The Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team is the

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

team of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. The team competes in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC). The University of Miami men's basketball team was formed in 1926, but the program was later dropped by the university in 1971. In 1985, 14 years later, the Hurricanes resumed play as an independent and joined the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

in 1991, winning the Big East regular season title in 2000. In 2004, in conjunction with the rest of the Miami athletic program, the team moved to the ACC. In 2012–2013, the team won its first regular season ACC championship and its first ACC championship. In the 2014–2015 season, they reached the final of the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

(NIT). The team has reached the NCAA Championship's Sweet 16 five times (1999–2000, 2012–2013, 2015–2016, 2021–2022, and 2022–2023), the Elite Eight twice ( 2021–2022 and 2022–2023), and the Final Four once (2022–2023). The

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

are currently coached by

Jai Lucas Jai Powell Lucas (born December 5, 1988) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team. He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. Playing career As a 5’10� ...

, who was named head coach following

Jim Larrañaga James Joseph Larrañaga Sr ( ; born October 2, 1949) is a former college basketball coach. He was most recently the head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team from 2011 to 2024 when he retired. Before joining the ...

's resignation and play their home games at the

Watsco Center The Watsco Center (originally named the University of Miami Convocation Center) is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The venue hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture se ...

History

Bill Foster era (1985–1990)

Leonard Hamilton era (1990–2000)

Perry Clark era (2000–2004)

Perry Clark took over the program at Miami in 2000 and spent four seasons with the Hurricanes, where he led them to a 65–54 (.546) record. In his first three seasons with the program, he accumulated 51 wins, the most ever by a Hurricane coach, and became the only Miami coach to take the Hurricanes to the postseason in each of his first two seasons. Clark's 2001–02 Hurricane squad finished 24–8 and received the school's fourth NCAA Tournament berth and set a school record for wins in a season. Included in the 24 wins were a school-record 14 consecutive victories to open the season. His Hurricanes were not ranked in the preseason, but were ranked for the final 13 weeks of the campaign, ending the year No. 21 according to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Frank Haith era (2004–2011)

Frank Haith was hired on April 11, 2004 and tasked with leading the Hurricanes into the

. In his first season, Haith took a team that was coming off two straight losing seasons and picked to finish last in the ACC and guided it to the postseason for the first time since 2002. As a result, Haith was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award. Haith again took Miami to the NIT in 2005, and the Hurricanes won their first two games before bowing out in a loss to the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. It was just the second time in Miami's basketball history that the Hurricanes had won back-to-back postseason games. Haith reached just one NCAA tournament as the head coach at Miami, leading the Hurricanes to a second-round appearance in 2008. The next season, Haith's team returned four starters, including sharpshooter

Jack McClinton Jack Paul McClinton (born January 19, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. McClinton played shooting guard for the University of Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team. He was selected in the second round by the San Anto ...

. Miami began the season ranked 16th in the USA Today/ESPN pre-season poll, and the media picked it to finish fourth in the ACC. However, Miami finished below .500 in conference play and missed the NCAA tournament, instead participating in the NIT. The following season, Haith's team finished in last place in the ACC. Haith has also led the Hurricanes to success off-the-court. Under Haith's tenure, all eight Miami senior basketball players who have completed their eligibility have earned their degrees. Miami also placed three players on the ACC All-Academic basketball team for the 2004–2005 season, more than any school in the conference.

Jim Larrañaga era (2011–2024)

On April 22, 2011, Jim Larrañaga accepted the head coaching position at the University of Miami. In his first season at Miami, he led the team to a 9–7 record in-conference. It marked the school's first ever winning record in the ACC. In his second season, Larrañaga led the Hurricanes to arguably their best season since the

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

era. They won the ACC regular-season title (the first time in 11 years, and only the fourth time in 32 years, that a team from North Carolina had not won at least a share of the title). The highlight of the season was an unprecedented 90–63 rout of #1 ranked

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. That win was Miami's first-ever defeat of a top-ranked team, and the largest margin of defeat for a #1 team ever. On March 17, 2013, Larrañaga coached the Hurricanes to the ACC tournament title—the first tournament title in the program's history — with an 87–77 win over

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. On April 4, 2013, Larrañaga was voted the Associated Press' college basketball coach of the year. A week later, the Hurricanes advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament with their school-record 29th win. The season ended the following weekend with a loss to Marquette. He claimed the Hurricanes had not enough energy to win the game because of Reggie Johnson's injury and

Shane Larkin DeShane Davis Larkin (born October 2, 1992) is an American-born naturalized Turkish professional basketball player and the team captain for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senio ...

