Fear The Spear! That is what we always hear from the FSU faithful.
Oh yes, we are certain that it is a very proud and popular saying all around the Florida State campus in Tallahassee. That flaming, well you know, spear thing that they always like to throw around.
But probably not so much in South Florida. At least not so much anymore.
Which is exactly why University of Miami head coach Jim Larranaga and his men's basketball team sent a brief and personal message to the FSU team:
Take your spear, flaming and all, and just stuff it!
Your Miami Hurricanes confiscated and then destroyed any remaining and flaming spears that the formerly mighty Noles may have had left after losing their best recruiter and offensive coordinator James Coley to the UM football team and Hurricane head coach Al Golden just last week.
Here is how the flame went out tonight at the BankUnited Center:
Trey McKinney Jones scored 15 points Sunday for the Miami Hurricanes, and the Atlantic Coast Conference leaders won their seventh game in a row by beating Florida State, 71-47.
The blowout victory before a capacity crowd was the second in a row for the 25th-ranked Hurricanes, ensuring a significant jump in Monday's poll. They drubbed No. 1 Duke on Wednesday.
Miami (15-3, 6-0) is off to its best start in the conference, alone atop the standings, and is 9-0 at home. Florida State (11-8, 3-3) fell to 0-3 this season against ranked teams.
The Seminoles endured repeated long scoring droughts against Miami's man-to-man defense and shot a season-low 31 percent, the fourth time in the past five games they've been under 42 percent. Their starters went 7 for 26 and totaled 19 points.
Miami has not allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field this season. Michael Snaer went 2 for 5 and was held to four points, 10.5 below his average. The Seminoles went 3 for 17 from 3-point range.
McKinney Jones had three 3-pointers for the Hurricanes, who went 8 for 22 from beyond the arc. Durand Scott and Kenny Kadji scored 11 points apiece, and Shane Larkin had eight points, nine rebounds and six assists. The Hurricanes had a 44-32 rebounding edge and outscored the Seminoles 15-2 on second-chance points.
Tonight's Game News and Notes:
The attendance for tonight's game was 7,972. This is the first time in program history that there have been back-to-back sellouts at the BankUnited Center.
The starters for Miami were Shane Larkin, Durand Scott, Trey McKinney Jones, Kenny Kadji and Julian Gamble.
Miami starts conference play 6-0 for the first time in school history, dating back to the 1991-92 season when UM joined the BIG EAST Conference.
UM is on a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the Canes won eight-straight in 2009-10. That season UM went on to a 15-1 record to start the season before dropping four-straight ACC games.
Miami held Florida State to 47 points. This is the fifth time this season that Miami has held opponents to 50 or fewer points, most recently on Jan. 13, 2013 against Maryland (47).
The Canes held FSU's shooting to 30.8 percent from the field. The Canes have held 30 opponents to less than 41 percent from the field under Coach Larranaga, including 14 of 18 this season.
Hassan if true, it's terrible. I read that he was never charged...but if i were Al i would stay away...
No charges have been filed against any Tottenville players in connection with Garcia’s suicide
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high-school/pirates-unsinkable-article-1.1207475#ixzz2JJq305R7
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 07:20 PM
Coke, those all sound about right to me. If Shane has a growth spurt and gets to the six foot and over range he can go higher if he stays for four years and produces and it's not like his family is hurting for scratch right now is it? Barry didn't seem like they type of guy who couldn't add well enough to keep an eye on the cash reserves in the family bank account after he retired to me so I wouldn't think he's hard up today.
If you squint at the screen hard enough Trey could pass for Bruce Bowen for a couple of years in the league if he decides to dirty his game up with some sneaky heel tactics and can develop a pump fake and drive.
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | January 28, 2013 at 07:21 PM
OGV,
Lol! The saying "a poor man's" means that person is the same type of player just not as good. You'll never hear ANYONE that knows basketball mention Kadji's name in the same sentence with Gasol or Dirk. Reasons:
Dirk has a Centers body but shoots like a small forward. That's why he had to develop a high post game to take his skills to it's highest level. He ain't physical enough for center & ain't athletic enough for small forward. Dirk just developed that high post game a few years ago. Before that, he was just a tall guy with a sweet jump shot & is still a liability on defense. He's never been able to beat you off of the dribble. The only thing about Dirk that's like Bird is he can shoot. Bird could rebound, defend, pass & was a true SF...
