I hear what you are saying about our location. And in these times, I suspect you are correct that the weather and beaches and campus may not have much "draw" with recruits. A quick personal anecdote.
I transferred, as just another student, to UM in 1964; graduated in 1966. "Sun Tan U" -- the image and reality -- were in full effect! A Jaguar XKE was the car of choice on Fraternity Row. Maybe 60% of the student body was from the Middle Atlantic and Northeast. A decent percentage more from the Midwest. Or, so it seemed.
No idea of how many local commuters, but there weren't many Hispanic students (what there were, seemed as likely to be from South America as from South Florida).
The UM Admissions Office (understanding the school needed to embark on a costly, major building program) admitted anyone who could pay. (I base that on my own poor grades I got accepted with, as well as similar stories from classmates). Basketball players (in those days, all Caucasian) who were not in a frat, or living off-campus, lived in the same 3 BR student apartments as the rest of us.
My Junior year, three basketball players lived in the apartment above me. They were from cold weather states and all came to UM because of the school's reputation, and the sub-tropical attractions. They told me as much, and that they liked Coach Bruce Hale's up-tempo offense (averaged around 100 points a game).
One player spent most of his free time at the beach at Crandon Park, another liked Tropical Park (or whatever race meeting was on); and the third guy I'd see with one of those silver reflector boards catching "rays" up on the building's flat roof.
I didn't personally ever speak with Rick Barry (still in 2021 our premier College/ABA/NBA Hall of Famer) when I'd see him walking around campus (occasionally in his Iron Arrow jacket -- he was a great student as well as athlete). I've read, though, that the Miami scene played a part (maybe a big one) in his choosing Miami.
etc etc in short, everything players want to have.