Larranaga pleased transfer Olaniyi might play vs. Pitt, but blasts timing of NCAA ruling
A last-minute NCAA ruling might be just what the doctor ordered as the hobbled University of Miami men’s basketball team plays Pitt on Wednesday night in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
The UM home game is scheduled for 6 p.m., one hour after the NCAA Division I Council is expected to rule that all transfers are eligible immediately rather than requiring them to sit out the season as they normally do.
If that happens, Stony Brook transfer guard Elijah Olaniyi would be eligible to play for the Hurricanes (3-1), who had only six scholarship players healthy enough to participate in Monday’s and Tuesday’s practices, according to coach Jim Larranaga.
Chris Lykes and Earl Timberlake remain out with ankle injuries, guard Kameron McGusty pulled his right hamstring in Saturday’s 66-62 loss to Florida Gulf Coast, and center Rodney Miller injured his left groin dunking during warmups before the FGCU game. Freshman forward Matt Cross sat out of practice with a shoulder injury and is “day to day.”
“I spoke to Elijah and I told him that I’m very, very hopeful,” Larranaga said. “I have my fingers crossed. I hear rumors that all transfers in men’s and women’s basketball are going to be eligible starting 5 o’clock Wednesday. So, in all likelihood, he will be in uniform, will be in the starting lineup and will play as many minutes as he can possibly play. It’s very conceivable he could play all 40 minutes.”
Olaniyi averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds last season and was named All-America East First Team.
Asked what Olaniyi brings the squad, Larranaga replied: “I’m hoping he brings a lot of points, rebounds, assists, rebounds. He’s a lot like guys we’ve had — Kam McGusty, Sheldon McClellan — pretty athletic, can score. Elijah’s a good cutter, can move without the ball, has worked very hard defensively. But he has been on the scout team. This will be first time he is with our starters.”
UM faces a tough team in Pitt (4-1), which is led by guard Xavier Johnson and forward Justin Champagnie, who is coming off back-to-back 20 points/20 rebounds games. He scored 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds against Gardner-Webb and had 20 and 20 against Northwestern. It is just the third time in the past 25 years a Power 5 player has had consecutive 20/20 games.
Although Larranaga said he is in favor of letting the transfers play immediately, he expressed dismay that the NCAA decision was not made earlier.
“We could have had Elijah over the weekend and he would have made a significant difference,” Larranaga said. “The way I look at rules is, the rule is either good or not good. If they make all the transfers eligible right now, I look at it two ways. I’m very, very happy because it’s a good thing, but they should have done it before the season began.
“I don’t know why you wait so long to make those decisions. I’m not an administrator. I don’t know how those things work. In my mind, the decision was already made that transfers are going to be eligible starting next year. Well, if it’s good next year and from now on, why isn’t it good now? That doesn’t make any sense to me at all.”
He stressed that in the past four or five years, there have been over 1,000 transfers per season, which is an average of three per team.
“That means three guys are sitting on somebody’s bench on scholarship, not playing basketball. Again, that doesn’t make any sense financially, or the player having to waste a year not competing. Why are we waiting?”
Larranaga first criticized the timing of the ruling after Saturday’s loss.
“I would have liked to have seen us be at full strength and if they make the rule and pass the rule that Elijah can play. It would be nice to have him for Wednesday. From what I understand that decision is not going to be announced until 5 o’clock on Wednesday afternoon. Are you kidding me? That’s a joke. What people don’t have cell phones? They don’t have Zoom meetings? We have to wait until the last minute. We play at 6. Can you imagine if I’m telling Elijah, ‘Hey you can play, go get a uniform on and it’s 10 to 6? This stuff is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.”