Canes Hoops coach Jim Larranaga joined FanRag Sports' Jon Rothstein on the latest "College Hoops Today" podcast with Jon Rothstein. You can find the entire interview on iTunes, but here are some of the more interesting things discussed in their conversation.
**Freshman wing Lonnie Walker's torn meniscus injury put a scare into Canes fans, but L remains confident that it will not affect his status with the team his season.
Larranaga said that Walker had "four great workouts with us before he tweaked his knee."
Walker underwent surgery last Friday and is already rehabbing according to Coach L. He sounded hopeful in his recovery time adding Walker would be ready to go in 3-4 months and said he would be, "even better than before".
On Walker's talent level, Larranaga told Rothstein, "he's certainly an NBA prospect -- he's going to be playing in the NBA one day, it's just going to depend on how quickly he develops at the college level and how quickly he decides he wants to make the jump."
**Rothstein asked Larranaga if there was one player that sophomore guard Bruce Brian reminded him of (past or present), and Coach L dropped a comparison that he's used before -- NBA MVP Russell Westbrook.
"I think from talking to NBA scouts, they all feel like he's in the Russell Westbrook mold. The physical ability, his body type, his strength, his jumping ability, and he's been working very very hard on his three point shooting. If he can get to the point where he can shoot the three like Russell Westbrook, you're going to see an NBA all-star one day."
**Comparing the 2017 Hurricanes team to the 2013 ACC Championship squad, Larranaga says the biggest differences were experience and interior play.
"Those teams were a little more experienced and a little bigger physically. Tonye Jekiri was a veteran player, we had Julian Gamble and Kenny Kadji and Reggie Johnson who were seniors that year. This is a young team that has only really one senior in Ja'Quan Newton."
"We're fast, we're athletic, I think we can score the ball at a very high level. The question mark for us will be able to defend and rebound at he defensive end of the floor. If we can be a top 25 type team defensively, then we'll have a chance to really make some noise in March," added Larranaga.
**Rothstein brought up sophomore forward Dewan Huell as a potential breakout player and x-factor for this Canes team.
"We believe we've got a three-headed monster in our front court with Dewan Huell, Ebuka Izundu, and Rodney Miller. They're all making tremendous progress and Dewan I think is going to have a phenomenal sophomore year."
**Freshman wing Lonnie Walker's torn meniscus injury put a scare into Canes fans, but L remains confident that it will not affect his status with the team his season.
Larranaga said that Walker had "four great workouts with us before he tweaked his knee."
Walker underwent surgery last Friday and is already rehabbing according to Coach L. He sounded hopeful in his recovery time adding Walker would be ready to go in 3-4 months and said he would be, "even better than before".
On Walker's talent level, Larranaga told Rothstein, "he's certainly an NBA prospect -- he's going to be playing in the NBA one day, it's just going to depend on how quickly he develops at the college level and how quickly he decides he wants to make the jump."
**Rothstein asked Larranaga if there was one player that sophomore guard Bruce Brian reminded him of (past or present), and Coach L dropped a comparison that he's used before -- NBA MVP Russell Westbrook.
"I think from talking to NBA scouts, they all feel like he's in the Russell Westbrook mold. The physical ability, his body type, his strength, his jumping ability, and he's been working very very hard on his three point shooting. If he can get to the point where he can shoot the three like Russell Westbrook, you're going to see an NBA all-star one day."
**Comparing the 2017 Hurricanes team to the 2013 ACC Championship squad, Larranaga says the biggest differences were experience and interior play.
"Those teams were a little more experienced and a little bigger physically. Tonye Jekiri was a veteran player, we had Julian Gamble and Kenny Kadji and Reggie Johnson who were seniors that year. This is a young team that has only really one senior in Ja'Quan Newton."
"We're fast, we're athletic, I think we can score the ball at a very high level. The question mark for us will be able to defend and rebound at he defensive end of the floor. If we can be a top 25 type team defensively, then we'll have a chance to really make some noise in March," added Larranaga.
**Rothstein brought up sophomore forward Dewan Huell as a potential breakout player and x-factor for this Canes team.
"We believe we've got a three-headed monster in our front court with Dewan Huell, Ebuka Izundu, and Rodney Miller. They're all making tremendous progress and Dewan I think is going to have a phenomenal sophomore year."
