As the Oakland Raiders first-round draft pick in 2002, cornerback Phillip Buchanon expected immediate success on an individual level. What he didn’t expect was a chance for his team to compete in the Super Bowl in his rookie season.
Following his departure from the University of Miami after its national championship 2001 season, Buchanon joined the Raiders with the intent to succeed at the next level. His determination quickly showed in practice during the pre-season, which set the path of the flourishing season to come.
“I was excited to become involved with the team right off the bat,” Buchanon said. “The team welcomed us rookies with open arms and was eager to teach us the ropes.”
The Raiders aren’t too big on hazing, but that doesn’t mean rookies gain any leeway for their inexperience when it comes to understanding their jobs.
“I don’t know how other teams do it, but they put a lot on you real quick,” rookie tight end Doug Jolley said. “From the first mini-camp, they expect you to know everything.”
Buchanon’s speed and athletic ability proved to be exactly what the Raiders hoped for. Like fellow defensive back Charles Woodson, Buchanon’s high draft status was based on his talents in a variety of areas during his college years. Scoring on an interception, a punt return, and a fumble at the University of Miami, Buchanon also recorded 88 tackles in 32 career games for the Hurricanes. Buchanon left Miami with All-American honors and was one of the three finalists for the 2001 Mosi Tatupu Award for special teams’ excellence. During the draft, the Radiers had their eye on the former ‘Cane and immediately keyed on his ability to return punts.
At the start of the season, Buchanon practiced with the first and second teams, spending much of his time in the Raiders nickel package and covering the slot.
“He’s got all the physical tools and the athletic ability to be successful at the position,” defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnaham said. “How quickly he picks up the scheme will determine how fast his overall progress is. He does some things naturally and for his position, that makes things easier.”
Getting playing time in the secondary during the first six games, Buchanon was also used as a key punt returnee. Phillip’s biggest game of the season was at home against Tennessee on Sept. 29, where he made his first career NFL start. Buchanon did not disappoint, recording seven tackles, while knocking down two passes and notching his first career interception.
Buchanon also returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown. During the ensuing return, Buchanon handed off to running back Terry Kirby, who took the ball 79 yards for a score.
During week six of the season, Phillip made his third career start at cornerback against San Diego, which yielded a much different result. Early in the game, Buchanon injured his wrist while returning a punt, an injury that would end his season.
Buchanon is thrilled with Oakland’s success in getting to the Super Bowl, but still a little upset about not being able to play.
“I had surgery and went through rehab,” Buchanon said. “I’m a little weary about this injured reserve listing they put me on. I feel that I am fully ready to be out there and play.”
The scars on Buchanon’s wrist will heal, along with the distress he feels by not being able to aid his teammates. Rules are rules though, and he will be watching his team play for the title from the sidelines.

-You can reach Dana Strokovskyat Hoopg1rl6@aol.com

Intramural Reminders

Go to the game, the women’s game that is tonight at the Convocation Center! The Intramural Floor Hockey, Wallyball, and the Innertube Water Polo champions will be recognized at halftime of the game so go out and support the Canes and the student Intramural Champions!

Soccer Playoffs:
Mickey’s – 1
Bahia – 0 (Forfeit)

