Dave Hyde: Did Miami, FAU runs to Final Four signal start of a golden era for college basketball in South Florida?
It was already the morning after when Jim Larrañaga got in a golf cart underneath NRG Stadium after losing in the Final Four and talking to the national media. He
It was already the morning after when Jim Larrañaga got in a golf cart underneath NRG Stadium after losing in the Final Four and talking to the national media. He was on his way back to the Miami Hurricanes locker room, back to his players, where the offseason already awaited.
“A magic carpet ride,” he called UM’s first-ever run to a Final Four.
Throw in Florida Atlantic’s similar run, and it was two carpet rides for a South Florida that never had one team in a Final Four. But now what? Is this the front end of a golden era of college basketball to awaken even our tepid market? Or a one-and-done shining moment to embrace?
First, consider this was back-to-back historic seasons for Miami. It made the Elite Eight for the first time last year. Something is happening in Coral Gables. To understand what Larrañaga has built, look also at an e-mail sent by school president Julio Frenk in September of 2021 announcing a philosophical change in the athletic program.
Simply put, Frenk announced money would flow. Most outside attention followed the big-dollar hire of football coach Mario Cristobal that next winter and the revamping of football facilities.
“Basketball was a big part of it, too,” said Rudy Fernandez, Miami’s vice president of external affairs and strategic initiatives.
Where Miami previously flew on a cramped, 30-seat plane on trips, it now has a remodeld, full-size plane with 68 first-class seats so, “big bodies can stretch out,” as Fernandez said. The locker room was redone. A new weight room for basketball is being built. A staff position was added to take some office work off the coaching staff’s plates.
The women’s team, which advanced to a first Elite Eight this NCAA Tournament, were partners in this. All this money improving the program’s innards was lost amid the louder money of sugar-daddy like LifeWallet CEO John Ruiz simultaneously announcing a new era in college sports.
Ruiz became the national face of Name, Image and Likeness money paid to players with a stated, $10 million annual budget from LifeWallet. That means when Larrañaga looks in the transfer portal again this spring he can target a recruit who can approach Ruiz for a deal. Guard Nijel Pack got $400,000 a year from Ruiz. He’s back next year, too, as is much of this team.
The added impact of NIL money could come in Isaiah Wong’s decision. The ACC Player of the Year could go to the NBA, even as a pro scout considers him, “maybe a late-first round pick.” Wong might decide instead to keep collecting similar NIL money to Pack and build his game another year in college, just as most of this roster can.
Jordan Miller is the most versatile of Miami players and one the scout said has, “a good NBA career ahead of him.” Center Norchad Omier has just, “scratched the surface,” of what he can do offensively, Larrañaga said.
Miami could use another big body. That’s where the transfer portal, the recent success and NIL money help. But the bottom-line is no one in the Miami program considers this a one-and-done March run.
“I like what we’ve built,” Larrañaga said.
Florida Atlantic has different decisions. Coach Dusty May’s announced return is the biggest step toward building off this season. He still could be an annual question considering there were few coaching openings this offseason.
The question, too, is how many players return next season. Eleven of the top 12 players are eligible to return. That means this team could not only remain intact, but improve as players develop more. The reality of the transfer portal and NIL money suggest they all won’t return.
May said other programs were recruiting his players during this tournament run with top scorers Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin and 7-foot-2 center Vladislav Goldin some obvious targets. Who is after them? How much NIL money could they earn elsewhere?
A couple of FAU boosters have started an NIL program called the “Paradise Coalition,” much to the relief of the athletic program insiders. It’s a grass-roots program of fans’ donations with a stated goal of collecting $100,000 — a start, but a distant idea from Ruiz’s $10 million.
Even before this Final Four run, FAU also had $11 million donated dollars to improve their 2,900-seat arena. Athletic director Brian White said an outside company has been hired to do a feasibility study of how to best use that money. One thing expected: The practice court above May’s office could be moved so he doesn’t work to the sound of bouncing basketballs above him.
FAU boosters point to Gonzaga as a small program that’s competed at a big level. But Gonzaga’s basketball program has the new-Miami kind of money. It has a big budget from a team jet to a team chef. Is FAU ready to make that budgetary leap?
FAU’s challenge is to not be another Florida Gulf Coast. The Fort Myers school made the Sweet 16 in 2013. It hasn’t returned since.
This Final Four won’t be repeated. It was a double-surprise for a blah college basketball market that never had one Final Four team. But Miami has the coach and the president’s backing to sustain this success. FAU has the coach and some tough decisions of just who it wants to be.
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