Jim Larranaga stresses importance of getting balanced contributions from Miami players

The Miami Hurricanes earned an upset win over the Clemson Tigers on Wednesday. After the game, head coach Jim Larranaga stressed how important it was to receive balanced contributions from the entire team in the game.

Larranaga explained that balanced contributions, or playing unselfish basketball on both ends of the court, is part of the philosophy of the team. Now, he’s starting to see the team play to that philosophy.

“It’s basically them making our philosophy a reality,” Jim Larranaga said. “They’re doing everything we’re asking them to do.” 

Miami beat Clemson 95-82. In particular, a 60-point second half helped the Hurricanes win the game in come from behind fashion. For Miami, the Hurricanes’ starting five played most of the game, with only three players coming off the bench for Larranaga, one of whom placed less than a minute. However, each starter was in the double digits for scoring. The Hurricanes also out-rebounded and had more assists than the Tigers during the game.

“We ask them to defend and rebound better, we did that. We asked them to share the ball and more assists and fewer turnovers and they did that. We asked them to run offense with pace and space, create openings for our shooters and openings for our bigs, we did that,” Larranaga said.

“So, from start to finish, this is a great game, but it’s only one game. Now we got to go on the road. I think we’re off to a good start, but instead of 19 games, now we got 18. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” 

Miami looks to keep the momentum building on Saturday when the Hurricanes take on Wake Forest.

Jim Larranaga updates health of Wooga Poplar

After the win over Clemson, Jim Larranaga shared a health update on Wooga Poplar, who is Miami’s second-leading scorer but has missed time with a sprained ankle.

“[Tuesday] he was limping, so I wasn’t counting on him for [Wednesday]. But then at like Noon, I was hearing he might play. I was like, ‘Oh, wait a minute… I’ve got to talk to our trainer and find out if that’s true.’ And then I called Sam and he said, ‘I’m working with Wooga and he’s on the treadmill.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a real positive sign,’” Larranaga said.

“After he got off the treadmill he came walking into my office and said, ‘I can’t go. I’m still in pain.’ So he sat out. Will Wooga be back by Saturday? It’s anybody’s guess. It’s not somebody who’s sprained ankles before, so when you have a new injury, it’s a little concerning. … Hopefully he’s ready, but if he’s not, the guys who played tonight have to do it again.”