CATEGORY 6

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Tag Archives: Jack McClinton

Category 6 Basketball Simulation: Miami (1999-2000) vs. Hurricanes (2007-2008)

This is one for the ages. The Category 6 computer scientists went at it again. This time they’ve outdone themselves by pitting one of the best Leonard Hamilton coached ‘Canes teams (Miami) versus Frank Haith’s lone NCAA tournament squad (Hurricanes). Miami defeated the Hurricanes 87-70 in a lopsided contest that saw coach Haith go through 5 or 6 jackets. (No we’re not aiming to get Men’s Warehouse as an advertiser) Note: I only ran the simulation once for the purpose of this article. I think that’s the best strategy to refrain from picking a particular result. Also, subsequent simulations showed a mix of wins and losses with the 1999-2000 squad winning the lion’s share of the contests. (8 out of 10).

 

Johnny Hemsley nails a three and lets the Hurricanes know about it.

Johnny Hemsley 24pts, 6reb, 1ast, 1stl and NBA star John Salmons went ballistic. Hemsley was on fire from behind the arc and at the line.

 

We could have used a 'Cane photo, sure, but these expressions are priceless. Salmons is like "I can't believe it!". Josh Smith is like "Not again!".

Salmons pushed a triple-double with 19pts, 7reb, 6ast. Mario Bland 17pts, 8reb, 3st was a beast on the boards and lured Anthony King away from the hoop while repeatedly nailing his patented jumper. Elton Tyler also made life difficult for Collins as he sent an early layup attempt into the 3rd row. Brian Asbury scored 13pts but the Hurricanes were beaten up on the boards by Miami.

 

Mario Bland (51) gets a rest after abusing Anthony King and Brian Asbury.

Perhaps the most surprising outcome of this simulated game is Jack McClinton’s 11pts on 3-9 shooting. I know Miami’s defense was world-class, but we’ve all seen McClinton go berserk in big spots, I’m inclined to think that he’d score a bit more.

 

Jack McClinton (33) had a sluggish simulated game against Miami.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy Graham (00) has turned into quite the NFL TE.

NFL All-Pro TE Jimmy Graham 10pts, 5reb put away the cleats for the game and contributed despite only playing 17 minutes.

 

Vernon Jennings 9pts, 4reb, 5ast, 2stl caused problems for McClinton, James Dews 0pts, 3reb, 2ast and Lance Hurdle 7pts, 3reb, 2ast.

 

The story of this game appeared to be Miami’s suffocating defense, as they forced the Hurricanes into 17 turnovers. Miami’s 14 steals reflected their quick hands and heady play. Brian Asbury 13pts led the Hurricanes’ balanced attack, but there wasn’t enough supporting firepower to pull out the win.

 

FINAL
99-00 Miami (FL) 87
07-08 Miami (FL) 70

 

VISITING TEAM: 99-00 Miami (FL)
PLAYER MIN FGM/FGA 3PT M/A FTM/FTA REB AST BLK STL TO PF TP
Johnny Hemsley 33 7/15 4/9 6/6 6 1 0 1 2 1 24
Vernon Jennings 31 2/6 1/2 4/4 4 5 0 2 3 2 9
John Salmons 29 6/12 3/4 4/4 7 6 1 3 2 2 19
Mario Bland 28 6/11 0/0 5/8 8 0 0 3 2 4 17
Elton Tyler 26 3/6 0/0 2/2 4 1 1 1 2 4 8
Joao Paulo Coelho 14 0/3 0/2 1/2 1 1 0 2 2 3 1
James Jones 12 0/4 0/0 2/2 3 0 0 1 0 1 2
Leroy Hurd 12 2/2 0/0 1/2 1 2 0 0 0 2 5
Dwayne Wimbley 12 0/0 0/0 2/2 3 1 0 1 0 0 2
Tarik El-bassiouni 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Orlando Gonzalez 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Michael Simmons 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 200 26/59 8/17 27/32 38 17 2 14 13 19 87
44.1% 47.1% 84.4%
HOME TEAM: 07-08 Miami (FL)
PLAYER MIN FGM/FGA 3PT M/A FTM/FTA REB AST BLK STL TO PF TP
Jack McClinton 27 3/9 1/4 4/4 3 3 0 0 3 3 11
James Dews 27 0/4 0/1 3/4 3 2 0 0 1 3 3
Brian Asbury 26 6/9 0/0 1/1 3 2 1 1 1 1 13
Dwayne Collins 22 3/5 0/0 2/2 7 0 2 1 2 1 8
Lance Hurdle 22 3/5 1/2 0/0 3 2 0 0 2 2 7
Anthony King 22 4/8 0/0 2/2 5 1 0 1 2 0 10
Eddie Rios 19 1/8 1/2 1/4 1 0 0 0 3 3 4
Jimmy Graham 17 4/6 0/0 2/5 5 0 0 0 2 2 10
Raymond Hicks 15 1/2 0/0 2/2 2 3 2 2 0 4 4
Landon Glover 1 0/1 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Adrian Thomas 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fabio Nass 1 0/0 0/0 0/0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
TOTALS 200 25/57 3/9 17/24 33 13 5 5 17 19 70
43.9% 33.3% 70.8%

Jimmy Graham: from Power Forward to Pro-Bowler!

Through 13 games this year, Graham has 80 catches 1101 yards and 8 touchdowns.

