Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

The blog title for those "in the know" is in honor of musical artist Meatloaf, who recently passed away. We hope he flew away like a bat out of hell and is resting in peace in paradise by the dashboard light.

It also leads us, in kind of a strange way, to a fan debate about whether Miami Hurricane basketball fans see the glass half full or half empty as it relates to UM Head Coach Jim Larranaga. 

Canespace recently had some very high praise for Coach L in our last article.

And now, after a second loss to FSU this season due to another horribly slow start and exciting late comeback that fell one point short, some Canes fans are once again questioning his competence.

Those arguing the glass is half full say that Coach L had impressive ACC wins against both Duke and UNC even though they lost to FSU (twice). Those arguing the glass is half empty say that going 0-2 in the home and home series against arch rival FSU and former UM coach Leonard Hamilton is simply unacceptable.

It actually seems to me that both sides may be correct. Both set of facts may be completely true. It is the lens through which they are viewed that resuts in the difference in opinions and attitudes towards Coach L.

To be completely honest, in recent years Miami basketball has been plagued by inconsistent recruiting, several critical injuries and many other challenges that Coach L, or any other coach for that matter, would have found extremely challenging. Some UM fans blame Coach L for those issues, some see him as a victim of those issues. And who knows who is right or wrong?

Anyway, from my really comfortable second guessing chair, I want to summarize this article by making the following statements:

1. Most, if not ALL Canes fans (including myself), acknowledge that hiring Jim Larranaga has been positive for Miami.
2. Coach L has accomplished some very significant achievements at Miami. For that we can all be thankful.
3. Jim Larranaga is a good man, a very good coach and a really good person with many great qualities.
4. The UM basketball program is better for having Larranaga on campus and in charge of the team.

My hope is that Coach L accepts that he is only getting older, doesn't need this stress anymore, has nothing left to prove and retires with the dignity and grace that he deserves. That would be the ideal exit strategy.

It is my opinion that with a new AD at Miami, and a new football head coach, a new basketball head coach is in order for the Hurricanes. Time flies, change is often necessary and coaching transitions happen.

In my humble opinion, it is time for that important transition to take place for the University of Miami basketball program. 

Comments

[Old Skool]

2 out of 3 ain't bad is also a TWSS

[58 Straight]

I think he said it too? LOL

[58 Straight]

Per inside the U

‘Miami added a second defensive lineman in the transfer portal on Monday when Antonio Moultrie gave his pledge to the Hurricanes.

The former UAB Blazer, who officially visited Miami earlier this month, is a redshirt senior with one more year of eligibility. In 2020, Moultrie was named a second-team All-Conference USA selection and an honorable mention in 2021 after collecting 62 tackles with eight coming for a loss. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder also added two sacks and an interception. He was also considering South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Florida, and Florida State.’

Posted by: AeroCane | January 24, 2022 at 05:38 PM

Good post, didn't want it to get lost.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Great Stuff Soupster I Approve This Post!

[orange 'n green in the vein]

#16 out of the top 20 draft eligible prospects coming into season at this point according to some guy.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2022-nfl-draft-eight-once-underrated-prospects-who-positioned-themselves-for-success-this-season/

"16. Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Miami: Van Dyke was a latecomer to the 2021 season, as he didn't take over the starting job at Miami until late September. But he took the job and ran with it, finishing with 2,931 yards passing and 25 touchdowns while getting better as he became more comfortable in the offense. While he'll have to learn a new offense in 2022, Van Dyke is one of many reasons Miami fans will enter next season feeling confident, and he could play his way into the top draft pick consideration."

Yeah, I'd like that, I'd like that, a lot . . .

[orange 'n green in the vein]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/early-look-at-the-top-20-nfl-draft-eligible-college-football-players-taking-the-field-in-2022/

Wrong link above, oops. Here's the correct one.

[AeroCane]

Thank 86 and nice article! I’d like him to retire at the end of the season and I have faith the new AD will find the right guy for the job!

