Our Favorite Miami Players

Miami hasn’t been in the ACC for all that long really and the basketball, to be kind, has been historically mediocre. Nonetheless, we are doing this for every ACC school and today it’s Miami’s turn. So we’ll do the best we can with minimal tradition. That means we have to start with....

• Rick Barry. He played for Miami from 1962-65 and became an NBA legend. He clearly wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but his greatness was undeniable. So was his immense passion for the game. Barry was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which also was the hometown for Duke product Kyrie Irving and the winsome late actress Elizabeth Peña.
• As we said, Miami’s tradition is kind of thin. One of their most prominent success stories was North Carolina native Jimmy Graham, who had a solid basketball career at Miami before switching over to football where he’s a likely future Hall of Fame candidate.
• Shane Larkin. He should’ve stayed longer but Larkin was a solid point guard for Miami in his two years there. He’s been a marginal NBA player but he was a lot of fun in college.
• Lonnie Walker. Okay, really it was just the Pineapple hair. He cut it off in June but we still like his game. Actually we didn’t know this: he started to grow it after he suffered serious sexual abuse in fifth grade. We’re really sorry to have learned that he suffered so. His hair was one way to deal with it. He cut it after he forgave everyone and feels it’s a fresh start. The hair was fun for fans but if it’s a burden lifted, then God Bless. We’re glad he’s in a better place.
• Chris Lykes. Is there anything cooler than real small basketball players? Lykes, just 5-7, is immensely talented, so much so that his coach, Jim Larrañaga, said if he were a foot taller, he’d be Michael Jordanesque. High praise indeed.