Kidd, Djobet injured, adding to UM basketball woes heading into road game at Georgia Tech
As if the reeling, last-place University of Miami men’s basketball team didn’t have enough adversity to deal with, the team will be without starting center Lynn Kidd and guard Paul Djobet against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night as both have sprained ankles.
Kidd was injured during practice last Thursday and missed the North Carolina game on Saturday. Djobet rolled his ankle during the game against the Tar Heels. Neither will make the trip to Atlanta.
“We’re down to whatever we have,” UM coach Bill Courtney said.
Miami has been missing former captain Nijel Pack since the second week of December as he deals with an unspecified foot injury. Pack, the only player left from UM’s 2023 Final Four team, has missed the past 19 games and is not expected back for the final two games of the season.
Asked if Pack has applied for a medical redshirt, Courtney said: “I honestly don’t know. I think he has to do it through doctors, as it’s a medical situation and he does it through UM. I don’t know the ins and outs of it, and I haven’t talked to him or his father about that, so I wouldn’t know where he is in that process.”
Courtney is trying to get the Hurricanes (6-23 overall, 2-16 ACC) to the finish line while reports swirl that Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas will be hired as Miami’s next head coach as soon as this weekend.
“Any success for us is going to taste great,” Courtney said. “We talked about it after the North Carolina game [a 92-73 loss]. We said, `Who’s committed to trying to win these last two games?’ They all raised their hand. They’re all still giving 100 percent effort. You’ll see a team that’s going to be motivated.”
One Hurricanes player who has been a bright spot is Matthew Cleveland, who scored 25 points and had five rebounds and five assists against he Tar Heels. He averages 20.1 points per game and is the third-leading scorer in the ACC, behind Notre Dame’s Markus Burton (22.2 ppg) and Duke’s Cooper Flagg (21.1 ppg).
“Matthew has made a lot of improvements, really worked at his game in the offseason,” Courtney said. “He’s done a good job of putting his head down and staying focused.”
Courtney took over the team on Dec. 26 after the unexpected retirement of Coach Jim Larranaga, with whom he worked for decades. Courtney said Larranaga remains one of his best friends, a mentor, and they speak almost every day.
“I’ve been with the guy since I was 26 years old, and I’m not 26 anymore,” said Courtney, who is 54. “He’s a tremendous resource for me. He tries hard not to suggest things, even though I know he really wants to, but if there’s a nugget that I can glean from him, I’ll take it at all times.”
For now, Courtney is focused on keeping his players motivated this week.
“My job is to continue to teach, continue to coach,” he said. “Hopefully, I can help these guys learn some lessons that are going to help them further down the road, in their basketball careers, in their life as they become adults. That’s the way I look at it, as a responsibility. I’ve enjoyed coaching these guys, even though we’ve had rough times.”
After Tuesday’s game, the Hurricanes return home for the season finale Saturday at noon against N.C. State.
With the addition of three new schools this season, the ACC is not inviting the bottom three teams in the standings to the conference tournament. The UM men’s and women’s teams both failed to make the cut, just two years after the men reached the Final Four and the women made the Elite Eight. The men are in last place and the UM women finished in 16th place at 4-14 (14-15 overall) after Sunday’s 82-63 loss at Cal.
Courtney lamented that all ACC teams are not invited.
“I understand both sides of it, from a logistical standpoint with the ACC, but I would love to see everybody get invited,” he said. “Obviously, I’m biased. I think it gives kids motivation to play and it’s an unbelievable experience that some of these guys will never get.”