The Miami Hurricanes enjoyed one of their finest seasons in program history this past year with an ACC regular season championship, an ACC Tournament championship and a Sweet Sixteen appearance. They had blowout wins over the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils. They beat their arch rivals, the Florida State Seminoles twice. It was a great year for them.

The team was loaded with senior talent, which means a rebuilding project. The question is, will the Canes ever be this good again?

One thing the Miami program has going for them is coach Jim Larranaga. He is a big time college basketball coach. Some may recall he was the coach that led one of the greatest Cinderella stories in NCAA Tournament history in 2006 when he took the George Mason Patriots to the Final Four.

It will be difficult to replace guys like point guard Shane Larkin, who is leaving early for the NBA Draft, and guys like Reggie Johnson, Julian Gamble, Kenny Kadji, Trey McKinney Jones and Durand Scott will be tough to replace. But while they won’t be nearly as good next season, with Larranaga, the Canes stand a great chance to be back near the top very soon.

Will they be able to win ACC Championships? That will be more difficult than ever with the Pittsburgh Panthers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Syracuse Orange and Louisville Cardinals. But the Canes can possibly get back to the Sweet Sixteen.

With Larranaga, great weather year round, and a budding new rivalry with the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles from just up the coast, Miami should be an attractive place for top high school players. Plus, when the Canes are playing well, they get some attention from Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, who regularly show up to games and practices. Not too many colleges can say that.

Miami was able to build football and baseball powerhouses mostly from local recruits. The South Florida area is one of the richest areas in the nation for high school athletes. With a top name coach, the Hurricanes sure have an opportunity to build a winner.

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