| Advertisement |
Villanova Wildcats-Miami Hurricanes: NCAA basketball tournament South Region Villanova head basketball coach Jay Wright recruited against Miami Hurricanes basketball coach Jim Larranaga and claims the losses have far outweighed wins over the 10-plus years of friendship. Wright has since borrowed and nurtured program philosophies and drills to incorporate a similar system reliant on success shooting from the perimeter.
Advertisement
"Every time we would recruit somebody -- he was at Bowling Green. Hofstra, Bowling Green were on the same level. We'd think we had somebody, and he'd come in there with much stronger connections. I'd run into him," Wright said Wednesday. "He went to George Mason, we went to Villanova. We went on Nike trips together. Our wives became friendly, played golf together. We played golf together. He's just a really friendly guy. From our New York connection, we stayed in touch.
We shared ideas. I don't know if I gave him anything. I don't think I did. But he puts -- he gives his players red, yellow and green in terms of how they're allowed to shoot. It's a system. We don't use the colors, but I use the philosophy."
No. 3 Miami and No. 2 Villanova meet Thursday in Louisville, the first of four regional semifinal games in the NCAA Tournament. The winner of that game draws the winner of No. 1 Kansas (30-4) and No. 5 Maryland (25-8).
Wright's program has a history of early NCAA Tournament success but very little in the round of 16.
He doesn't necessarily see the system similarity as an outright advantage to either team and is much more concerned with the overall length and athleticism of the Hurricanes.
"It makes it a little easier to prepare in terms of the work you have to do because we have a lot of similar philosophies. So when you're practicing, the second team can run the offense easily. They know what they're doing," Wright said. "Where it becomes different is we can't simulate the size and athleticism. You definitely can't do it with your second team. ... Are we prepared for the plays and does the size and athleticism kind of smack us in the face when you feel it and see it live? That's what we can't tell until we play."
Miami has never reached the Elite Eight.
But All-Atlantic Coast Conference guard Sheldon McClellan, who transferred to Miami from the University of Texas, said the goal is greater than making it to the weekend. McClellan is from Houston, which just so happens to be hosting the Final Four next month.
"It will be the best thing in my life. So I'm praying and hoping we get there," McClellan said. "Take one game at a time and it will be great to play our Final Four in Houston. I probably need a hundred tickets, but I just want to get there."
