This is why Sam Waardenburg traveled 8,000 miles from New Zealand to play for Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes fans can thank Coach Jim Larranaga’s son, Jay, for alerting his father in the summer of 2016 that there was a 6-10 kid from New Zealand named Sam Waardenburg who might be a good fit for the UM program.
The younger Larranaga was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics at the time and saw Waardenburg play at an NBA-sponsored camp in Australia. Waardenburg was already turning heads that year as a member of New Zealand’s youth national team, playing at tournaments in Kazakhstan, Fiji, and China.
He was eager to play college ball in the United States after seeing other Kiwis having success, including high school teammate Tai Wynyard at Kentucky.
“It was a really good camp, and Coach L’s son recommended me to Coach L, who put assistant coach Adam Fisher on the job of recruiting me, and ever since Day One I felt a sense of family,” said Waardenburg, one of five players being honored at the home game against Virginia Tech Saturday (3 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) as part of UM Senior Day.
“I came to visit and fell in love with the beautiful campus, beautiful city and the vibe around the program.”
Both of his parents were teachers and earned master’s degrees, academics were vital to Waardenburg and liked that Miami’s geography department had a good reputation. Since arriving on campus, he has obtained a bachelor’s degree in Geography, added a master’s degree in Sports Administration in August 2021 and is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Liberal Arts.
On the court, Waardenburg’s role has grown each season. Last year he sat out the entire season with a rare and serious Lisfranc (midfoot) injury. He was devastated at first but used the time off to help Fisher with scouting reports and observe the game from a coach’s point of view. He says that perspective has helped him in his starting role this season with the Hurricanes, who are 20-8 and 12-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference heading into Saturday’s game.
“That time on the bench built my basketball IQ to another level,” he said, and he has become an integral part of Miami’s offense and defense, averaging 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds.
“You can’t even measure the value and impact he’s had at both ends of the court,” Larranaga said of the sixth-year senior. “When you describe players like Sam you normally would describe them as a stretch four but because of our roster we decided to move him to the five and let him handle the ball a lot, screen on the ball a lot, and stay on the perimeter where he can utilize his three-point shooting and driving ability.
“He’s done all those things exceptionally well. He’s handled the ball, screened, shot from three, driven to the basket. If you look what he’s done, being an undersized five man, in terms of bulk, he weighs 215 playing against guys 240-250 and he’s been able to sustain great effort throughout the games.”
He also is a locker room leader. When the transfer portal exploded last spring, Waardenburg was the first UM player to announce he was returning. He says he was determined to not leave the program worse than it was when he arrived.
“I came in with guys like Davon Reed and Kamari Murphy, with the program at arguably its best, I experienced the NCAA Tournament a few times, and the next three years were not where it should have been, so I didn’t want to leave it while it was down in the gutters,” he said.
After he declared his return, Isaiah Wong and Kam McGusty followed.
“His decision to return to school is probably the most important decision for this team to have the success it has enjoyed so far,” Larranaga said. “There’s always a domino effect. When Sam announced that he was returning that was a major step, very positive statement for our program and had a great impact on his teammates.”
Teammate Jordan Miller said of Waardenburg: “His basketball IQ is very high. Him being able to play at the five position and be a pick and pop threat and take the other bigs off the bounce because they don’t necessarily have lateral quickness is something that really helps our team. He also provides leadership, he’s been through a lot, and is highly respected.”
Other seniors being honored Saturday are McGusty, Charlie Moore, Deng Gak and Rodney Miller Jr.