Miami Searches for their 'Competitive Spirit' as They Head to the West Coast
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Halloween was two months ago but the nightmares have been endless for the Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team. They sit with a record of 4-14, 0-7 in ACC play and a record of 4-28 in dating back to last season. What was once a budding program in South Beach has now collapsed in on itself.
Now the Hurricanes prepare to hit the road and travel 2619 miles to the west coast and prepare to take on a buzzing Stanford men's basketball team.
Interim head coach Bill Courtney is having a rough time trying to motivate the players with this stretch. Now a long road trip might be what this team needs to get a few things off the chest as they try to make a positive out of a season that eas never expected.
"The first thing for us is to be better at having competitive spirit um you know whenever we've hit adversities thus far this year we haven't reacted the way that. We should you know we kind of pull apart rather than pull together and you know for us it's really not about the opponent it's about ourselves and we have to continue to be connected especially on the defensive end of the floor," Courtney said.
That competitive spirit was only seen in one player against SMU. Senior guard Matthew Cleveland had a career-high in scoring in the loss (31) and battled to the very end. Courtney is now challenging them to show up for themselves as competitors even with the odds stacked against them.
"That's just what we talked about again these are our guys no matter what and we have to figure out a way to get these guys to play better. It's very simple and again that starts with a competitive spirit and having pride in what you do especially at the defense into the floor," Courtney said.
READ MORE FROM MIAMI HURRICANES ON SI:
Can the Men's Basketball Season be Redeemed?: Just a Minute
Matthew Cleveland's Advice is to 'Just Smile'
REPORT: No Time Table for the Return of Nijel Pack
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.