Miami Basketball Has a 'Surprise' This Season

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes are looking to start the season on fire, with the defensive side of the ball receiving most of the praise.

First-year head coach Jai Lucas built this team in his image on the defensive side of the ball. In a secret scrimmage, he liked what he saw from the team, but they are still far from where they want to be.

It's simple coach talk, but there is an excitement surrounding Lucas and this program.

"You know, the thing about just this time of the year, you're in that kind of I want to call it a sweet spot, but I guess it's a sweet spot," Lucas said. "You're tired of seeing each other. You need to see somebody else. So that's kind of where we are right now, but I like how we're progressing. I like where we're headed going into the first game, going into November 3rd. So we're moving along."

The main question entering this season was not what they could do defensively, but what they could do offensively. Defensively, each player that was brought in saw quality minutes at other programs and knew they could produce some of the best defensive stats in the country.

Offensively, shooting and scoring was always going to be the concern.

Lucas knows this, but also knows that people will be "surprised' with the quality and level of offense they will have week in and week out.

"I think we'll surprise a lot of people with our shooting," Lucas said. "I know on paper you can look at us and maybe not think we're the best shooting team, but you know, our style of play and the way we want to play, and I think a big part of why we'll be a good shooting team is our shot selection. You know, we're not going to be a team that just comes down and jack a bunch of threes and play that way. We'll have a great shot selection that will make our percentages high and play the right way. I think it will be a big key to getting quality threes and then being able to make them."

Soon, this team will be put to the test. The Canes open their season against Jacksonville on Nov. 3, and with both mindsets in place, they are prepared for a solid season of basketball.