#1o4 R.P.I. Miami @

#226 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

     This Saturday evening, the one single solitary Atlantic Coach team that we have beaten in A.c.c. hoops returns for a rematch from the game some would have me say we stole way back in early December.

VT is riding an ugly 10 game L streak and only has one victory overall since we upset the Cane’s down on So.Beach. To compound fracture matters all the more, Miami is 342^nd in scoring and Virginia Tech is 291^st in scoring themselves. The Hurricanes only have one win of their own in the last month and yes indeed, suddenly this one has fugly written all over it.

Though this could very well be out last best chance to notch another W in our 2013-2014 belt until November of this year.

 

Miami Backcourt: (returning starters=zip!)

Deandre Burnett	G	out for season – Wrist – 11/27/13	notes
		Huge H.S. scorer, 4th best in America last year!

Cornelius Elder

G

Out indefinitely – Knee – 1/26/14

notes back-up G, football player, TN Player of the Year

•  Rion Brown: experienced streaky scorer who is a high-flyer by trade. Fast S/F with a loquacious or intense variety of game; leads Miami in scoring (14.5 ppg), in glass-work (6.0 rpg), in FT shooting (79%), and is second in assists (2.3). Can you say team M.V.P.?  #15 Rjon is a major Georgia high school recruiting snag that has never quite lived up to his home-state reputation, or at least not consistently. As I already said, this is a streaky player who tends to hump or slump; for games plural and he has been humping it of late. Averaging right at 20 per contest in the least two weeks. (also: he looks like Sam Perkins, there, I just had to say it!)

  

• Garrius Adams: Adams has a history of ugly knee problems, and what was a promising career has been injured or truncated a bit for it. Part-time Pt.Guard, part-time lead-G, part-time hurt; still yet, Adams is manufacturing a second best 9.9 ppg and a very sporting 4.5 rpg while fearlessly attacking the hoop. He also leads the U in steals at 1.3 swipes per game. Those numbers look all the better when you consider he is doing that on 25% from beyond the arc and one outta three from the floor. Such makes you consider, or at least wonder, what this former Hokie recruit could do on two good wheels? Best of luck to this would be N.B.A. General Manager as well. Kan’t say I’ve ever read that one in a bio’ before?
• (NOW subing-in) Davon Reed: versatile player who can cover from the One up to the Three (S/F). Rookie year baller who is said to be upperclassman D-1 polished; already. 6.8 ppg on 36% from downtown seem to hint at this. As does Davon’s community service record; where he has already pocketed numerous off-court awards accordingly. Good egg, the kind you can never have too many of in today’s game.

Miami Frontcourt: (starters back=zer0)

• (NOW subbing-in) James Kelly: 1,000+ points and 600+ boards of JuCo digits does not suck. Combo-Forward who can cover two or maybe even three positions, due to his size and quicks. 6.9 ppg with 4.o boards on a team leading 41% from beyond the arc is not bad work on top of all of that. Especially when you consider that this is Mr. Kelly’s senior year of ever playing basketball in the game of life, as he only took up the sport at age 17!
• Donnavan Kirk: DePaul transfer, back to Miami, after starting at Miami in 2oo9; go fig’?!? Some forecasted Kirk to be the Canes best Post defender, scorer, and rebounder. No biggie there. Ironman type DePaul graduate who is working on his Masters, props on that! Kirk is third in scoring with 9.1 ppg and first in rebounding (5.8) and blocks (1.9). Has a history of lumbar injuries in tow; God Bless on that.

Miami Bench: (depth=3+)

• Tonye Jekiri: Nigerian native, and a big-time H.S. recruit with the accompanying big-time 6’12’’ 235 lb. legitimate big or true-C frame. 10-12’ range, runs very fluidly, and is said to deploy a very high R.P.M. red-line efforting kinda motor. 4 ppg, 3.7 boards and now up to 43% overall. One of the VERY few ‘Canes to be significantly improved since I first wrote this guts of this preview a couple of months ago.
• Manu Lecomte: rookie Belgium imported backcourter, had a lotta late nite FOX quality West-Coast offers. Said to be the best Pt.Guard on campus –not playing football (Corn Elder). Quicks, shooting, speed, ball-skillz; lot to like here with a Manu not from Argentina; while chipping in with 8.1 points and a couple of boards and 2.5 assists alike off the Cane bench. Needs to acclimate to the more physical D-1 game however.
• (NOW starting) Raphael Akpejiori: experienced career reservist up front, good size, physical player and not much else; also from Nigeria although he has added some physicality to the U’s starting line-up of late. Atlantic Coast Academic Honor Roll member as a Mechanical Engineering major, can’t say I recall reading that from an A.c.c. hoopster before? (major (see the pun) PROPS!)
• (NOW starting) Erik Swoope: experienced mid-range Swing from Cali’, who’s shooting has been cut in half this season on a percentage basis, also has crept into the starting line-up of late. All-academic team member, who does have some hops in his feets with a football absurd 495 lb. back-squat! 2.6 ppg and 1.9 rebounds, this after shooting a burning red-hot 64% from the field last season (not posting 40.4% this year).  Known for attacking the basket and for being a yoga instructor. And with Raphael, I suppose that one could aver that Miami may just court the smartest starting line-up in the A.c.c. this side of Duke.

Illation, conclusion(s) and OPT digits:
Miami enters this weekend contest a .5oo hoops team at 12 up and an equaling 12 down. This is not all that bad when you consider that Coach Jim Larranaga just departed a collective 62.9 ppg, 30.7 rpg and 24+ seasons worth of experience from last years 29 win squad spread over the course of six exiting ballers. Shew! And here we though graduating Erick Green were such a bad thing.

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Virginia Tech is +2 in rest entering this one; and yet the U is a formidable 6-3 as the guest this season including four quality wins outta that six total W’s as the visitor. Our handy dandy friend the Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is merely predicting an catastrophic 24 point beat-down for a Vah.Tech hoops team limited to 52 ppg on a snowy 34% in our most recent five games. And yet it’s not that Miami is that far outta our depth, as the A.c.c. host, –where recall the home-team wins 7 outta 10 historically speaking. Rather it is that Coach J’s and company have all the negative momentum of the thermometer or outright snowfall of late. Yes, I’m still questing for a (credible) reason or reasons to pick Virginia Tech to win again before 2013-2014 closes for business, and yes I’ma still coming up short. Same as coach J’s and Virginia Tech will by about a quarter past 8 give or take on Saturday night.

***

Miami is not exactly an offensive juggernaut, having played 6 of their last 8 games in the 40’s the 50’s or at less than 64 points at best. I point that out to help you understand that a cold shooting night from the visiting Canes absolutely brings this one to within reach.

I do realize that we prolly should not win this one; I do realize that we prolly are done winning until November of this year. However, upon closer drill order inspection, Miami is a lowly 280th in steals, and not a very good rebounding margin team; in particular on the offensive glass. Which gives me a flicker here and a glimmer there of Hokie hope. “Winter is coming!”

(confidence interval=52%)
Virginia Tech=64, Miami=6o

“LET’s GO!“

“Hokies!‘

bourbonstreet**