In 152 of 153 weeks a Miami Hurricane has scored a touchdown in the NFL, including the remarkable recently broken streak of 149 in a row. Superstars like Clinton Portis, Andre Johnson, Ed Reed, and Devin Hester highlight the list. UM is after all “NFL U”.  But in 2011 one ‘Cane has shined the brightest. Jimmy Graham is the best tight end in the NFL right now.

 

 

Back in 2007-08 UM’s hoops team was a scrappy bunch. Jack McClinton was the unquestioned star. Anthony King provided the inside punch, James Dews was

Sometimes a scream says 10,000 words.

McClinton’s sweet-shooting side kick, and Dwayne Collins was king of the thunderous dunk. They ended up being the last Miami team to make the NCAA Tournament, bowing out to a tough Texas team in the second round. Perhaps the least skilled but most fiery member of that team was a 6’8 250 hulk of a power forward named Jimmy Graham. He only averaged 4 points a game and 6 rebounds and was ALWAYS in foul trouble. When the guards dumped the ball down to him in the low post, my usual reaction was “no. no. no!”  But the kid played with heart. He set bone crushing screens, played great D when he wasn’t fouling, and quite frankly his primal screams after big dunks seemed to scare the other team and fire up the ‘Canes.

 

Below are some of the team’s highlights. Graham stars with a big block at 2:24, an incredible in-bounds save at 4:21, 7:03-7:13 well that speaks for itself, and 8:51-8:55 are exclamation points!

 

I can remember when I first heard that Jimmy Graham was going out for UM’s football team. I thought it might be a cool way for the basketball team to get some much deserved publicity, but thought little else of it. He scored a few touchdowns and looked real good at times, but I mostly remember his heart breaking drops in the Virginia Tech game. As a diehard basketball junkie, I rooted harder for him then anyone. He finished his lone year on the college gridiron with 17 catches 213 yards and 5 touchdowns. Not bad considering it was his first football action since 8th grade.  

 

Did I think Graham was on his way to NFL stardom? I absolutely did not. Do I think it is the coolest thing ever? That’d be an understatement. So while the University of Miami is and always will be unequivocally a football school, I encourage fans to take a closer look at the basketball program. You just might see Drew Brees’ future favorite target,  or something else really cool.

 

Some of Graham’s best on the football field:

 

Basketball players on the gridiron, Jimmy V & more…..

Recently pint sized former NBA slam dunk champion Nate Robinson hinted he may try out for the NFL. With the success of  former college basketball stars like UM big man Jimmy Graham with the New Orleans Saints, Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers, and Atlanta Falcons future hall of famer Tony Gonzalez, it might not be that outlandish.  While we don’t recommend any or every hoopster try it, here’s a list of a few former & current UM players I think may have had what it took.

 

Mario Bland, defensive end.  Imagine Big Mario chasing down QBs the way he gobbled up rebounds. At 6’6 250 he certainly had gridiron size.  Plus his nifty moves around the basket would have translated nicely to the kind of footwork he’d have needed to perplex bigger offensive lineman. Think Kenard Lang here.

 

Jack McClinton, slot reciever.  McClinton was often the first, second, and third focus of opposing teams defensive schemes. With quickness and determination he worked around screen after screen after screen until he got open. In addition he had the kind of swagger Santana Moss used to display in his Cane days.

 

Tim James, special teams ace.  James would be my designated field goal/extra point/punt blocker. Not to mention if anyone cracks a long return, he had the desire to run them down.  Just ask Richard Hamilton.
Guillermo Diaz, goal line running back.  Diaz once starred in volleyball in Peurto Rico. While I am not sure how that translates to football, I do know I’d love to see this high flyer jump over the pile from the one yard line.

 

Kevin Norris, defensive back.  Norris always could stick to his guy like glue.  He also had the confidence and swagger coaches love in a DB.

 
Reggie Johnson, defensive tackle/linebacker. Think 300 pound linebacker Levon Kirkland from the Steelers in the 90′s.  We really hope Reggie sticks to basketball, but it’s still fun to imagine.
 
I think all of the gentleman listed above made the right choices to stick with basketball. Nonetheless some of my favorite players are the ones with football mentalities.
 
Now on to my non basketball thoughts of the week:
 
 
The Jimmy V foundation always seems to ramp up its efforts around this time of year. We are now closing in on the 18th anniversary of JimValvano’s legendary ESPY speech. I encourage all who can, to donate  at http://www.jimmyv.org/………
 
In Honor of Jimmy V I give you this quote, part of his famous speech.
“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”  …………..
 
 
I think the media criticizing Derek Jeter for not showing up the MLB all star game is ridiculous. If he shows he doesn’t belong because of a mediocre year, but when he doesn’t he’s disrespecting the game? ……..
 
 
Paul Williams won a majority decision over Erislandy Lara on Saturday night in what appeared to be an awful decision. Aside from the controversial decision the theme of Saturday night was the dramatic fall of Williams who was one of boxing’s former pound for pound best.  Here’s hoping Paul hangs em up before he goes the route of Roy Jones.
 
 
As always any and all feedback welcome.
 

Category6 remembers…….

Febuary 20, 2008, in a game for the ages, UM upsets Duke 96-95 at the Bank United Center.

For UM fans this should be the archetype of what we want the BUC to look and feel like during home games. It was loud, it was exciting, the BUC was more then a home court advantage. It was a sixth man for the Canes!!

 

 
Dwayne Collins went for 26 points, many of which were spectacular dunks or and ones. Always reliable Jack McClinton poured in 22. Miami built a huge second half lead in front of the emotional crowd, and used clutch free throw shooting to hold on as Duke rallied.

 

 
 
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