Crazy Rebel(l)s
Thema drucken
20.03.2019 08:10
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Miami has tinkered with its longstanding tradition of having players run through plumes of white smoke onto the field at game time.This year, there are also flames.Fitting, since some Hurricanes are getting thrown into the fire.Having three true freshmen start at linebacker wasnt what Hurricanes coach Mark Richt envisioned even a few weeks ago, but the rental-car access scandal that cost Miami its three leading tacklers from 2015 helped force the teams hand. As such, its Shaquille Quarterman, Zach McCloud and Michael Pinckney -- three guys who were playing high school ball 12 months ago -- who are the first-string linebackers for the 25th-ranked Hurricanes.We have tremendous potential, Quarterman said. The thing I can honestly say, we can take it as far as we want to go. We have tremendous buy-in. Our coaches talk about it all the time, so as long as we continue to press the issue of getting better every day, not taking our gas off the pedal no matter if were up by 63 points or one point. We have to fight every down. As long as we do that, the skys the limit.So far, so good.Miami rolled over an overmatched Florida A&M 70-3 in the opener, returned to the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2013 and now the Hurricanes (1-0) figure to get a bigger test at home on Saturday night against Florida Atlantic (1-0).The tape from such a one-sided game didnt exactly show much, but Owls coach Charlie Partridge is already duly impressed with Miamis teen trio of linebackers -- all of whom arrived on the Hurricanes campus together in January.Theyre fast and they can really run, Partridge said. They come with conviction when they get to the point of contact. Theyre ahead of their years in terms of how they play. I believe all three of them were early enrollees, so you can feel that from them. They play with a lot of confidence. Theyre having fun.They are, but its not exactly fun times at Miami right now on the depth front.Defections and injuries are already taking a toll, and the season has barely started.Two defensive starters were dismissed from the team after an investigation into how they had access to luxury car rentals, and a third player didnt even wait around for the probe to be completed before he left and enrolled elsewhere. And then in the first quarter of the Florida A&M game, redshirt freshman linebacker Jamie Gordinier -- who would have logged plenty of time for this team -- tore a knee ligament and saw his season come to an end.We dont have any choice, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. We have to have a bunch of guys play. Weve got to have guys share snaps for us to succeed. Youll ultimately pace yourself if youre playing every snap. We have what we have and just like we said on Saturday, everybodys got a role to play and everybodys got to play.Thing is, there arent very many options left.That puts even more pressure on the freshman starters. Quarterman is the analytic one, Pinckney is the high-energy one and McCloud is the quiet one.We feed off each other a lot, Quarterman said.And teammates say theyre ready to handle whatever comes their way.Theyre mature, Miami wide receiver Braxton Berrios said. I think coming in they all knew they had a chance to start. I dont know if all three of them knew; I dont think anybody would have guessed that with everything going on this offseason. They were ready. They were ready when their number was called and I think all of that is just part of maturity. They really came in with a good mindset.---AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Baylor became one of the first teams this season to enter the Top 25 by virtue of a credible victory, with the Bears having defeated then-No. 4 Oregon last week.Virginia Commonwealth would like to follow that same script into the Top 25 next week.Rankings aside, Baylor (3-0) and VCU (3-0) will look across the court at a quality opponent on Wednesday when they face each other at the Battle 4 Atlantis at 2:30 p.m. ET in Nassau, Bahamas.Baylor showed off a couple of new weapons in its 66-49 win over Oregon. Junior guard Manu Lecomte, a transfer from Miami, scored 18 points and dished out seven assists, and junior college transfer Jo Lual-Acuil scored eight points, blocked seven shots and grabbed 14 rebounds.Those two players, as much as the impressive victory over the Ducks, captured the attention of the college basketball world -- including VCU coach Will Wade.Baylor is very, very talented, Wade said. I dont think a lot of people knew how good Manu Lecomte was going to be for them. Baylors a good team. That was no fluke. They beat Oregon pretty good.On the flip side, Baylor coach Scott Drew knows the Rams wont be star struck.VCU is accustomed to playing top-notch nonconference competition and has the March Madness credibility in recent years to match just about anyone in college basketball.Last season, the Rams advanced a round farther than Baylor as VCU defeated seventh-seeded Oregon State in the opening round. Then the Rams pushed Final Four-bound Oklahoma for 40 minutes before the Sooners escaped Oklahomma City with a four-point win.ddddddddddddThis is a team that is very competitive, great tradition, been in the NCAA Tournament six straight years, Drew said. So, a team thats used to being successful, used to winning.While Baylor is mixing its new standouts with quality veterans, VCU rolls with many of the same faces that helped the Rams win 25 games a year ago. Seniors Mo Allie-Cox, JeQuan Lewis, Jordan Burgess and Ahmed Hamdy-Mohamed, and junior Justin Tillman played leading roles last season and are back for more.Those players and new additions give VCU the depth that concerns Drew.They play extremely hard, play 10 guys, lot of pressure man-to-man, very physical team, Drew said.But this wont be Baylors first go-round this season with a tough opponent.Wade has seen how much trouble the Bears zone defense gave Oregon. Its easy to see how. Lual-Acuil (7-foot), forward Johnathan Motley (6-10) and reserve Terry Maston (6-8) thrive on swatting away shots in the lane.Their length will be a major, major issue for us, Wade said. We havent seen length like this since we played maybe Florida State last year. Theyve got just about everything you want in a good basketball team. It will be a challenge.Whoever survives Wednesdays game will go back for a second helping of top-level competition on Thanksgiving Day. The Baylor-VCU winner meets the No. 24 Michigan State vs. St. Johns winner. ' ' ' |
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