Durand Scott, a 6’5″ guard who just finished a solid college basketball career at the University of Miami, talks to us about playing at the Portsmouth Invitational, his shoe game and what he’s working on to get better and improve his chances at a pro career.
Miami Hurricanes
Miami’s Larrañaga wins Coach of the Year
ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – Miami (Fla.)’s Jim Larrañaga is the 2012-13 recipient of the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the national coach of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
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Larrañaga will be recognized by the USBWA on Friday, April 5, at a 9:15 a.m. ET news conference in Atlanta in conjunction with the Final Four. The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the national player of the year will also be announced in Atlanta at that time.
Larrañaga will be formally presented with the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award on Monday, April 15, at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards gala in Oklahoma City. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will also be presented that evening.
In his second season at Miami, Larrañaga, 63, has led the Hurricanes to a 27-6 record, including the school’s first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament titles. The ‘Canes will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008 as a No. 2 seed in the East Region.
The USBWA District IV Coach of the Year and the ACC Coach of the Year has guided the Hurricanes to a school-record 27 wins, including a 15-3 mark in ACC play. Miami opened conference play with 13 straight wins. Currently ranked 5th by the Associated Press, the Hurricanes have been ranked as high as No. 2 this season.
“Jim Larrañaga’s story should inspire us all. He gave hope to hundreds of so-called ‘mid-major’ schools by leading George Mason to the Final Four in 2006,” said USBWA President John Akers of Basketball Times. “Then, in just two seasons at Miami, he convinced a bunch of players who had known mostly disappointment to buy in for what has been a dream season. Truly inspirational.”
“Coach L definitely deserves this award because of his passion for the game of basketball and his dedication to the team and the University of Miami,” said Miami guard Shane Larkin. “He said he would take this program to the top, and in only year two, we are ACC champions.”
Including this season, Larrañaga now boasts a 517-353 (59.4 winning percentage) overall career record in 29 seasons as a college head coach. Prior to coming to Miami, Larrañaga was 273-164 in 14 seasons at George Mason, including 13 straight winning seasons, five NCAA Tournament appearances and the school’s memorable 2006 Final Four run.
The Henry Iba Award is named in honor of the legendary Oklahoma State coach who won 655 games and two national championships in 36 seasons in Stillwater. The award is voted on by all members of the USBWA at the conclusion of the regular season. The USBWA has presented a National Coach of the Year Award each year since the 1958-59 season.
Tickets and sponsorship information for the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards are available at collegebasketballawards.com or by contacting Scott Hill (405-749-1515, scott.hill@access-sports.net). The April 15 banquet will also honor Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart with the Integris Wayman Tisdale Award as the national freshman of the year and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo as the recipient of theWayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.
Related link:
• Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award
Basketball Roundup, 8.22.2011
Source:GAMEFACE-PHOTOS
Some of the top stories in the world of basketball today:
Missouri may be having second thoughts about hiring coach Frank Haith from Miami after last week’s news of potentially massive recruiting violations at the U. But Missouri, for now, is content to take a wait-and-see approach. Officially, the university says there were no red flags in hiring Haith.
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Following their much-publicized brawl with a Chinese team, the Georgetown Hoyas have become a hot ticket in Shanghai, and it’s caused coach John Thompson III more headaches than he anticipated for this trip:
“It would be misleading if didn’t say that the last couple of days have been trying and stressful,” Thompson told ABC News. “But for me as coach and for the players it’s good to get back on the court.
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It’s not clear if Delonte West is seriously looking for a job in retail, but last week he Tweeted that he had put in an application at Home Depot.
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With the strong possibility of no NBA season this year, or at least, no professional basketball in the United States for some time, sports media focused on summer games at Rucker Park and various Pro-Ams like never before. The Drew League vs. Goodman League battle managed to even land on the front page of ESPN.
Miami Hurricanes Land In NCAA Sights
By Marcus Shockley
The Miami Hurricanes football and basketball programs have found themselves the latest target of the NCAA, and it’s tied to the ever growing story of Nevin Shapiro.
It’s almost become synonymous with boosters involved in big time financial advisers who work with sports clients that there is a possibility that they are running a Ponzi scheme, which will eventually crash and take down a lot of people in the process. This isn’t entirely reality, but it does bring us back to the point we made last week that players need to develop their off-the-court life skills.
One myth that I see in high school and college basketball is that there are big pools of money floating around, even for unknown players. While there is money being thrown around in some circles, you have to realize that one of the telltale signs to a scam is someone flashing a lot of money and “lifestyle”. Someone who flashes diamond rings or Rolex watches and tells you he wants to help you manage your money is a guy to stay away from.
But this case strikes a harsh blow into the Miami program, whose football program was trying to find it’s way back to serious prominence. The evidence in this case is significant, with money being paid by players and the guy who was paying them now in jail.