Gasol is really a center. The only reason he's as good as he is, is because there's not many true centers anymore. If there was he'd just be average. He does have a nice game with his back to the basket & will knock down face up jumpers consistantly. Average defender on his best day. Average athleticism. When guarded by a someone his size with athleticism, he gets shut down. Like the 1st meeting in the NBA finals between him & a healthy Kevin Garnett. Or when he got matched up with Serge Ibaka last year & Tyson Chandler the year before. He's actually a little overrated to me.
If Kadji had more foot speed he could be a true small forward. I don't know what you're watching. He has good not elite hops but he gets most of his blocks from the weakside or off help defense. He'll also block your shot strait up. Like he did Plumlee. He averages just under 2 blocks per game. Like I said, he can catch & shoot from 3 or get the step on his man & drive to the rim. He's a good not elite rebounder. He runs the floor & finishes above the rim. He can create his own decently. In the NBA he can be a 15-20 point per game scorer, a 7-8 per game rebounder & around 2 blocks per game. His success will determine how much he improves his high post game.
Posted by: CoCane | January 28, 2013 at 07:49 PM
Dam... My post must've been too long. It disappeared
Posted by: CoCane | January 28, 2013 at 07:55 PM
I like that Bruce Bowen comparison for McKinney-Jones
Posted by: CoCane | January 28, 2013 at 07:57 PM
Coach TY from MNWHS likes new hires at UM:
http://acc.xofan.com/Miami/northwestern-coach-ty-likes-new-hires/
Posted by: 86Cane | January 28, 2013 at 08:30 PM
Coke, dug it out for you, where you and I seem to differ on Kadji is his ability to catch and shoot quickly, I think he'll have to improve his catch and release time as well as prove the range because he isn't a no-wasted-motion shooter, he's a catch and gather type of shot right now. I also see why Donovan was willing to let him go because of his foot placement, especially his right foot, is not placed properly on takeoff for maximum accuracy, it's not square under his body, it's wide of his shoulder which means he's fighting his own body with every shot to stay on target and I'm pretty sure if we slow him down and get a head on picture of his jumper, his elbow on his shooting hand is probably a little close to his body to compensate for the foot position. If someone challenges him one on one he's a good shot blocker, when he has to move he has a tendency to take a big swing with his arm to go after the shot and I don't know if he can translate that effectively to the NBA he'll have to be more active to get himself in a better position to go after the shot while in control of himself to avoid fouls in a Donaghy league.
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | January 28, 2013 at 08:42 PM
The sky is falling on FSU
Austin Golson, a recruit who had been committed to the Florida State Seminoles for more than a year, has decommitted as of Monday evening, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
Golson originally committed to Florida State in April of 2011. Out of Prattville (Ala.) High School, Golson is a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top offensive tackles in the country.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 08:42 PM
Florida International player reportedly tweets about taking recruit to a strip club...Here is the play by play calling...Lol...
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/florida-international-player-reportedly-tweets-taking-recruit-strip-235925227--ncaaf.html
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 08:48 PM
Monty, Subban, two years, just under six million, guess Max's appendix surgery was more panic inducing than we thought?
Sounds just about right for a yearly salary for PK to me.
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | January 28, 2013 at 08:50 PM
OGV this is ok with me i expected a 2 year contract between 5 and 6 million.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 08:55 PM
Thanks for the info OGV.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 08:57 PM
The guy who wrote the piece for Grantland, Charles Pierce, is one of the best (and most cynical) sports writers in the business.
Posted by: dj moonbat | January 28, 2013 at 09:07 PM
That's not where we disagree. You're looking from a technical view. I'm going by how the NBA salivates over unique combinations of size & athleticism. They draft off of potential, not technical skill. The way the NBA will see it. Not many PF's will be able to keep up with Kadji off of the dribble when he pulls them out of the paint. So they'll have to give him enough space to get his shot off. You can't teach his combination of size & athleticism.
As for Donovan cutting him loose. Donovan isn't a developer. He recruit a lot of 4 & 5 stars & lets them gain experience until they leave for the NBA. When is the last time he coach a 3, 2 or 1* to the NBA? He wouldn't have coached Larranaga's George Mason team to the final four. Kadji was a 5* center didn't have a center's game. He needed to be developed into a stretch power forward. So he just considered Kadji a bust & left him on the bench to rot. Larranaga is used to developing his recruits to compete so Kadji is flourishing in his system. Out of all the McDonald All Americans & high 4*'s Donovan has recruited, not 1 is an elite NBA player...