Reggae Ruffians – 4
Law School – 0

Sigma Phi Epsilon – 4
Sigma Chi – 1

Zeta Beta Tau – 3
Phi Delta Theta – 1

Lambda Chi Alpha – 2
Pi Kappa Alpha – 0

Alpha Sigma Phi – 2
Sigma Alpha Mu – 1

Kirk Tracy Memorial F.C. – 3
(PK)
SAAD – 2
Dutch Soccer – 4
3 South – 0

Triple Alt-165 – 1
Macroorchidism – 0

One Touchables – 3 (OT)
Gooooal! – 2

Chess Club – 3
Sesh – 0

Soccer for Dummies – 3
Mickey’s – 1

Reggae Ruffians – 1
ISUM – 0

The battle for the Big East just became a little tighter
The Syracuse Orangewomen (7-11, 2-5 in the Big East) left the Miami Hurricanes helpless, pulling off a 62-59 victory over UM at the Convocation Center Saturday night. The loss at home was a much different result from the last time these two teams met on Jan. 8 in Syracuse, a game that Miami (12-5, 4-2) showed no mercy, winning 85-68.
Syracuse dominated play in the first half, grabbing a 17-point lead with a little more than five minutes to play before intermission. UM looked sloppy on offense, turning the ball over nine times during that span, and the Orangewomen took advantage, putting up point after point. The ‘Lady Canes converted on just 28 percent of their shots, a far cry from their first-half performance at Syracuse earlier in the month, when they made 48.6 percent.
“We were having difficulty scoring, so we tried to pressure and cut the lead,” head coach Ferne Labati said. “But it goes back to [being beat on] the boards. 28-11 is inexcusable.”
Freshman sensation Tamara James shot just one of nine from the field in the first half. Meanwhile, the Orangewomen used James’ rough first half play to build a cushy 11-2 lead six minutes into the half. Thanks to a confused Hurricane defense, Syracuse didn’t miss a beat, continuously driving to the hoop and went into the locker room with a 34-21 lead.
The second half proved to be a different story for Miami. Sophomore guard Yalonda McCormick sank two three-pointers while the ‘Lady Canes turned up their full court defense. Those two factors, plus better play from James, gave the ‘Canes their first lead of the game, 42-41, with just over 11 minutes to play. Moments later, sophomore Melissa Knight hit two free throws with less than five minutes remaining, giving UM its biggest lead of the night (57-51). However, Miami came up empty on its next six attempted shots, and allowed the Orangewomen to regain the lead back 60-59 with 19 seconds to play.
Any glimmer of hope left for the Hurricanes faded when James missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer after Syracuse’s Julie McBride hit two free-throws with seven seconds remaining, to make the score official.
“In the second half we’d play hard at times, but made really poor decisions, especially when we had the lead,” Labati said. “We stopped playing and we did not attack the basket the way we should have. When you do that to a team in the Big East they’re going to come back for you.”
McCormick played a large role in putting Miami back in the game. The sophomore point guard felt that she showed personal improvement since Miami’s visit to Syracuse earlier in the season.
“It was different in this game than in the other [Syracuse] game because I shot more,” McCormick said. “I felt like if I played unpredictably, they wouldn’t know what to do.”
The loss dropped Miami into a tie for fifth place with Virginia Tech. The two teams will battle it out tonight at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center, a game that can be heard on WVUM (90.5 FM)
“Virginia Tech is a very good, very patient team,” Labati said. “They’re very disciplined in the sense of running their offense, and that’s something we have to be able to defend.”

-You can reach Melissa Teich at melissateich@hotmail.com

Track
UM freshman Travarous Bain(Miami Northwestern) won the 200-meters in a time of 22.02 and finished second in the 60-meters with a time of 6.87 to lead the Hurricanes men’s track and field team at the Maryland Invitational in Landover, MD.
Bain, a defensive back on the Hurricanes’ football team, was one of two Miami sprinters to finish in the top three of the event. Freshman Glen Sharpe took third with a time of 22.30.
UM dominated the 60-meters placing five runners in the top-10. Joining Bain were sophomore Tanard Davis who finished third (6.87), Terell Walden who placed sixth (6.90), Glen Sharpe who took eighth (6.93) and Roscoe Parrish who placed ninth (6.99).
On the women’s side, freshman Charlotte Greggs won the 400-meters with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 54.30, and senior Adrienne Moss) broke school-records in the shot put (15.02m/49-03.50) and weight throw (16.22m/53-02.75) to lead the 20th-ranked Hurricanes at the Maryland Invitational.
Greggs, who provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 200-meters with a victory at the Florida Invitational last weekend, also anchored the victorious 4×400-meter relay of freshman Dominique Darden, senior All-America Jamillah Wade and junior All-American Kitoya Carter. The team’s winning time of 3:41.57 provisionally qualifies them for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Moss, who won the shot put and finished third in the weight throw, shattered her own school mark in the shot put by nearly two feet, and surpassed the former school-record in the weight throw by three feet.
All-Americans Gina Harris and Sharianne Lawson also won events on Saturday. Lawson finished first in the 60-meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8.31, while Harris won the 60-meter dash in a time of 7.53.

