If anybody knows what it takes for Miami to make another Final Four run, it's Nijel Pack. The 6'0, 185-pound point guard from Indiana is now one of the rare Canes veterans on a transfer-laden roster. He spoke to CanesInSight about his new teammates, his role and Coach L's message to the team:
On being the veteran in the room: It was a shift from being the new guy on the block to having to lead the rest of the guys and show them the right way. The new guys have been ears open, ready to listen, ready to work hard. We've been going for a few weeks now and it's been nothing but great and positive. There is energy around the court with coaches, the staff and the players. Everybody's been really positive and open to working very hard. I'm really excited to see what this team holds. I'm very confident. I know everybody else in the team is confident as well.
On the feel of the workouts: These guys are easy to play with. Everybody came from the respective schools and is really talented from wherever they're coming from. So it makes my job easy with guys with high talent levels like that. And they're open and ready to work. They're open to listening to the coaches and everybody else as well. The atmosphere has been very competitive. That's really key for us right now, especially in the summertime for us to be able to get better.
On what he learned from last year: We have a lot of older guys this year, so it's gonna be important for us all to make sure that we take care of our bodies. It's important to get the proper amount of rest. A key thing with being healthy is having a good diet. So I've been trying to change mine around as well. I'm not going to be perfect, but being able to make some changes here and there will go a huge way for us.
Obviously, it stinks to have a year that we did after coming off such a great year, but it gave us some humble pie, honestly. Sometimes you could think you're too high up. We had a very, very talented team. We were expected to be a really good team. Sometimes you’ve got to put the work in behind it and stay humble.
On his mindset: I've been doing my best at leading all the new guys. We’ve got so many guys that have no clue what the identity of Miami basketball is. I’m trying to teach these guys, “Look, last year was a thing in the past. The year before we were great, but that's also a thing in the past.”
We're focused on right now, getting better today. I feel like everybody's taking that into their own hands. We don't want what happened last year. We’ve got a lot of old guys who feel like this is their last opportunity. We're trying to take fully advantage of this and make sure we all play together, we all have the right mindset, we all put the team first and winning first. I feel like that's my role to be able to pull everybody together when things get kind of chaotic.
On the team’s additions on the interior (Lynn Kidd and Kiree Huie): Obviously, those guys are huge bodies that we needed. We've been playing small ball since I've been here. That was very successful for us a couple of times. But now we're figuring out, “Hey, we need to go get some true big men, some guys that can really play the five.” They got some real size, and I feel like that's been an advantage to us.
Lynn and Kiree have been showing their size in practice with their rebounding ability and their ability to finish around the basket. Guys are going to respect our bigs and may not be able to help off and things like that. We’ve picked up a lot of shooting firepower out of the transfer portal and with our freshmen. So that's really key for us. It's going to be hard because we're able to space the floor, but we also have good inside presence as well.
On developing chemistry with Jalen Blackmon and Jahlil Bethea: This is the best time for that. This is why we work out and we practice in the summertime. How do they like to play their games? Who likes the ball when? We've been mismatching teams when we scrimmage each other to see how guys operate with the ball and create. It makes it harder to guard when you have guys who can score the ball, but also create for others. If you have more than one of those type of guys on the floor at one time, it’s really hard for the defense to pick and set and lock in on one person.
On Coach L’s message to the team: Everything's been about doing things together. We have our hardest lifts of the week on Friday, and we smash everybody in one group. We're gonna struggle together, we're gonna suffer together through pain. When we're at practice, we stay together all the time. It's about getting everybody to buy into their brother to the left. their brother to the right. and play their best for them and not for themselves. It's still early. Obviously, the message is probably going to change a little bit as we get into more season, more detail. But as of right now, everything's focused on being one team instead of being individuals.
On his developmental goals: First off is just making sure that I'm healthy. Last year was kind of an up-and-down struggle bus for me. Being healthy, not being healthy, playing a game, missing a game. I've also gotten feedback about my leadership ability. No one has seen me lead a team. They want to see me be able to put guys in the right position. That's the point guard’s job: to lead a team and be an extension of the coach on the floor. Coach L told me that. How can I run a team? How can I make guys around me better?
This is the most perfect opportunity for me to be that leader, just because guys are new here. Guys don't know exactly what to do. I've been here for three years now. So I know the ins and outs of everything. I know how Coach L likes things. I know how practices should be run. I know how practices looked when we were winning games and I know how practices looked when we were losing games. So I feel like this is a perfect opportunity for me to establish that leadership role with this year's team.
On his graduation: I completed a lifelong dream. It's been excellent to accomplish that, especially from an amazing university like the University of Miami. To finally get that diploma is an awesome feeling.
My parents made sure they made it a very big, big deal. I had a bunch of family come down, parents, brother, sister, aunties, uncles, everything. A lot of people came down to support me, and I was really appreciative of that opportunity. It was a lot of fun. And most of my friends were graduating, too, so we all got to sit together. It’s something I remember for the rest of my life.
On his graduate degree: I'm going to be getting a master's in the sports administration program. But right now I'm just a regular person with basketball.
On his interests off the Court: I like movies. I'm also a video game person. Me and some of the guys on the team actually play video games together. I play with probably Lynn the most. We play 2K a lot. I'm obviously enjoying the Miami weather. So anytime I can get out, go to the pool, go to the beach, it's really fun to do.
Planet of the Apes has always been a series that I've enjoyed. I really didn't like the new one too much, just a little different than the other ones that I've seen. And then the new Bad Boys movie was pretty fire. It made me feel like a Floridian, because I could see all the different Florida spots and Miami spots. I'm like, "Oh, I know where that's at." So it felt like it was touching home.