[nemo2020]

Thank 86 and nice article! I’d like him to retire at the end of the season and I have faith the new AD will find the right guy for the job!
Posted by: AeroCane | January 24, 2022 at 08:54 PM

REPOST
It would be good, if Miami (finally) beats FSU in the ACC tourney and then has a deep run in the Big Dance - so, perhaps, Coach L could (finally) retire on a high note.
Posted by: nemo2020 | January 23, 2022 at 02:00 PM

[Ohio_Cane]

Gaby Urrutia: A source at Miami just let me know that former Oregon offensive lineman Logan Sagapolu is on an official visit. I expect him to choose the Hurricanes.

[nemo2020]

F Y I,

Wednesday is the last day any undergraduate can enroll at UM for the Spring Semester.

[alpine]

nice article!
- if the new AD can bring in a younger coach L, or coach K, or any other alphabet-inspiration, who's on fire in the recruiting, development and game-day areas, i'm totally on-board

[Ohio_Cane]

We have added UAB DL Adrian Moultrie via the transfer portal

[Ohio_Cane]

Antonio*** ^^^^

[HerbieIbis]

Well, for right now I guess Mario thinks our LBer's don't need any help, yeah right!
It looks like from what I read that Shemar Stewart is going to put the screws to Mario, he wants to see who the DC is going to be before he makes his decision. Good luck on that happening at this rate.
I get the taking your time but this is beyond ridiculous. He's got the money to play with but I guess he's looking for that perfect needle to put in the haystack😫

[nemo2020]

nice article!
- if the new AD can bring in a younger coach L, or coach K, or any other alphabet-inspiration, who's on fire in the recruiting, development and game-day areas, i'm totally on-board

Posted by: alpine | January 25, 2022 at 02:37 AM

"Can there be peace in the valley?" Yes, indeed! It's nice to see that we are all in agreement.

[Ohio_Cane]

Looking like former Canes RB coach Thomas Brown is in the lead for the Dolphins job.... Interesting

[AeroCane]

Will be a terrible hire in a line of terrible hires for Ross! Man that guy has a football iq of about 5! LOL

[AeroCane]

So if Mario can land Logan sagapolu at 6’3, 340 and David Iuli at 6’5, 315 we’d be adding some OL beef.
And he might even be able to land some LB’s and other key people if he’d ever hire coordinators LOL

[Ohio_Cane]

"90% of the staff will be complete by this Friday"

Supposedly from Mario's mouth to recruits

[AeroCane]

Hopefully but we need high quality - really top quality!!

[Terrance Sullivan]

ACC Conference Schedules will be released on Monday Night at 7PM on ACC Network Daddio

[HerbieIbis]

I guess he got Shemar's drift Ohio, if 90% of coaches will be in place by Friday. I wonder what the 10% is allotted too?

[VA Cane]

Well written very informative. He hasent been bad...good man, honest, loves game. won a lot over time, 61%...that run to F4....never been in trouble...old school.

Hope we gonna get some things together...want to hit ground running in spring...not big fan of it for press predictions general comments...am fan of learning talking executing get a football feel going...thniking about execution fundamentals getting in game shape knowing what is expected from players and coaches...a plan not a clusterf**k...we had that for uhhh you know me 2003...think Mario will make it very different than we have really seen...hope he does get a little fired up...get some old timers there for enthusiasm...good place for Playmaker...he wants UM to be great again...know Reed and others do to...they were great!!!!!

[Ohio_Cane]

I guess he got Shemar's drift Ohio, if 90% of coaches will be in place by Friday. I wonder what the 10% is allotted too?

Posted by: HerbieIbis | January 25, 2022 at 09:50 PM
--------------------------------------

Probably replacing TRob and now our WR coach BMac who just got here, but rumored to be headed to UGA....

