We are now just about ¾ of the way through another season of college basketball, and the Miami University RedHawks have shown plenty of signs of promise. Sitting in seventh place in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with a 11-11 overall record (5-5 in the MAC), the RedHawks have silenced plenty of doubters already, but are looking to prove themselves even more after being predicted to finish 6th in the MAC.
The season started out rough with two early losses to the University of Evansville and Texas State University. The RedHawks bounced back by winning four of their next five games, including winning the Miami Classic.
After another three game skid with losses to Ohio State University, Davidson College and Wright State University, the RedHawks have steadily improved, going 7-5 over their last 12 games.
According to assistant coach Carl Richburg, one of the greatest strengths of the team is their unselfishness with the ball.
“I think we are probably one of the more unselfish teams in the conference, and that’s our greatest strength,” Richburg said. “Our ability to play off each other, our ability to pass to one another, make open shots and open reads. We are not a selfish team.”
The team has also shown major improvements on the defensive end.
“In the beginning of the year, we really struggled defensively,” Richburg said. “But then, once we realized that our success is going to start on that end, then it helps us offensively, so it's no secret that the better our defense has become, the better our offense has become.”
Leading the team in points is senior guard Darweshi Hunter, with 13 points per game. Senior center Anderson Mirambeaux is averaging 13.8, but has played in nine less games. The rebounds and assists leader is senior forward Bryce Bultman.
On defense, sophomore Jacquel Morris is leading the team in blocks per game, while freshman Mekhi Cooper leads in steals.
Richburg has seen major improvements from the team as the season has gone on.
“You can see the improvement both individually and as a team,” Richburg said. “Guys are way more connected now, and it's a good feeling when guys are connected like that and playing for one another. Then, the opportunities are endless, and so the longer we play together, the longer we play for each other, the better we will be. I think guys are starting to realize their roles and understanding how they can best help the team.”
Despite this improvement, the team's mindset has stayed the same.
“Our whole goal was to constantly get better,” Richburg said. “We wanted to continue to have an upward trajectory, and you know it wasn’t a set goal of like how many wins, it was to just constantly get better,” said Richburg.
“The best teams get better towards March, and that’s what we want to do, is to just keep on getting better into March,” x said. “We don’t want to be one of those teams that falls off. We just want to keep getting better, and so far we have done that. Hopefully we can keep this mindset and consistency going, and I think we have just as good of a shot as anybody to win the conference.”
A major part of the RedHawks’ core is their young guys. Nine of the 15 players are underclassmen, with seven of them being freshmen. With such a young team, it was important to overcome the learning curve and grow together.
For freshman Reese Potter, his first season at Miami has been very enjoyable.
“Coming in as a freshman, I was kind of nervous, but it’s been amazing,” Potter said. “The seniors and older guys on the team have taken us in, so it has been really easy going.”
While the season has gone well for the freshman, the physicality of the college game has taken time to get used to.
“You’re going against grown men every night,” Potter said. “So that physicality has definitely been the hardest part.
With such a young team, the underclassmen buying in was going to be a major part of the RedHawks’ success.
“We had a lot of new and young guys altogether from the transfer portal and the freshmen,” Bultman said. “I think, just being voted captain, they look to me and Darweshi and the older guys and Andy, so we just had to set the tone on how practices are going to go and how we are going to work every single day. I think they just fit right in, and they just followed us the whole time and bought in right away.”
The RedHawks will continue their season against the Northern Illinois Huskies this Tuesday at Millet. With some of their recent success, it is not too far-fetched to think that this team has a decent chance to go dancing in March.
Social Media Caption: SPORTS// As men’s college basketball enters the final sprint of the regular season, The Miami Student reflects on a season that showed plenty of signs of promise and good things to come for the Miami RedHawks.
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