little influence over his decision. He was comfortable at Miami, and that was it. His first year, he fell in with the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and met a senior named Cynthia who would become his wife before he finished his sophomore year. He credits both the Zetas and his wife for helping him adjust to college life far from home and family. He played basketball at Miami from 1967 to 1971 and studied physical education and

sociology, with the thought of one day becoming a coach. After graduation, he caught on with a few professional American teams in the NBA and the ABA, but he spent most of his career in Europe. While he was in Belgium, Allen worked on the family farms of several of his teammates. “When I left the (family) farm at 18, I said, ‘Never again do I want to do this work.’ I think most farm kids are like that. Then I went out with my teammates (in Belgium) and helped them plant potatoes. They farmed the way that we did – without a lot of mechanized equipment. They did everything by hand,” he said. “I realized I had a hidden passion and wanted to farm again.” When he got back to the States, he worked in sales and marketing for Proctor and Gamble. But he also started growing produce on some land outside of his wife’s native Milwaukee. Eventually, he was growing food on more than 100 acres of land outside the city and purchased the last remaining farm within the city limits to sell his produce in the middle of a food desert. That presence in the city led to his work with a youth group that wanted to grow an organic garden. Allen helped the kids plan and grow their garden and let them use space on his inner-city farm. It was the summer of 1995 – hot and dry, and the groundhogs kept raiding the plot. “Every time I thought ‘These kids are going to quit,’ they’d show up in their vans. They wound up growing some really nice crops,” he said. A reporter from the local paper featured Allen and the youth group on the front page, and he began speaking to more and more groups around town, volunteering his time and expertise. Friends talked him into starting Growing Power. “There is a lot of life-skill-building that happens when kids do a project like this, when they really have to take care of something and nurture something. That struck a chord with people,” Allen said. Today, Growing Power allows Allen to innovate in the agricultural field, experimenting with composting, vermicomposting and aquaponics. His life’s goal is to broaden access to healthy food. “I’m proud to say that I’m making a contribution to change people’s lives, especially young people, around the thing that is most important to us: Our food,” Allen said. “I am proud to be able to impact lives and hopefully save lives by influencing people around the world to eat healthier food and be able to grow food in a sustainable way.”

Shane Larkin cincinnati, ohio | guard | freshman

They are stories of perseverance. Stories about growing up, becoming men and being a part of a family. One-by-one, we hear from them. These are the Miami Hurricanes...