's sickness. Since the mid-2010s, Miami men's basketball under Larrañaga has become a routine contender in the ACC and nationally. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Miami made their first Elite Eight in program history, only falling short against eventual national champions

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. In the 2023 tournament, the Hurricanes made an even bigger leap, overcoming top regional seed

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and second-seeded

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

en route to the program's first-ever

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. However, in the Final Four, they again ran into the eventual champions, this time falling to

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. In 2024, with expectations still high, Miami started strong, starting out 15–7, but they finished the season with 10 straight losses, resulting in a 15–17 record, ultimately missing out on the postseason. Following a 4–8 start to the 2024–25 season, Larrañaga announced he was stepping down from his head coaching position on December 26, 2024, with associate head coach Bill Courtney being named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Hurricanes have appeared in the NCAA tournament 12 times. Their combined record is 15–12.

NIT results

The Hurricanes have appeared in the

(NIT) 12 times. Their combined record is 11–12.

Notable players

file:Rick Barry 1972 publicity photo.JPG,

's #24 jersey was retired by the Hurricanes in 1976 DurandScott1

Retired numbers

Honored jerseys

"Honored" players are those former athletes who have had their jerseys hanging at the

rafters, although those numbers are not officially retired.

National Player of the Year

2013 –

, Lute Olson National Player of the Year

All-Americans

* 1960 – Dick Hickox, AP Second Team * 1965 –

, Consensus First Team * 1970 – Don Curnutt, Helms Second Team * 1999 – Tim James, AP Third Team * 2013 –

, AP, NABC Second Team, Sporting News Third Team, John Wooden All-American, Bob Cousy Award Finalist, John R. Wooden Award Finalist * 2023 – Isaiah Wong, NABC Third Team

ACC Player of the Year

2013 –

(Coaches)
2023 – Isaiah Wong

All-ACC Teams

First Team All-ACC: *

, 2008, 2009 *

, 2013 *

Kameron McGusty Kameron Alexander McGusty (born September 9, 1997) is an American basketball player for Legia Warsaw of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He previously played for the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the Oklahoma Soon ...

, 2022 * Isaiah Wong, 2023 Second Team All-ACC: * Guillermo Diaz, 2005, 2006 * Kenny Kadji, 2013 * Sheldon McClellan, 2016 * Jordan Miller, 2023 * Norchad Omier, 2024 Third Team All-ACC: * Robert Hite, 2006 *

, 2007 *

Malcolm Grant Sir Malcolm John Grant, , (born 29 November 1947) is a barrister, academic lawyer, and former law professor. Born and educated in New Zealand, he was the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principa ...

, 2011 * Kenny Kadji, 2012 * Rion Brown, 2014 * Tonye Jekiri, 2016 * Isaiah Wong, 2022 * Norchad Omier, 2023 ACC All-Rookie Team: * Durand Scott, 2010 *

, 2012 ACC All-Defensive Team: * Anthony King, 2005 *

, 2013 * Durand Scott, 2013 * Tonye Jekiri, 2015, 2016 * Charlie Moore, 2022 ACC All-Tournament Team: *

, 2013 (MVP) * Durand Scott, 2013 * Julian Gamble, 2013 (2nd Team) * Trey McKinney-Jones, 2013 (2nd Team)

Big East Player of the Year

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

– Tim James

All-Big East Teams

First Team All-Big East: * Tim James, 1998, 1999 * Johnny Hemsley, 1999 Second Team All-Big East: * Tim James, 1997 * Johnny Hemsley, 2000 * Darius Rice, 2002, 2004 *

John Salmons John Rashall Salmons (born December 12, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Miam ...