Posted by: CoCane | January 28, 2013 at 09:21 PM
Willie Will, ur boy Corn Elder is visiting Auburn this week
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | January 28, 2013 at 05:59 PM
Wish he could visit us, he's a diehard cane. Plus he's even better in basketball and could play both in college.
Posted by: WWIN | January 28, 2013 at 09:24 PM
Coley better not be bringing that spread offense crap to coral gables!!!!!
Posted by: UpNorthCane27 | January 28, 2013 at 09:28 PM
JC Shurburtt:
Projections- Nkemdiche- #OleMiss (hot), Tunsil #UGA (warm), Vanderdoes #USC (warm), Adams #Clemson (cool), Thomas #TheU (warm) #SigningDay
Posted by: 86Cane | January 28, 2013 at 09:46 PM
I know this is a bit premature, but with Mario and Coley on staff, do you think the pressure is on Golden to produce a top 10 team this year with BCS implications? What if our D doesn't improve as markedly as we hope and lose out on close games or high scoring games and rather than letting D'Nofrio go, Golden leaves the program. Who could blame him? I mean he would have left the program in better shape and there would be minimal coaching turn over, because we'd have Mario as HC/TE, Coley as OC, Kehoe as OL, and Barrow as LB.
Posted by: Sy-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 09:55 PM
Sy-Cane...Barrow as DC.
Posted by: 86Cane | January 28, 2013 at 10:02 PM
Of course...
Posted by: Sy-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 10:16 PM
DAMN! Coke, your b-ball assessments are ON POINT! tonight.
Posted by: CaneRock | January 28, 2013 at 10:17 PM
To all the recruits out there...Last chance...This is coming back...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZvvp5cQs68
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 28, 2013 at 10:20 PM
"Out of all the McDonald All Americans & high 4*'s Donovan has recruited, not 1 is an elite NBA player...
Posted by: CoCane | January 28, 2013 at 09:21 PM"
Tito Horford's kid? Most of the rest of that I can't really disagree with although I think that when we're projecting whether Kadji can shoot NBA's threes technical evaluations regarding his shot are going to come into play until his workouts prove they're irrelevant because they don't matter to his game or his ability to be accurate behind the pro arc.
Your point about Donovan writing him off rather than developing that stretch power forward game is puzzling to me because I know for a fact that Donovan looks at the three point line as analogous to a football team being awarded six points for scoring by running the ball to the goal and nine by throwing it to the goal so you would think he'd be more than happy to take that opportunity to get his hands on a big who could take advantage of that for him and then take the opportunity to actually get the player capable of paying off that philosophy rather than letting him walk.
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | January 28, 2013 at 10:37 PM
OFF TOPIC WARNING...GO TO MEXICO, HAVE A PARTY, COME BACK IN A COFFIN:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/colombian-style-band-missing-northern-mexico-0
Posted by: 86Cane | January 28, 2013 at 10:44 PM
Your point about Donovan writing him off rather than developing that stretch power forward game is puzzling to me because I know for a fact that Donovan looks at the three point line as analogous to a football team being awarded six points for scoring by running the ball to the goal and nine by throwing it to the goal so you would think he'd be more than happy to take that opportunity to get his hands on a big who could take advantage of that for him and then take the opportunity to actually get the player capable of paying off that philosophy rather than letting him walk.
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | January 28, 2013 at 10:37 PM
He might've left because of Donovan's pressing style of defense. And I forget His name, but that kid that UF has in the middle, is a heckuva player...at least the last time I saw them play.
Posted by: CaneRock | January 28, 2013 at 11:01 PM
### With South Plantation running back Alex Collins not planning to announce his choice until signing day Feb. 6 (among UM, UF, FSU, Arkansas, Wisconsin), the Hurricanes are exploring other options, too.
Canesport.com reported that Staten Island-based running back Augustus Edwards received in-home visits from UM’s Al Golden and FSU’s Jimbo Fisher today, and he will choose one of those schools.
He said FSU is in the lead after his visit to Tallahassee, but UM has a chance to catch up when he visits next weekend. Rivals.com rates the 6-1, 222-pound Edwards as the nation’s No. 1 fullback, but UM is recruiting him as a tailback.
