What you should know as UM men’s and women’s basketball teams tip off season on Monday
The University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams tip off the 2024-25 season at home on Monday, hoping to build on the excitement the football team has generated the past few months.
The women’s team, under new coach Tricia Cullop, gets the day started with an 11 a.m. game against Stetson at the Watsco Center. The early tipoff is because thousands of schoolkids are invited to the game.
Jim Larranaga begins his 14th UM season at 7 p.m. Monday night as the Hurricanes men’s team takes on Fairleigh Dickinson. There are 10 new players on the Miami roster, including six transfers and the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history, led by five-star guard Jalil Bethea.
Guard Nijel Pack is the sole remaining player from the 2023 Final Four team. The other two returnees from last season are guards Matt Cleveland and Paul Djobet. Cleveland missed last week’s exhibition win over St. Leo with an upper body injury and Djobet impressed with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
The Hurricanes’ front court features 6-10 Virginia Tech transfer Lynn Kidd and 6-8 East Carolina transfer Brandon Johnson, which opens things up for the guards.
“It’s great for us, especially our three-point shooters, because if you don’t double team Lynn, it’s pretty much a bucket every single time; but if you do, we’ve got so many outside threats, it’s kind of like `Pick your poison’,” Pack said.
Last season, Miami followed up its Final Four run with a disappointing 15-17 (6-14 ACC) season and didn’t make the tournament. The ACC preseason poll projects the Canes to to finish sixth in the conference this season.
Fairleigh Dickinson, coached by Jack Castleberry, was picked third in the Northeast Conference preseason poll after a 15-17 (9-7 NEC) record last season.
The Knights’ players to watch are forward Jo’el Emanuel, the top returning scorer; wing Cam Tweedy, who sat out last season with a knee injury; and guard Terrence Brown.
The UM women’s team has a new coach for the first time in 20 years after the retirement of Katie Meier. Three key players are back from the Elite Eight team. Jasmyne Roberts returns for a fourth year and twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder are back after a one-year hiatus from basketball.
“It was incredibly hard when Coach Katie left, and i’s a different style of play than prior years, but I chose to stay because I trusted Coach TC and her vision for this program,” Roberts said. “She knows how to win, knows how to put players in positions to be great.”
Michigan transfer Cameron Williams joins UM for her final year of eligibility and Natalija Marshall transferred from Notre Dame. The freshmen include Ahnay Adams, Leah Harmon, and Simone Pelish.
Stetson women’s basketball’s all-time winningest head coach, Lynn Bria enters her 17th season with the Hatters.