[Ohio_Cane]

Gaby Urrutia on OT Matthew Mccoy:

I spoke with someone at Miami who believes Matthew McCoy’s in-home visit was big today. They felt good about him going into tonight and they’re feeling pretty confident right now. He has that official visit to Florida this weekend but I actually heard today he hasn’t met Billy Napier yet. I’m not crystal balling him at the moment but there is some confidence in where Miami stands in that recruitment.

[HerbieIbis]

Well let's see in a weeks time, we have lost 2 of our best recruiters, still are missing 4 or 5 more coaches, which includes both coordinators and the clock is still ticking, almost 2 months later. I hear that Sonny & Cher tune playing (And The Beat Goes On)😡

[nemo2020]

Five biggest losers from the college football transfer portal thus far
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/five-biggest-losers-from-the-college-football-transfer-portal-thus-far/ss-AAT8C1L?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531#image=5

Interesting!
Hawaii was hit especially hard. Nevertheless, I suspect that UH won't be looking for any more running backs for a while because new head coach Tim Chang may have the Rainbow Warrior QB pass on every down like he did back in the day.

[nemo2020]

College football rankings: 10 teams helped most by the transfer portal
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/college-football-rankings-10-teams-helped-most-by-the-transfer-portal/ar-AAT89NF?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

Unfortunately, FSU is on the list.

[Terrance Sullivan]

My Guess is Now Staff won't be complete until after Super Bowl in Mid February. Crazy Stuff. As Far as recruiting hope we finish strong that includes Transfer Portal which we will know about Tonight Signing Day is next Wednesday, ACC Conference Schedule released on Monday Night on ACC Network so I assume we will know our Full Staff by 3 weeks from Now. I imagine Spring Practice will begin In Late February with Spring Game in early April.

[Ohio_Cane]

Miami will add former Oregon OL Logan Sagapolu, who is already enrolled in classes at UM.

[Terrance Sullivan]

Good Stuff Ohio Cane

[86Cane]

The larger the Samoan the better the Samoan.

I say bring them ALL!

[86Cane]

For Oregon's veteran offensive linemen, one player seems to be turning heads the most. When asked which of their mentees has opened their eyes most this spring, both George Moore and Ryan Walk quickly named second-year freshman Logan Sagapolu as their selection.

“I think Logan has really stood out so far this spring," Walk told reporters. "It was tough for him last year coming off of a mission where he didn’t get to play football and he didn’t really get to train how he would otherwise. Then he got thrown in here like ‘let’s play football’.

“Now, I think just seeing him with a year to get his feet wet and now he’s taking some good steps as a player. I think that’s going to help us a a team, having guys on the second unit who are ready to play this year."

As Walk chronicled, Sagapolu signed with the Ducks in their 2019 class as a three-star recruit from Utah. After spending the 2019 calendar year on a religious mission, Sagapolu arrived at Oregon a year early due to the coronavirus and was on the 2020 football roster, but did not see any game action.

For Moore, it's been the 6-foot-2 and 345 pounder's work ethic that has stood out most — even more than his immense size and lower body strength.

[MLALUMNI1970]

Hope all is well with you, Canespacers. Cold up here in Michigan. Brrrr. Retina Specialist tomorrow, cus of bleeding in the retina. Have to get a painful shot in the retina. Then another specialist Feb 7, for my vertigo, which is awful too. Then I hope to get the hell out of here, and fly to Florida, (Satellite Beach), to be exact.
I have to see if the Canes BB game is on TV tonight. Any info would be helpful.
5 degrees this morning, but at least the sun was out.
Go Canes
Wind chill is 10 below zero. UGH!
At least I’m vaccinated and boosted.

[MLALUMNI1970]

Pretty cold up in Blacksburg VA. We don’t play well in the cold, but who does?? Any of you going to the game tonight?? Dress warm.