, 2002 Third Team All-Big East: * Constantin Popa, 1993, 1995 * Mario Bland, 2000 *

, 2001 * James Jones, 2002 * Darius Rice, 2003 Big East All-Rookie Team: * Steven Edwards, 1993 * Kevin Norris, 1995 * Tim James, 1996 * Darius Rice, 2001 * Guillermo Diaz, 2004 Big East All-Tournament Team: * Jerome Scott, 1992 * Tim James, 1999 * Marcus Barnes, 2002

All-time leaders

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Steals

Blocks

NBA draft selections

26 former Miami players have been drafted into the NBA: * Willie Allen, 1971 *

, 1965 * Bruce Brown, 2018 * Wayne Canaday, 1970 * Dwayne Collins, 2010 * Don Curnutt, 1970 * Guillermo Díaz, 2006 * Kyshawn George, 2024 * Dewan Hernandez, 2019 *

Tito Horford Alfredo William "Tito" Horford (born January 19, 1966) is a Dominican retired professional basketball player who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (39th overall) of the 1988 NBA draft. Horford played three years in the N ...

, 1988 * Tim James, 1999 * James Jones, 2003 *

, 2013 *

, 2009 * Mike McCoy, 1963 * Dick Miani, 1956 * Jordan Miller, 2023 * Rusty Parker, 1968 * Constantin Popa, 1995 * Davon Reed, 2017 *

, 2002 * Bill Soens, 1968 * Lonnie Walker IV, 2018 * Mike Wittman, 1967 * Isaiah Wong, 2023 *

Joe Wylie Joseph Jay Wylie Sr. (born February 10, 1968), is an American retired professional basketball player. Born in Washington, D.C., he is listed at 6'9" and weighed 210 lbs. Wylie played collegiate ball with the University of Miami Hurricanes ...

, 1991

Coaches

Storm Surge

Origins

Storm Surge is the official student section of Miami Hurricanes men's and women's basketball. It was founded in 2011. Prior to Storm Surge's creation, Miami had been victim to years of inconsistent student attendance and a lack of student interest in the basketball program, and prior attempts to create a lasting student section such as "UBeach" and "Haith's Faithful" were largely unsuccessful. Storm Surge works directly with Miami's athletic department to enhance the game day experience and encourage greater involvement from the student body. Storm Surge began with 500 members, but saw average student attendance jump to over 1,100 for ACC games in 2012–2013, its second season. As student capacity at the BUC is limited, students are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis, with students often arriving hours beforehand or camping out to get the best seats.

Traditions

Storm Surge has become famous for its creative and unique free throw chants and distractions, digging up embarrassing facts and pictures of opposing players, and its slogan, "Pack The BUC," which can be seen on T-shirts, signs, and promotional materials at University of Miami home games. Like many student sections, Storm Surge distributes cheer sheets prior to each game, detailing specific cheers for that game. The group also has the ability to create cheers on the fly through the use of a large whiteboard at the front of the student section, which is used to coordinate all cheers. Storm Surge's official color is orange, and all members wear orange to every game. The student section is situated behind both baskets and consists of bleacher seating and traditional seating. As bleacher seating is closest to the floor, the students in the bleachers are typically the team's biggest supporters. Before each game, Storm Surge sings the national anthem together, even if the anthem is being sung by an individual performer. During opposing teams' introductions, students turn around to face away from the court and throw up "The U." During Miami's home introductions, the student section links arms and rocks left to right, going faster and faster before erupting into cheers for the Hurricanes. For Miami's free throws, students hold up one finger, all jumping once on a made free throw and twice on the second free throw if both free throws are made. Storm Surge also organizes watch parties and live online blogs for every away game. These events are open to all students and typically take place on campus. Following major road wins, the group gathers at the BankUnited Center to greet and congratulate the returning Hurricanes team, a tradition that has since carried over to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. Membership in the organization also entitles students to exclusive meet and greets with players, priority seating to games, and promotions and giveaways.

