allCanesBlog.com guest columnist Scott Alan Salomon talks Miami Hurricanes athletics as 2015 comes to a close, as well as sharing what U-faithful should be grateful for as the Thanksgiving holiday rolls in.
As we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, we have a lot to be thankful for in Canes Land.
First, we have to thank Blake James for finally pulling the plug on the Al Golden Experiment and for keeping Larry Scott as the interim head coach. Scott has made UM football fun again and it appears as though the players are reacting well to his tutelage.
Coach Scott was thankful during his Tuesday news conference. He said that he is happy that he still has a job and that the UM faithful has taken a kin to him and that he is also thankful that his team is preparing to play in a Bowl game for the third consecutive season.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to still be here. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be at the University of Miami,” Scott said on Tuesday. “I’m thankful for the opportunity for my family and the situation that we’re all in. We’re still fortunate. Through it all, we’re still very fortunate to do what we do at such a great institution. We’re very fortunate and thankful for that.”
As for the bowl game, Scott is thankful that he gets to extend his season by one extra game, which leads to extra practices and extra opportunities to impress recruits.
“No, we’re just fortunate enough to be in one. There are a lot of football teams that will be sitting at home watching bowl teams’ play. Fortunately enough, we’re not one of them.”
We have to be thankful to Brad Kaaya, who spurned offers from his hometown schools, UCLA and USC, and say Bye Felicia to make the trek to South Florida and take over the offense as a true freshman and prove to be a pure leader in his second season.
With Miami now becoming a basketball powerhouse, we also have to be thankful for Jim Larranaga, who came to UM from George Mason and has developed this Canes team into a national power. Canes fans need to be thankful for the fact that we have Coach L and that his burning desire to transform UM from a football only school to one that can compete in the ACC and on the national stage in basketball is very refreshing.
Miami fans can also be thankful that we have signed two top 30 basketball recruits in Dewan Huell and Bruce Brown. Huell came from Norland and showed that you can excel in a sport in Miami-Dade county and stay home to hone your craft. This was a major development and coup for Larranaga.
“We are so excited about continuing to build our program with quality young men, including Dewan Huell, Bruce Brown and Rodney Miller, Jr.,” Larranaga said. “We believe they have great physical talent but also the right mindset to be successful at The U.”
The Canes basketball team is now 5-0 with games coming up and they have more than ample opportunities to move up even higher in the polls. Coach L will have his squad ready to play and we can be thankful that we will be having meaningful games played at the BUC that will get the Canes ready for ACC play as they embark on a journey to win a second ACC crown.
Miami fans must also remember the hard work that the Lady Canes have put on the court as well. We should be very thankful for Katie Meier and her determination that has put a top product on the court every game. Miami is blessed to have one of the best coaches in both the men’s and ladies games.
Meier, like Larranaga, could have had her pick of jobs, but she signed an extension to stay at Miami and continue to lead the Hurricanes. Meier is used to delivering a tournament-quality product at UM and we are blessed to have her at the helm of the ladies’ team.
The baseball team returned to Omaha this season and I, for one, am thankful for that. I am glad to see Jim Morris finish the season where they belong, and that is at the College World Series. This team needs to make the next step now and win the CWS and return the title to where it belongs.
I am grateful that the athletic department dedicated a statue to the late, great Ron Fraser. It was a glorious April afternoon when the statue was dedicated and revealed to the UM baseball community. Coach Fraser was a great friend to the allCanes family and his children worked in the store. It was fitting that Coach Fraser has a permanent home outside the house that he built and that he will be able to greet fans who show up for every game in perpetuity.
We are very thankful at allCanes to be able to serve the Canes community since 1959. To show our thanks and appreciation we will be having a special online sale on Thursday and an in-store sale on Black Friday. Come in and check out what we have on sale and take advantage of our low prices which have been slashed even lower for the holiday sale.