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Projected Starting Lineup
G – Jack McClinton 6-1 Sr. (31.5 MPG, 17.7 PPG, 2.6 APG)
G – Lance Hurdle 6-2 Sr. (22.3 MPG, 8.0 PPG, 2.4 APG)
G – James Dews 6-4 Jr. (28.5 MPG, 10.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG)
F – DeQuan Jones 6-6 Fr. (5-Star Prospect)
F – Dwayne Collins 6-8 Jr. (20.0 MPG, 8.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG)

Impact Bench Players
G – Eddie Rios 6-0 So. (14.1 MPG, 3.4 PPG, 2.1 APG)
F – Brian Asbury 6-7 Sr. (24.5 MPG, 8.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG)
F – Jimmy Graham 6-8 Sr. (18.2 MPG, 6.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG)

Guards
Miami should be pretty set at the guard position as they return all of their four main contributors from a year ago. Senior leader Jack McClinton runs the point, and is clearly the best player on the team. He averaged over 17 points a game last season thanks to some deadly 3 point shooting where he connected on 43% of his attempts. Fellow senior Lance Hurdle can also run the point, and he’s actually probably the better passer of the two. However, he’s not a very good shooter and would be best advised taking fewer shots. James Dews also returns to the starting lineup, and he’s the only other double digit per game scorer returning. It would be nice to see Dews become a little more involved in the offense because he’s a great shooter and a smart player. Coming off the bench to run the point will be Eddie Rios. We won’t be seeing a ton of him since all three starters are upperclassmen, and because Rios struggled in his freshman year. He does look to be a great passer, though.


Forwards
Miami does have to replace a couple of its forwards, as starter Anthony King, as well as Raymond Hicks were both seniors last year. King was actually a center, so they will start two forwards this year. Dwayne Collins started about half of Miami’s games last year, and he’ll step into the full time role this season. Collins’ offense could use some work, although they really just count on his defense and rebounding. Joining him in the starting lineup will be freshman DeQuan Jones. Jones, a five star recruit, likes to play on the perimeter and is known for his excellent penetration. The main guys off the bench will once again be seniors Brian Asbury and Jimmy Graham. They combined for 27 starts last season, so having experienced guys off the bench will be huge. Asbury is good enough to start for a lot of teams, and he’s actually a pretty good shooter for his size. Graham will mainly be used when they need some defense.

Final Thoughts
This Hurricanes group is very experienced, as six of the eight guys that we expect to play the most are all upperclassmen. That will come in handy once ACC play starts. The main area of concern we have with this team is that they have not been good defensively under Haith. Their perimeter defense was awful last season, and with the same core of guards returning, there’s not much reason to think that will improve much. However, this is a pretty solid offensive team, and when McClinton and Dews are feeling it behind the arc, lookout. There’s no question who the class of the ACC is, but after that, it’s up for grabs. Most of the teams inside the conference returned much of their teams, so Miami isn’t going to be handed 3rd place. But if the defense improves and the freshman Jones turns out to be a quality player, Miami could go a round farther and make the Sweet 16.

Links

- Yahoo Team Report