Posted by: CaneRock | January 28, 2013 at 11:06 PM
"Canesport.com reported that Staten Island-based running back Augustus Edwards received in-home visits from UM’s Al Golden and FSU’s Jimbo Fisher today, and he will choose one of those schools."
And WTF!
Is Jimbo Fisher stalking AG or something. Swear to God FSU has somebody working on the inside.
I think AG needs to sweep the place for bugs.
Posted by: CaneRock | January 28, 2013 at 11:09 PM
Jimbo Fisher is know for dirty negative recruiting.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 29, 2013 at 12:02 AM
known
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 29, 2013 at 12:02 AM
Alex Collins to UM that's my final answer.
Posted by: Montreal-Cane | January 29, 2013 at 12:06 AM
Tito's son? You mean Al Horford. He's not elite. He's good but not elite.
Al Horford
Joakim Noah
David Lee
Cory Brewer
Mike Miller
Udonis Haslem
none of them are elite...
I know the Gators don't have a PF as good as him. So...
Posted by: CoCane | January 29, 2013 at 12:36 AM
Joakim Noah is elite in what he does. Elite defender. Elite rebounder.
Posted by: TLuv | January 29, 2013 at 12:41 AM
David Lee is an All-star. He's also averaged 20 and 11 with NYK. I'd call him elite. I don't think Kadji will have a career close to David Lee's. jmo...
Posted by: TLuv | January 29, 2013 at 12:45 AM
David Lee is elite?
So you would put him in the Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, Mike Westbrook, Derrick Rose category???
C'MON MAAAAAAAAAN!?
Joakim Noah is elite at what he does??? Lol! Kyle Korver is an elite shooter but he's no elite player. Neither is Noah.
When I say ELITE. I MEAN ELITE! When you're arguably the best player at your position.
All I'm saying is, Coach K, Dean Smith, Roy Williams etc. Turn elite talent into elite pro players & Donovan doesn't. I don't think his player development is all that. He's a great coach because of recruiting. Not because of player development.
Posted by: CoCane | January 29, 2013 at 01:43 AM
TLuv, David Lee is about as fair a Kenny Kadji over/under career mark as you can get in Vegas right now I bet. Never in a million years would I guess that Lee would have ended up as good as a pro as he has to this point either, just didn't think he had the athleticism coming out of college to do the things he does well as good as he does these days. Thought he'd hang around as a bench guy for a while but not as a feature piece ever.
I also have to cop to you as I was one of those bloggers you mentioned who kept saying give Haith more time because he could recruit, but honestly I was starting to lose patience to the point that by the time he jumped to the new SEC member school with the lack of offensive design on one half of the court and the zone (which is for uh . . . felines I guess I'll have to say here) that was always so soft and left so many offensive rebound opportunities for the other team to snare it didn't really bother me one bit as long as the Eichorst didn't find a way to make an even worse hire to replace, which he obviously didn't do.
Posted by: orange 'n green in the vein | January 29, 2013 at 01:50 AM
OGV,
Chuch^^^^
I ain't sayin Kadji will be all that in the pros. I just think he has the highest ceiling on the pro level as far as the players coming out this year for the canes. I also think for the right team he could avg around 20 & 10 as a 2nd option at best. Most likely his peak in the NBA would be 15 pts, 8 reb & 2 blks. Jmo
Posted by: CoCane | January 29, 2013 at 02:00 AM
Good points OGV. David Lee has over achieved. I saw his athleticism in the college slam dunk contest he won. I knew he had that. But like I said. Donovan didn't develop his potential fully while he was at Florida. If he did, he would've been a lottery pick at 6'10 with the hops he has. Luckily for him he has a work ethic & he didn't settle for just making it. The same with Haslem. He was like Reggie Johnson at Florida but bigger! Haslem played at 6'8 300 lbs for the Gators. He took it upon himself to go over seas his 1st year after college & lose 60 lbs. If Donovan had pushed him & developed him at Florida. Got his weight down. He wouldn't have went undrafted. Check how many top recruits didn't develop under Donovan. You'll be surprised. There's a reason why Donovan didn't take an NBA job...