Larrañaga Lawn

In 2013, due to unprecedented demand for student tickets to the January 23 game against the #1 ranked

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

, students camped out on an adjacent field to the BankUnited Center, which was promptly dubbed "Larrañaga Lawn," after Coach

. Students camped out for several other games during the 2012–2013 season, including sold out contests against FSU and UNC. Coach

and members of the team always greet students lined up on Larrañaga Lawn both the night before the game and again on game day, often bringing food to students in line. Lawn sports such as football, frisbee, and Kan-jam have become popular ways for students in line to pass the time on Larrañaga Lawn.

National attention

Storm Surge made national headlines in 2012 during Miami's home game against UNC, when students chanted "

Austin Rivers Austin James Rivers (born August 1, 1992) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a sports analyst for ESPN. He played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 2012 NBA draft, Rivers was se ...

" at UNC free throw shooter

Tyler Zeller Tyler Paul Zeller (born January 17, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he played on their 2009 national championship team and as a senior was ...

, whom Rivers had hit a buzzer beater over in UNC's previous game. Storm Surge was again in the national spotlight following Miami's 90–63 rout of

in January 2013 when students rushed the court in celebration. The student section has been praised by many notable visitors, including:

Jimmy Graham Jimmy Graham (born November 24, 1986) is an American professional American football, football tight end. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft. Graham has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks, G ...

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football ...

Dick Vitale Richard "Dick" John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadc ...

, and

Carlos Boozer Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The two-time NBA All-Star played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last season ...

. In 2013, Storm Surge received a number of accolades, including three of the "Best Fan Signs in College Basketball" by USA Today and was featured on national programs such as PTI,

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

, and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's documentary "March Madness Fandemonium". In addition, it was recognized as one of the toughest ACC venues by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

during numerous broadcasts throughout the season. On January 24, 2013, Storm Surge was featured on the front page of

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe countie ...

following Miami's win over Duke. On February 9, 2013, Storm Surge was featured on the landing page of ESPN.com following Miami's blowout home win over UNC. After losing its flair following some up-and-down seasons, the student section was renamed to "The Eye" at the start of the 2021-22 season. More about The Eye can be found on Category 5's page, which is the University of Miami's official student school spirit organization.

Facilities

Miami Beach Auditorium The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2020 for $640 million. The re-imagined and enha ...

Miami Beach Convention Center The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015 to 2020 for $640 million. The re-imagined and enha ...

The Miami Hurricanes played their home games at the Miami Beach Convention Center from 1956-1971.

James L. Knight Center (1985–1988)

On November 12, 1985, the Knight Sports Complex was dedicated at a gala banquet that was held on the basketball courts of the new structure.

basketball analyst

Billy Packer Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski; February 25, 1940 – January 26, 2023) was an American college basketball player, sportscaster, and author. Packer spent more than three decades working as a color analyst for television ...

served as the evening’s guest speaker for an event that welcomed more than 500 guests to the on-campus home of Hurricane basketball. The facility served as the practice home to the men’s and women’s basketball programs, while also housing the men’s basketball coaching staff offices until the team moved to

Miami Arena Miami Arena was an indoor arena located in Miami, Florida. The venue served as the home of the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). From 1988 until 1999, it also ...

in 1988. In addition, the Knight Sports Complex enabled the athletic program to more than double the size of the existing strength room, while also providing meeting rooms and lecture rooms for all of Miami’s student-athletes.

Miami Arena (1988–2002)

The Hurricanes called Miami Arena home from 1988 until December 2002. The downtown arena attracted large crowds for marquee opponents as the program began play in the

in 1991. The school shared the facility with the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

and the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

until each respective professional franchise built newer stadiums.

Watsco Center (2002–present)

After years of planning, Hurricanes basketball finally moved on-campus on January 4, 2003 when the Hurricanes defeated No. 22

in overtime to christen the opening of the Convocation Center (nicknamed the "Convo"). The $48 million facility was funded through private donations, though was later renamed the BankUnited Center in 2005. In 2016, the University announced the renaming of the facility as the

References

External links

* {{Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball navbox Miami Hurricanes men's basketball Sports in Coral Gables, Florida