Baseball
The Miami baseball team held its annual media day Thursday afternoon, as the 2003 Hurricanes and Head Coach Jim Morris addressed the upcoming season.
UM returns three everyday players from last year’s team, along with starting pitcher Dan Touchet and closer George Huguet.
“First of all the game starts with pitching,” Morris said. “You have to pitch well to win big games. You have to pitch to go to Omaha and win. We have to establish our starting rotation. We only have one returning starter in Dan Touchet, so the two, three and four spots in the rotation are open. We have to have consistency in our bullpen, particularly late with George Huguet, and whoever else is down there with him.”
Jim Burt returns to lead the Canes’ offense after hitting .322 last season with nine home runs and 48 RBI. He is slated to be the Hurricanes starting first baseman in 2003. Twins Danny and Paco Figueroa return to anchor the UM defense in center field and shortstop. Both hit .300 at the plate last season and should be a spark at the top of the UM lineup.
UM will open the season with the Alumni Game on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. at Mark Light Field. UM will then open the season on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. with a home game against FIU.

‘Lady Canes get much improved play at point
McCormick has stepped up game
Yalonda McCormick may seem like a soft spoken 19-year-old college kid, but when she gets on the basketball court and someone puts a ball in her hands she couldn’t be more different.
McCormick, the vocal leader of the University of Miami women’s basketball team, plays the point guard position with the confidence needed to succeed in college basketball. McCormick runs the ‘Lady Hurricanes like a quarterback, calling out plays and dishing out passes to her teammates.
Head coach Ferne Labati said the sophomore’s confidence and ability have allowed her to exceed expectations.
“If she keeps working at this level I believe she can be a candidate for the Big East Most Improved Player of the Year,” Labati said. McCormick enjoyed a wonderful high school career at Monsignor Pace where she helped lead her team to the state playoffs for the first time in the school’s history. The team named Yalonda its Most Valuable Player and the Player of the Year. Before coming to UM, scouts ranked McCormick as the fifth best point guard in her recruiting class.
After a successful high school career, McCormick hasn’t experienced much of a drop-off in success at the college level. After playing in 17 games her freshman year, Yalonda took over the starting point guard job and hasn’t looked back. In the Hurricanes contest against Pittsburgh Wednesday night, she scored a career high 19 points, continuing her steady improvement throughout the season.
Standing at just 5-8, McCormick, called “Bebe” by anyone who knows her well, has an immeasurable amount of heart that makes up for her lack of size. She said her strength stems from her grandmother, who raised Yalonda and her three older siblings along with various other cousins.
A tattoo on McCormick’s right forearm pays tribute to her mother, someone she lost at the age of six. The ink on McCormick’s right arm honors her late great-aunt who she describes as the “Big Momma” of her family.
McCormick gets inspiration from her family and says that the main reason she came to UM had to do with staying close to her grandmother.
Women, however, are not the only family members who have contributed to McCormick’s upbringing.
“I’ve hung around my brothers [Anthony and Alvin] all my life,” McCormick said. “Any sport that I played I always played it with them.”
The individual goals may be nice for McCormick, but she would much rather see her team succeed.
“This year our biggest goal is to make it to the [NCAA] tournament,” McCormick said. “Last year we made it to the NIT but we thought we could have made it to the NCAA tournament.”

