Jordan Miller shares how Miami handles success at a football school

Guard Jordan Miller knows Miami is never going to be considered a basketball school. The Hurricanes history on the gridiron has decades of impact while the men’s basketball program has historically struggled.

But that is not something that gets Miller down about Miami or frustrates him. Instead, he uses it as motivation.

“We hear that a lot,” Miller said of Miami being a football school. “The best way to deal with it is to just come out, win basketball games. I say this all the time. The best way to get recognition is to win something, whether that’s games, championships, conference championships, you name it. The best thing we can do to get recognition, instead of asking for it, is to do something about it. You know what I mean?”

While the perceptions can be very hard to change, Miami has been more of a basketball school over the last decade or so. Jim Larranaga has brought the Hurricanes to six NCAA Tournaments in his 12 years at the school. Before he arrived, the program had been to the Big Dance only six times.

This year, the team is back in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under his tenure. Miami had made it only once before Larranaga arrived. If they beat No. 1 Houston on Friday, the Hurricanes would be back in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row.

The women’s basketball team is also on the rise. Since the 2010-11 season, the Hurricanes have made the NCAA Tournament seven times and just made its second Sweet 16 ever with an upset of No. 1 Indiana on a game-winning basket with three seconds left.

Plus, Haley Cavinder and Hanna Cavinder are two of the biggest names in the NIL world.

Only four schools had both their men’s and women’s programs make the Sweet 16: Tennessee, Miami, UCLA, and UConn. That’s pretty good company for a “football school.”

“Everybody has looked at the University of Miami as a football program, as a football school, and there’s a good reason for that,” Larranaga said. “Our football program has won five National Championships. And even those who follow baseball know we’ve won four National Championships in baseball. But our basketball program has really been elevated over the last 12 years. My staff has done a fantastic job of recruiting quality young men who play quality basketball, and they’re all graduating. So we’re very, very pleased with the company we’re keeping.”