Jim Larrañaga Believes The Hurricanes Can Get Back On Track And It Starts With The Defense
The Miami Hurricanes basketball team missed ACC-Tipoff due to the devastation of Hurricane Milton. However, head coach Jim Larrañaga still had time to talk to the panel via Zoom to break down this important season for the Hurricanes.
Coming into this season, the Hurricanes are returning only three players from last season's squad - Matthew Cleveland, Nijel Pack, and Paul Djobet.
READ MORE:Miami Hurricanes Men's Basketball Player Preview: Matthew Cleveland
With 10 new players and a top-10 class entering this season, Larrañaga has a chance to coach this team with the potential of being one of the top teams in the ACC. That first starts with his defense.
Over the years, Larrañaga has prided himself on a defensively sound team. Last season they were rated in the bottom half defensively in the conference. Larrañaga knows this has to be the key to winning games and competing at a high level.
"The last several days of practice, we have not done a single offensive drill," Larrañaga said to the panel. "Everything has been based on the defense and hopefully we'll get better these next several weeks before we open up in November."
Offensively, the team has been putting up NBA numbers during scrimmages. That could be a showcase of how talented the team can be on that side of the ball, but the saying is "defense wins championships".
That is what Larrañaga hopes to instill in this team. A physicality that wasn't in the team last year. That also could be down to the number of injuries they suffered toward the middle of the season which derailed any momentum they wanted to build.
The Hurricanes look to bounce back as Larrañaga is approaching the twilight years of his career. He is entering his 14th season and is cherishing every moment with the program.