-You can reach Nate Johnson at NPJ44@aol.com

In 2002, the men’s tennis team saw success in the early portion of the season, but failed to reach their ultimate goal. The Hurricanes reached the Big East Finals before falling to Notre Dame at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
This year, a much less experienced bunch will try to bring the Big East title back to Miami. One of those youngsters, sophomore Todd Widom, will likely be the determining factor in the ‘Canes productivity this season. Widom comes into the season as the ninth ranked player in the nation, and gives the ‘Canes a solid No.1 singles player. Widom also has the capability to deliver a doubles point as well, something that head coach Bryan Getz knows is extremely important.
“It is imperative to win the doubles point because then you only have to win three out of the six singles matches,” Getz said. “With the talent we have, there aren’t many teams who will be able to take four out of six points from us.”
This Miami team could be its most inexperienced in quite some time. Only two players return from last season (Widom and Andrew Golub), and after that, the ‘Canes are forced to rely on four freshman and a transfer.
Widom may be one of the top players in the country, but much of that success has to do with his work ethic. Widom’s effort gives the sophomore a chance to win every time he steps on the court and Getz says that kind of player is great for this program.
“Having Todd does a lot for this program because he bring us exposure, a superb tennis player, and he works so hard to improve,” Getz said. “He leads this team by setting an example with his hard work.”
The last time the Miami Hurricanes hired a new head coach for a sports team from within their own program, they settled on a man who didn’t turn out to be a bad choice. Head football coach Larry Coker won a national title his first season, and has only lost one game in his two seasons as head coach.
This year UM has in a new head coach in Getz, who was with the program for the last two seasons as an assistant under Jay Berger. Getz doesn’t expect Coker’s success overnight, but hopes that his young team improves everyday.
“Experience is a big part of college tennis, but I think that we have such a young group, that we can’t use that as an excuse,” Getz said. “It is important for us to get better everyday, for every individual player to keep improving.”
The ‘Canes come into the season ranked No. 42 in the country, a ranking that the team doesn’t agree with.
“One of our goals is to win the Big East championship,” Getz said. “Our pre-season rank is No. 42 and we think we are better than that, and this team is determined to prove that they are better than that.”
If this team is to prove that it is better than that, it will need its freshmen (Colin Purcell, Tim Crebs, John Hoyes, and Eric Hechtman) to get the necessary points to win matches. However, the youth of this team allows them to be together for a few years.
“We have such a great group of young guys who will be great college tennis players,” Getz said.

-You can reach Darren Grossman at DRG215@aol.com

The Hurricanes’ men’s basketball team (8-8) lost to the Syracuse Orangemen (14-2), 54-49, on Sunday at the Convocation Center. The loss ended the Hurricanes seven game home win streak and the dismal 1-4 conference record dropped Miami to last place in the Big East divisional rankings.
The Orangemen came into the game ranked second in the conference in points per game with four of their starting five averaging double-digits in points. The Orangemen offense is lead by last year’s McDonald’s All-American, Carmelo Anthony, who averages 21.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Sophomores Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, are the other offensive weapons, averaging 16.7 and 15.8 points per game, respectively.
However, the Hurricanes’ defense was able to keep the potent Orangemen offense grounded much of the first half, giving them different defensive looks that kept them disorganized and unable to effectively execute plays.
“I thought that defensively, we were doing the things we wanted to do. We did not let Carmelo go crazy on us,” said head coach Perry Clark.
Anthony had only seven points heading into the locker room, while McNamara was held to three points on one-of-six shooting. The Hurricanes were able to hold the Orangemen to their lowest point total for the season.
After being down by seven early in the first half, the Hurricanes went on a 12-point rally that allowed them to head into the locker room with a 30-25 lead. Senior, Rafael Berumen, was instrumental in the rally, coming off the bench to score all five of his points in the first half and grabbing offensive rebounds that allowed for second chance opportunities. The freshmen tandem of Armondo Surratt and Robert Hite were equally impressive on offense. Despite his 5-11 stature, