How good was Shane Larkin for the Hurricanes?

Image source: sports.yahoo.com

An interesting trivia about former Hurricanes star Shane Larkin was that his first love was baseball. He was primed to excel in the sport, having joined a coach-pitch league at the tender age of seven. But his coach didn’t like his swing, and the young Shane didn’t understand. It was enough to shift his focus to another game, one he felt he could dominate, sans a coach who didn’t approve of his posture. 

By 2009, with future Canes coach Jim Larrañaga watching curiously in the sidelines, the then-committed, young basketball player stole a pass from a three-man fast break, which he was the only guy left to defend. The fiery coach immediately saw a bright future for the 5’11 guard with great basketball smarts. Pretty soon, he was offering Larkin a scholarship at George Mason University.

Image source: rantsports.com

Things didn’t pan out for the young Larkin, who wanted to go to a school closer to home. How convenient then that Larrañaga—the guy who first saw his potential and in whom Larkin had complete trust—had just been named new coach of the Miami Hurricanes. The rest is Canes basketball history.

Shane was already an elite point guard when he entered the Canes program in 2011. And by 2013, he had already led Miami to the top of the ACC, a clutch player who can make shots almost at will and a solid defender too, reminiscent to many of the NBA’s Chris Paul. That regular season, he averaged 13 points, four assists, and four rebounds. He would go on to be picked 18th by the Atlanta Hawks in the same year’s NBA draft and will be remembered as one of the best ball handlers the Canes program has ever seen.

Patrick Dwyer, a financial advisor, supports the medical organization Neuroscience Centers of Florida Foundation, Inc. (NSCFF) in its advocacy of putting an end to chronic neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis. He also avidly follows the Miami Hurricanes. For similar reads, visit this blog.