Posted by: CoCane | January 29, 2013 at 02:14 AM
Wayne (NJ) Wayne Hills High School QB and Cane commitment Kevin Olsen is set to host new offensive coordinator James Coley for an in-home visit tomorrow.
Posted by: UMike | January 29, 2013 at 06:40 AM
Like this kid already..
Lewis III spoke on his experience at the Semper Fi Game.
"It was an honor. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the grace of God. It was just a reminder that going to a small school and all that didn't really matter if you put in work and not let the next man outwork you. It was just a great and humbling experience where I was able to showcase my talent against some of the best in the nation. It was a great opportunity to see what I needed to work on as well. The only thing that is going to differentiate you between the next person is your mindset, not just physical ability."
Posted by: UMike | January 29, 2013 at 06:51 AM
Something that Miami fans were happy to discover about Lewis III was that he roomed with top 'Cane target, RB Alex Collins, at the Semper Fi game.
"It was great because I was able to start working on him and see where his head was at and if he was sold on Miami and see how he felt about them. We would make jokes about certain things because we got along so well. I'm not really sure what he's gonna do and I can't speak for him, but I'm still working on him. He's still undecided."
Posted by: UMike | January 29, 2013 at 06:51 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLhwjhH9tcI&feature=player_embedded
Posted by: LB | January 29, 2013 at 08:33 AM
SMD - Official #UM #Canes early enrollees: Jr TE Sandland, Fr TE Dobard, Fr OLB A.Figueroa, Fr OT S. Odogwu & Fr DT Knighton.
SMD - Repeat: Confirmed. #UM #Canes signed 5 early enrollees who will participate in spring football. 2 TE, 1 OLB, 1 OT & 1 DT
Now, everyone relax. See? Sandland is in that list. LOL
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | January 29, 2013 at 09:05 AM
CaneRock..I definitely think your right..Jimbo cannot find his own talent outside of obvious highly rated players. He might have a case of "Cokeritis" where he follows the stars lol..I mean come on..Miami offers a 3-star in freaking Staten Island and look who quickly follows. No way in the world FSU was on this kid. Same with Kerr. I just hope that Coley maybe able to sway FSU 2014 commit JoJo Robinson..he is a playmaker
Posted by: UMike | January 29, 2013 at 09:09 AM
Ok, Spacers, we're 8 days from NSD! Can't wait!
That said, let me offer this small chunk of wisdom regarding recruiting and being this close to NSD.
DON'T LISTEN TO ANY RUMORS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD.
^^^^^^^^^^ Read that twice.
^^^^^^^^^^ Now a third time.
Ok, got it? This time of the year about a week before and leading up to NSD, the rumors start FLYING. There will be tons about new ppl favoring the Canes, and there will be others about people that don't want to come here any more. It's just how it is. EVERY YEAR.
So, relax and trust in Golden and the great recruiting staff he has built.
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | January 29, 2013 at 09:12 AM
SMD - Clarification: although recruiting sites have him as OT or DT, #UM #Cane Hunter Knighton is OT per UM. Repeat: new #UM #Cane Hunter Knighton will be an OT - not a DT.
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | January 29, 2013 at 09:23 AM
In case no one knows this.... Alex Collins doesn't live with his mother, he was actually adopted i guess by his coach who is his mentor and what not. I jsut foudn this out yesterday while reading about him.... Hopefulyl this doesn't come into play when it comes to Alex's desicion.
Posted by: UpNorthCane27 | January 29, 2013 at 09:44 AM
In case no one knows this.... Alex Collins doesn't live with his mother, he was actually adopted i guess by his coach who is his mentor and what not. I jsut foudn this out yesterday while reading about him.... Hopefulyl this doesn't come into play when it comes to Alex's desicion.
Posted by: UpNorthCane | January 29, 2013 at 09:44 AM
That does explain a lot
Posted by: UMike | January 29, 2013 at 09:48 AM
Yea Umike, but is till dont believe that he is actually mentoring him by forcing him to look at arkansas and wisconsin, it seems liek this guy is waitign for A. pay check or B. a job at a college.
Posted by: UpNorthCane27 | January 29, 2013 at 09:51 AM
UpNorth - Link to article or wherever U read that?
Explains a TON if true.
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | January 29, 2013 at 09:54 AM
Golden, Carroll, and Franklin doing in-home visit with Keef on Friday.
Posted by: Ohio_Cane | January 29, 2013 at 09:55 AM