Click here to learn more about Shane

My family is supportive. They’ve always been behind me with everything that I have done. Even though my dad wasn’t always there due to baseball, my mom was always there for me, taking me to all of my games. My dad would talk to me after every game to see how I did and provide information on how I can improve. I have two sisters. My little sister is a young diva. She likes to sing and she’s trying to do well in that so I support her with everything she does. My older sister played lacrosse in high school. Now she’s at a cosmetology school doing make-up. I have a little brother. He’s not my blood brother but he lives with us because he wasn’t in such a good situation at home. We became friends my junior year of high school and he just moved in, his senior year and my freshman year of college. We just became best friends. We talk about everything, he’s just like my little brother. I like to joke around and have fun. I like playing video games and listening to music. I like having fun, playing around and having fun with everyone. My favorite videogame is 2k12. Everyone on the team is playing it but I would say I’m the best. I haven’t played anybody but they’re scared to play me. I was raised to be humble. My dad played Major League Baseball and always told me people were going to criticize me because of who he was and say “you’re spoiled, you’re a rich kid” and he told me not to listen to it. I was really good at playing football and one time I scored a touchdown and there was no one within 20 yards of me so I started show-boating and doing my best Deion Sanders impersonation. After the game he pulled me to the side and I thought he was going to be excited but he just yelled at me. He said “don’t ever do that again. Be humble. Don’t show-boat. Do your best and let that do the talking.” In basketball, you’ll see me get hyped with the team for a little bit but if I hit a three, you won’t see me running down the court with my hand up. I try to stay humble. You can enjoy what you’re doing without doing it in a boasting way. I started playing basketball at five years old. I got a Fisher Price hoop as a kid and I was pretty athletic so I would dunk on it. I started playing basketball at the YMCA. I’ve never really been a big scorer, always a passer. I was a rebounder and passer, really athletic just like Shawn Marion. The hardest part about being away from home is being away from my mom simply because my dad wasn’t there because he was playing baseball. My mom was there for me. She’s been down here to see me a couple of times. We’re really close so it’s a good thing I’m close to home. I can’t lie I watch Jersey Shore and X-Factor. Those are my two favorite shows. The girl from down here, Melanie Amoro, she can sing. On Jersey Shore, I could see myself hanging out with Pauly D and Vinny because they’re crazy. I’ve learned how to be more responsible and how to assess a situation before I need to jump into something. I’m living on my own, in my own apartment right now so I can’t wake up and ask my mom to wash something for me before school. It’s not like when I was at home and can ask her to do something for me. I’m down here on my own, living on my own so there are a lot of responsibilities on me. I have to go to practice, keep my house clean, get groceries when I need them, and not to mention school work. When I was younger I pretended to be Allen Iverson as best as I could. He was my favorite player, number 3 all the way. I just tried to be A.I. with all of the tricks. I had everything A.I. I had the wrist bands, the headbands, even with the curly hair I tried to braid my hair. I’ll never forget at the Championship game in Lakeland we were down two with 6.7 seconds left and they had the ball. We called a timeout and the coach was looking around trying to figure out who he was going to put in the game. I was already in the game and he said “Shane you need to get a steal”. I was young so there was a lot of pressure on me already being in a national championship game so I was nervous and said I would try. The team tried to throw it over the top and I caught it at half court. Coach calls timeout and we went back to the huddle. I’m not a shooter at all, I’m just a driver who gets to the basket and he says “Shane we need you shoot this three”. Coach stressed it was win or go home right now. There were four seconds left, I did my little A.I. move, took a step back and shot a three from three steps behind the line. I hit it and the fans went crazy. My Uncle Joe ran on the court and picked me up. My mom and cousins came out too. I’m a Miami Hurricane because I love the city of Miami and I think this team can do something special. Coach L is a great

Fast Breaks

coach with a lot of experience but coming from a mid-major school he hasn’t had a lot of talent like he can get at this level. I think with him coming here and with his coaching abilities, we’ll do great things. Playing basketball has made me take advantage of plenty of opportunities that have been presented to me. I’ve been able to travel to different states. It’s made me into the person I am. Everyone wanted me to play baseball because of my dad but I never really found baseball exciting. The reason why basketball has been my sport is because it motivates me to succeed in this sport. My dad played baseball and made it in baseball so they say I should have done the same. With me playing basketball I have to work for everything I get and I’m not going to be given anything, so it is my motivation to do better as an athlete. I’ve visited about 30 of the 50 states and Hawaii was my favorite. We went to a holiday tournament in Hawaii my senior year of high school. We lost to Oak Hill in the semi-finals but it was a great experience. The U is very family oriented. All of the athletes know each other. No matter where you are on campus, everyone knows who you are. Everyone is very supportive of the teams and it’s just a great environment and in the city of Miami so you can’t go wrong. When I was first introduced to Coach Larranaga this was while he was at George Mason and he told me he really liked my game. He had a lot of energy and passion for the game of basketball. He’s very experienced and you could tell he knows his stuff. It’s been great playing for him, because I’ve always

wanted to. With the situation going on with my family, he was very supportive. He’s been with the same staff for a while now so they’re like a family so he told me if I came to Miami it would have been the same for me and they would welcome me and treat me like their son. It’s been everything he has said it would be so far. At The U I’ve learned so much from Coach L and the rest of the coaching staff. They all have kids and they’re always there for me and I love being able to grow up around them. When I first got here I was very structured but once I got comfortable I showed my true colors. They showed me it’s time to grow up and this is more than just a game. In practice the other day I got a steal up front and I thought the play was over, so I took the ball to the other end and tossed up a silly shot. Coach got on me about never stopping the play and finishing the shot. I’ve learned a lot. One thing everyone should know about UM hoops is we’re really athletic and we’re going to be a very good defensive team this year. Everyone who plays us should know we’re going to be high in defensive stats and we’ll make you earn every bucket. I secretly wish I could sing better. I sing in the car and around my teammates. I’m always dancing but Malcolm, Durand, Bishop, and Julian are the biggest dancers on the team. Check out more player profiles on Miami’s athletics website at Fast Breaks Central.

