Miami (OH) Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

   Kenny Hayes’ intense pain figures to become Miami’s impressive gain.

The senior point guard injured his right wrist in the RedHawks’ eighth game of the 2008-09 season, which put an abrupt end to Hayes’ breakout. He was averaging 13.9 points and 3.8 assists before being forced to take his redshirt year. Now Miami’s clear leader has been getting buzz as the MAC’s potential top player.

“Kenny’s a great player,” said 14th-year coach Charlie Coles. “We were very disappointed when he got hurt last year because we felt he could’ve helped us win more. Kenny was good for 1 or 2 more wins.”

As it was, the RedHawks settled for 17 wins despite having MAC Player of the Year Michael Bramos (17.9 ppg, 71 3-pointers) on their side. With Bramos, Tyler Dierkers (9.2 ppg) and Eric Pollitz (5.8 ppg) having been graduated, Miami has lots of room for Hayes (who boasts a 38-inch vertical) and some little-known players to take a big leap forward.

Coles looks at relatively inexperienced guys like junior swingman Antonio Ballard (6.7 ppg), junior forward Nick Winbush (4.1 ppg), junior guard Rodney Haddix II (2.3 ppg) and sophomore power forward Julian Mavunga (3.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg)—Ballard had 16 of the quartet’s 20 starts—and figures the RedHawks will improve as much as they do.

Miami also boasts four freshmen who might not to need to wait their turn for time. Guards Orlando Williams (Cincinnati) and Allen Roberts (Middletown, Ohio) are in particularly good position to see early minutes since Hayes is the only guard with starting experience. Forward Drew Kelly, who won Tennessee’s Class AAA Mr. Basketball award, also has a skill set that translates to early minutes.

NOTES, QUOTES

   —Senior center Adam Fletcher is Miami’s leading returner in starts (29) and minutes (728). The 6-foot-8, 226-pound fifth-year senior’s biggest strength is his post defense, but coach Charlie Coles wants Fletcher to improve his post game so the RedHawks can feed him inside. Fletcher averaged just 4.6 points last year even though he shot 48 percent from the floor.

• Junior forward Nick Winbush is the team’s top returner in 3-pointers with just 19. The RedHawks would like to exploit his range by shifting the 6-7, 213-pound Winbush to power forward, where he could produce mismatches. Winbush hit 19 of 56 shots from 3-point range last year (34 percent) and 27 of 62 on 2-pointers (44 percent).

• Shortly after last season ended, Miami signed coach Charlie Coles to a three-year extension. He needs just 2 conference wins to supplant former Toledo coach Bob Hunter as the MAC’s winningest coach. Coles owns a 193-132 MAC record to show for his 13 years at Miami and six years at Central Michigan.

Last Year:   17-13 overall, 10-6 in the MAC East; lost in quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament.

   HEAD COACH: Charlie Coles (career 316-252); 14th year at Miami (224-168).

   QUOTE TO NOTE: “It helps us out in the motivation of our players and our recruiting.”—Miami coach Charlie Coles on the program’s ability to schedule nearby powerhouses Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton and Wright State on a regular basis. The RedHawks face all four during pre-conference play.

 

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

   SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: Miami welcomes a four-man freshman class that draws rave reviews from coach Charlie Coles. Versatile forward Drew Kelly (6-6, 230) won Tennessee’s Mr. Basketball for Class AAA, while guard Orlando Williams (6-4, 180) led Princeton High School to Ohio’s Div. I state title and was named by the Cincinnati Enquirer as its Div. I Player of the Year. Guard Allen Roberts (6-3, 205) also was recruited as a wide receiver while center Drew McGhee (6-11, 220) needs to add muscle to complement his high-level skills.

   KEY EARLY-SEASON GAMES: Charlie Coles never shies away from a challenge or five. Miami loads up its non-conference schedule every year and this season is no exception. The RedHawks travel to Kentucky (Nov. 16), Cincinnati (Dec. 10), Xavier (Dec. 23) and Colorado (Jan. 5), but also travel to New Mexico for the Basketball Travelers Tournament that concludes with a game against the hosts on Nov. 22.

   PROGRAM DIRECTION: The RedHawks are locked into a decent groove. In each of the last four years, they’ve won either 17 or 18 games and their final RPI has been no better than No. 81 but no worse than No. 93. If Miami’s freshman class is as strong as Coles believes it to be, those youngsters could lead him back to the NCAA Tournament before his three-year contract extension concludes.

   PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP: PG Kenny Hayes, SG Rodney Haddix II, SF Antonio Ballard, PF Julian Mavunga, C Adam Fletcher.

   ROSTER REPORT:

• PF Julian Mavunga had arthroscopic surgery after last season to clean out a painful knee. Coach Charlie Coles says he’s fine.

• SG Rodney Haddix II is viewed by coach Charlie Coles as the RedHawk most likely to make the biggest leap in scoring. The junior averaged 2.3 points in just 7.0 minutes per game last season.

• Freshman swingman Orlando Williams won the dunk contest at the Kentucky/Ohio all-star game.

• Charlie Coles rewarded sophomore F Adam Thomas and redshirt freshman F/C Vince Legarza with scholarships this season. They have a chance for them to be renewed each year.