Hurricanes of Miami Smother Rattlers of FAMU, 87-61

The Miami Hurricanes Men’s Basketball squad remains undefeated after beating Florida A&M University, 87-61, tonight at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, FL.

Norchad Omier led the way for the Canes with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Jordan Miller had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Bensley Joseph came off the bench to chip in 15 points. Miami ended their early-season trend of trailing at halftime, taking a 41-27 lead into the locker room.

Below are some random thoughts from the game.

Wooga Poplar continues to impress

Don’t you just love it when things work out the way they are supposed to? Wooga had a ton of hype in the preseason as the guy who would take the biggest leap this year. He has lived up to the expectations, and tonight was his best game yet; scoring a career-high 15 points on 7-11 shooting. Wooga also showed off his athleticism with a sick dunk to open the second half, then had another later on. He could be the difference between Miami being a good team and them contending for an ACC Championship. Keep it up, Wooga!

Anthony Walker HAS TO STOP SHOOTING 3s

I like Walker. He plays with energy, he is a tenacious defender, and he is a freak athlete who can jump over guys for rebounds and get to the rim with relative ease. The one thing he can’t do yet is shoot. His two first-half missed three-pointers were so far off it was laughable. Not only that, there wasn’t a defender within five feet of him on either attempt. To top it off, he shot an airball on a long jump shot in the second half, plus missed another three. The last attempt hit the rim at least. (Sigh). Yeah, tonight was against FAMU and the misses didn’t affect the outcome of the game. What terrifies me is when Walker is wide open on the wing against Duke, UNC, or FSU. I know he isn’t scared to take that shot. Confidence is great. Irrational confidence is not. I hope Coach L can get Walker to see the light sooner than later.

The future looks bright

With the game in hand for Miami late in the second half, Coach L got his freshmen some playing time tonight. And, it was encouraging! AJ Casey is the best of the bunch. He is a skilled big who looks for the best play as opposed to his shot; that’s rare for a kid right out of high school. Christian Watson possesses a smooth stroke from outside and has added significant weight and strength since he came to Coral Gables. That shows me he is taking his college basketball career seriously and wants to get on the court as soon as possible. Favor Aire is raw, but wow, his size and athleticism are exciting. Give Coach L and his staff credit for the recent recruiting!

Next up: Miami travels to Connecticut to take on the Providence Friars in the first round of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, 11/19 at 4:00 PM EST on ESPNews.

GO CANES!