Reinvigorated and healthy Beverly discovers his best self and he's rapidly becoming an important part of the rotation for Canes Hoops

As the University of Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team notched its 10th home victory of the season with a big win over ACC foe Boston College on Wednesday, Canes guard Harlond Beverly celebrated a personal triumph of his own.

January 11 marked one year to the exact date since Beverly had surgery to repair a back injury that had kept him out for much of the previous two Miami seasons.

In the win against the Eagles, Beverly scored a season-high 15 points and Miami coach Jim Larranaga said that he played arguably his best game in orange and green.

“I believe in God, so God works in his own ways,” Beverly told CaneSport after it was over. “That was the one year anniversary of my surgery, so it was pretty cool that I was able to come back arguably more athletic than before. It was nice to hear that he (Larrañaga) thought I played well. That meant a lot.”

Beverly is in Raleigh with his Miami teammates to take on North Carolina State Saturday. It should not be a surprise that he is earning increased playing time as Larranaga has always valued his abiliities.

When Beverly arrived as a true freshman at Miami in 2019, he was one of three Hurricanes to play in all 31 games, earning five starts. He continued to show promise in his second season in Miami before suffering a herniated disk that forced him to miss the final eight games.

The injury caused his left leg to go numb during games. While he tried to rehab and avoid surgery for a while, Beverly realized that it had to be done if he was going to assure a full recovery. 

“Honestly, I feel better than ever,” Beverly said of his current physical condition. “On both sides of the ball, I feel like I’m sharper and more skilled. I’m older than I was before my surgery, and I got to watch a lot of basketball when I wasn’t playing, so that also really helped. I feel like I’m the best version of myself that I’ve ever been.”

During his time rehabilitating off the court, Beverly said that being away from the game helped grow his knowledge and understanding of Miami’s schemes tremendously.  

“I feel like spacing is the key to offense,” he said. “If you’re jumbled up, you’re not going to make anything happen, and there won’t be any driving lanes. I got to watch Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty, who were two great guards. Being able to sit there and digest everything offensively and defensively has really made a difference.”

“On both sides of the ball, I feel like I’m sharper and more skilled. I’m older than I was before my surgery, and I got to watch a lot of basketball when I wasn’t playing, so that also really helped. I feel like I’m the best version of myself that I’ve ever been.”

Harlond Beverly

Both Moore and McGusty were key components of Miami’s Elite Eight run last year. Following their departure and now nearly a year removed from the team’s deep NCAA tournament accomplishment, the Hurricanes have not missed a beat thanks to newcomers Norchad Omier and Nigel Pack combined with the return of Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, Beverly and others.

Although he was unable to suit up and be part of last year’s historic run, a full strength Beverly continues to earn increased playing time as a spark off the Miami bench for Larrañaga’s squad. He says that being a part of the program for the last four years has helped him grasp what Larrañaga expects from his players, which has made adjusting to this new role simpler.

“I feel like I’ve played my role well,” Beverly said. “Not necessarily the person who always has the ball in their hands. But when I do, I feel like I make the correct play. Just having coach Larrañaga and my teammates around me has made taking on this new role easy. If I have to play the four on defense and guard somebody bigger or play five minutes, whatever it is, having that experience just makes it easier.”

Throughout his injuries, coach Larrañaga and his Miami staff constantly checked in on Beverly and continued to express to him their belief that he would return stronger than ever. That gave Beverly a big confidence boost as he progressed through rehabilitation.

“He (Larranaga) was great; he would check on me often,” Beverly said. “He’s had back issues as well, so he understands what it’s like. “Having someone like Coach L who understands how it can feel made it easier for me.”

Although Beverly knew he would return despite missing nearly 40 games, one notion lingered in his mind.

“The only doubts that probably crept in were whether I was going to be as athletic as I used to be,” Beverly explained. “I was excited to get back into the game and everything. It was just hard to see the finish line going through it. There’s just a lot of unknown when you’re going through that.”  

Beverly has high aspirations for his Miami team as it begins the second half of the season, with the ACC and NCAA tournaments just around the corner. He believes this team’s strength has been its offense, but he also recognizes the importance of the team’s defensive efforts.

“I feel like we’ve been able to force turnovers and get out to the open court,” Beverly said. “We’ve been able to hit shots as well. Besides the Georgia Tech and Maryland games, I think we’ve scored the ball well. With that being said, we’ve got to make sure our defense is as potent as our offense.”

In what could be his final season at Miami, Beverly, like all of his teammates, has one goal in mind when the season is over. They want to hang another banner inside Watsco Center.

“I want to win the ACC championship and go to the tournament,” said Beverly, who has one more year of eligibility if he chooses to return “We have the group to do it and we have the perfect coach for it, so I’m excited to see what happens.”