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Each new season unfurls a ton of possibilities: Will the 'Canes hold their own in the super-competitive ACC? How will the assortment of transfers and the young, talented, yet unproven recruits fit into Coach Jim Larranaga's plans for galactic domination? Will Deandre Burnett represent the 305 after an injury-stricken freshman year? And the Fans of Guardians of the Galaxy that stayed after the credits were treated to a short scene involving Howard the Duck, a cosmic duck-like creature who was the titular character of George Lucas' 1986 mega-flop. All kidding aside, the 'Canes dismantled Howard piece by piece on their way to a most important question: Will the 'Canes punch a ticket to the Big Dance?
At least for one night, all of these questions had a positive tilt as the 'Canes obliterated Howard. Miami opened the first five minutes of the game on a 17-1 run and didn't look back. Angel Rodriguez was in control of the offense, Sheldon McClellan continued his love of dunking and getting to the rim, and the 'Canes showed off some decent ball movement and acumen from behind the three-point line.
At times the defense was a bit spotty and there was some slop, but that's to be expected from a team with a ton of new pieces. As the season progresses the 'Canes should make big strides toward becoming a well-balanced basketball machine. Ivan Cruz Uceda will be eligible to play halfway through the season and Davon Reed, a standout freshman from a season ago will heal up from injury and be able to bolster the 'Canes efforts down the road.
And look at the bright side - even the walk-ons got in the game near the end and Mike Hernandez nailed a three that drew a rousing cheer from the sparsely-populated BUC.
The 'Canes take on the 7th ranked Florida Gators in Gainesville on 11/17 in their toughest non-conference match-up.
| Howard Bison | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Marcel Boyd, C | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Damon Collins, F | 4-8 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 12 | ||
| James Miller, F | 1-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| James Daniel, G | 3-15 | 1-8 | 3-4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | ||
| James Carlton, G | 2-10 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| BENCH | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Dalique Mingo, NA | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| 18-63 | 2-18 | 11-21 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 16 | 22 | 49 | |||
| 28.6% | 11.1% | 52.4% | ||||||||||||
| Miami (FL) Hurricanes | ||||||||||||||
| STARTERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| Tonye Jekiri, C | 2-6 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Joe Thomas, F | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Angel Rodriguez, G | 4-11 | 3-6 | 5-7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 16 | ||
| Sheldon McClellan, G | 8-12 | 0-3 | 3-4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 | ||
| Manu Lecomte, G | 5-9 | 3-6 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | ||
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | ||
| 27-59 | 9-23 | 21-25 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 84 | |||
| 45.8% | 39.1% | 84.0% | ||||||||||||
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: None - TEAMS: None