NEW YORK -- Little went right for the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday afternoon. The same Hurricanes who beat North Carolina handily on Jan. 28 lost 78-53 in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.
Almost nothing Miami tried would work, especially in the second half. That is, with the exception of Bruce Brown, who continued his propensity for big games against the royalty of the conference, putting up a game-high 21 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, tied with UNC’s Kennedy Meeks for most on the floor.
Brown, of course, is a guard, unlike the high-flying Meeks.
“He’s all-world against us,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of Brown following the game. “He’s got 51 in two games. I stopped him in the hallway out there and told him he had a great game and he’s going to have a great career, don’t forget to work. I think he’s been really something against us in both games.”
His season-high 30 points came in the last meeting with UNC. His second-best point total, 25, came in the Hurricanes’ Feb. 25 win over Duke. For the season, Brown is averaging 22.8 points per game against Duke and North Carolina. His season average overall is 11.6.
The question becomes whether Brown is the type of player who can carry the Hurricanes night in and night out if necessary. The team’s leading scorer, Davon Reed, is a senior. So is the team’s defensive stopper, Kamari Murphy. Ja’Quan Newton is a junior. So Jim Larranaga needs Brown to become the star he looks like he can be when the lights are brightest.
“I think Bruce is a great competitor, and I think he loves a challenge,” Larranaga said. “I think he should have been on the All-Rookie team. I can’t believe a player of his caliber who had the kind of year he had did not make the All-Rookie team. Just not right.”
Brown tried to take matters into his own hands Thursday. With Miami trailing 34-25 late in the first half, Brown skied above the UNC bigs to grab a defensive board and took it the length of the court for a layup. Then, with just seconds to go, Anthony Lawrence stole the ball, flipped it to Brown, who raced the clock and both teams to the hoop and dunked it at the break. Suddenly, Miami had closed the deficit to five.
“I was just trying to give us a boost of energy,” Brown said. “I felt like we were down and we weren’t playing the way we knew we were capable of. So I was just trying to give us energy, get us hyped. I guess it didn’t work.”
It didn’t, but it may have caught the eye of NBA scouts who could try and entice Brown away from Miami’s long-term plans. The good news for Miami is that Brown is not only excelling on the court, he’s up over a 3.0 GPA off it, a source of pride for Brown.
“The school is just they help me a lot in the classroom. I get tremendous help from my academic advisers. I go extra hours to get help on tests and quizzes. So it’s a perfect fit for me, honestly.”
For the Hurricanes, too.