Getting to Know U BRITTANY DUBINS | SO | NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLA. No one knows I can ... Play soccer.

If you could invite three people to dinner, who would they be? Britney Spears, Harry Potter, Vince Vaughn.

Most prized possession? My Harry Potter wand.

One thing on your bucket list? Travel to Europe with my sister.

To be a Hurricane means... U have swag.

What one superpower would you like to have? To be able to read minds.

shayon green | R-JR | TIFTON, GA. One superpower I would like to have is...

To fly. Then you don’t have to worry about gas. It’ll make me feel on top of the world.

What is your favorite meal?

Fried chicken, collard greens, rice, cornbread, black eyed peas, sweet tea

If you could invite three people to dinner, who would they be? President Obama, Beyonce and my Mamma.

To be a Hurricane means... To be a leader.

What is your favorite holiday?

Thanksgivin because it’s a time to be thankful and cherish what you have.

What is one thing on your bucket list? Skydiving.

RION BROWN | SO | HINESVILLE, GA. My favorite midnight snack? Cookies and milk.

When I played basketball as a kid, I pretended to be Tracy McGrady.

My first job was ... Cleaning the house.

If I could play any other sport at UM, it would be... Diving.

My first basketball memory is...

Rec basketball when I used to wear glasses.

When I was little, I wanted to be A superhero.

Men’s and Women’s Hoops Tickets

PLAY WHERE THE CANES PLAY! Bring your team out to the BankUnited Center and play on the same court where the 'Canes play!

Buddies Package Includes: 1 Hour of Court Time Prior to 'Canes Game*

T-Shirt Pizza & Soda PA Announcement & Scoreboard Recognition Fan Tunnel Experience Halftime Court Time**

PACKAGE AVAILABLE WITH A MINIMUM OF 12 PLAYERS *CANES PRACTICE FACILITY MAY BE USED PRIOR TO SELECT GAMES **BASED ON AVAILABILITY

***MUST BE IN 6TH GRADE OR BELOW TO PARTICIPATE

Prices start as low as $25 Per Person! For more info, please call 1-800-GO-CANES HOME SCHEDULE 11/11 - Tennessee Tech 11/15 - Rutgers 11/19 - North Florida 11/22 - Florida Gulf Coast 12/03 - Massachusetts 12/06 - Memphis 12/30 - Appalachian State 01/02 - UNC Greensboro

01/18 - Clemson 01/22 - North Carolina St. 02/01 - Maryland 02/09 - Virginia Tech 02/15 - North Carolina 02/18 - Wake Forest 02/26 - Florida State 03/03 - Boston College

A Note From The

This week on Hurricane Hotline we will recognize long-time Hurricane Club member Frank Pedagno. Frank has been a Hurricane Club member since 1989. He is an alumnus of the University of Miami, graduating with his MBA in 1982. This year he participated in our NEXT LEVEL campaign by jumping up to the next giving level. He currently donates at the Loyalty giving level.

Hurricane Club Holiday Party Saturday, December 17 from 10:00am-12:00pm BankAtlantic Center, Panther Bar in Sunrise, FL Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida Atlantic Owls in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic Tipoff is 12 p.m. $25 per person and includes $35 game ticket, buffet, soft drinks, and cash bar Coach Larranaga is also scheduled to make a special appearance Call 305-284-6699 to reserve your tickets today 2012 Hurricane Club Membership Renewals With the calendar year coming to a close, if you would like to take advantage of the year-end tax deadline by renewing your 2012 Hurricane Club membership, please be sure to complete your donation over the phone by December 30. All donations made via mail must be postmarked by December 31.

2012 Hurricane Club renewals will be hitting mailboxes in early January. Thank you to all our 2011 Hurricane Club donors. Your gift to the Hurricane Club enables our current student-athletes to have the necessary resources to pursue their academic and athletic aspirations.

Holiday Gift Packs

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