ACC Nation was in Greensboro, NC, recently for the ACC’s Operation Basketball. Patrick and Chris got to talk with all 12 men’s basketball coaches, plus select players from each school, and over the next few days we’ll let you know what they found out. ACC Nation will preview each of the 12 men’s basketball programs, going in reverse order of last year’s final regular-season standings, with one preview a day as we approach the start of the season.

Wake Forest – Oct. 31

Georgia Tech – Nov. 1

Virginia Tech – Nov. 2

Clemson – Nov. 3

Miami
(2005-06 season: 7-9 ACC, 18-16 overall; lost in the NIT quarterfinals to Michigan 71-65)

Give Miami’s Frank Haith credit. He’s trying to find the silver lining in some very dark clouds as the Hurricanes get ready for the start of the season.

Last season only two players - Guillermo Diaz (17.2 point per game) and Rob Hite (16.4 points per game) - scored in double figures for Miami, and both are gone this year. Haith talks about the team being better defensively this season. He said, overall, the Hurricanes might be more athletic than in years past. And he said the loss of Diaz and Hite might have one good effect on his team.

“I think we’ll be a more balanced team offensively than we have had the last couple of years where we relied on two guys pretty much to really do a bulk of our scoring,” Haith said.

But when it comes right down to it, Haith is an honest man. When he was asked recently who would step up and replace the point production that Diaz and Hite delivered, Haith said he didn’t know.

“That’s what we’ve got to figure out,” Haith said. “We won’t have a guy to average 20 points a game. Going into a game, Rob and Guillermo could get 40, collectively, a night. I think we’ve got to get scoring out of a number of guys. I think it would be great if we could have four guys average in double figures.”

Haith does make a good point. When he came to Miami, Diaz and Hite were merely role players on a team led by Darius Rice. And much like those two stepped up after Rice left, Miami will need role players like Anthony Harris and Anthony King to step up this season if Miami is to be successful.

“They have to make that next step in their games and their role changes in adjusting to being more of a focal point, especially a guy like Anthony King who was pretty much a screener-rebounder for two years, being a willing receiver, a guy who has to average double figures for us.”

King was expected, at least by his coach, to perhaps contribute more last season. Instead, he scored just 8.8 points a game and pulled down 6.9 rebounds per contest. While his rebounding total dropped off, so did his blocked shot total, which dipped from 86 in 2005-06 to 65 last season.

“I guess teams took notice of it and figured out ways to go around me,” King said in explaining why he had less blocks last season. “When I started playing my sophomore year guys didn’t really box me out and last year guys were boxing me out and it was harder for me to rebound. Coach is telling me I have to keep moving, keep working because I’m going to get hit more than once when they’re trying to box me out, so if I keep working it’s going to come eventually.”

Another player that some think could have a breakout season is 6-8 sophomore Jimmy Graham. Haith said the big man is athletic enough to outrun Miami’s guards in practice, but it’s his mental part of the game that Graham needs to improve.

“We need him to be more a smarter basketball player,” Haith said. “I think he’s very aggressive. We need him to play without fouling. He’s really worked hard at improving his offensive skills. Jimmy has the body to be a really good layup maker. We need him first to start there. He’s got to be a guy who can score in traffic around other big players because he’s very capable because of his athletic ability.”

Haith almost left Miami for Oklahoma last year, but he stayed in Florida to complete the job he started. Miami basketball is still a young program, but one that Haith thinks is ready to come of age. He’s excited that the ACC Tournament is coming to Tampa this season, something the coach believes will only help increase the passion of ACC hoops in Florida.

“We’re making our tradition right now,” Haith said. “We’re still learning. We’re still educating our fans, but it’s getting better. We’ll know our program is established when we sell out the BankUnited Center consistently for ACC games. We haven’t got to that point yet, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

- Patrick Hite