[86Cane]

1. Wind chill is 10 below zero. UGH!

2. At least I’m vaccinated and boosted.

Posted by: MLALUMNI1970 | January 26, 2022 at 05:22 PM

1. No bueno

2. TWSS

[Ohio_Cane]

According to 247sports.com, these '22 players will visit Miami on Friday:

5⭐️ DL Shemar Stewart
5⭐️ OT Josh Conerly Jr.
4⭐️ DT Christen Miller
4⭐️ RB TreVonte' Citizen
3⭐️ Edge R Mason Thomas
3⭐️ DL Ahmad Moten
3⭐️ OT Anez Cooper

[nemo2020]

Would you believe? I had a conflict tonight So, I only got to watch the last 30 seconds of the basketball game.

But that is all I needed to see!

Heartfelt win!

[Terrance Sullivan]

Boom 💥 Canes Beat Hokies 78-75 with a Half Court Buzzer Beater 3 Pointer Bang Bang Bang. Canes now 15-5 and 8-2 in ACC Play!

[Fred]

Charlie Buckets!

[alpine]

- fantastic morning entertainment; better than coffee, though the combo of coffee and a caffeinated bb game is a great way to energise the day!
- it's good that the canes played really good bb, 'cause VT brought their a-game
. . . i thought both teams did really good both defensively and offensively!
- a combined 12 steals and 10 blocks; but both teams also shot over 50% (also over 50% on 3-pointers)
- the opposite of a "sloppy game"
- and the thing our pesky, little dude, moore, did, knocking down an impossible 3-pointer from mid-court as time expired, was like a valuable masterpiece that should be auctioned off for either some heavy currency or someone's 1st-born

[alpine]

-there is one downside: this years team is so heavily seniorised, that we lose our ENTIRE starting line-up next year :(
- so next year's gonna be brutal, unless our coach can take major advantage of the portal
(but you are all right in thinking that i'm jumping the gun on '22-'23, so i'll shut-up about it)

[alpine]

not a bad tip:
"The 14-5 Miami Hurricanes have been one of the surprises of the college basketball season. As they take on Virginia Tech tonight at 7:00 PM EST in a game WynnBET lists them as 5-point underdogs, there is one trend presenting tremendous value that bettors need to hone in on.

Bet Miami as an Underdog
The Hurricanes are a tidy 5-1 against the spread (ATS) as underdogs this season with four outright wins in those games, including impressive victories over North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest.

Dating back to the end of last season, Miami is on an incredible 10-1 ATS streak as underdogs. With the 22nd-best adjusted offensive efficiency, per Bart Torvik, and the 5th-lowest offensive turnover rate in the country, they can score and protect the basketball as well as anyone.

This is an experienced-laden team, . . . loaded with players who know how to win.

That experience is key when playing as an underdog, as teams need to keep their composure in those situations and trust their offensive sets. Miami does just that, . . .

. . . I love this trend to continue and I’ll be jumping on it for the rest of the season."
https://caneswarning.com/2022/01/26/miami-presents-huge-value-bettors-underdog/?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email

[orange 'n green in the vein]

Either Walker has to pick it up or Miller Jr has to be able to run again soon because Miami can't have a front court player only ready for emergencies and then have another in the rotation just coasting night after night, taking off the table something for everything they bring to it.

Fortunate to escape the cellar dwellers gym with the W, but that's all that counts when it comes time to accept an invitation to the postseason, it's not like the team didn't learn to win the close ones in ACC play already after all. Going to have to play way better defensively against the reigning conference tournament champions who have had it all fall apart this season.

[Old Skool]

Another rumor.
RS Freshman OL Jonathan Denis former Miami commit who went to Oregon may follow Mario back to South Florida (his hometown)

[AeroCane]

Old Skool
Interesting. And we are in good position to land Alabama OL Anez Cooper and at 6’6, 350, he’s another massive OL for us.

[86Cane]

Old Skool...please find a way to stay WARM this weekend, it is going to be freezing in Central Florida!

[Ohio_Cane]

Was -8 here this morning with wind chill. Felt lovely dropping the kids off at school at 7:45 lol

[HillViewCane]

Once had a girl from Siberia tell me, "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." Bundle up and you will be fine.

[Old Skool]

I will do my damndest to keep WARM as high as possible.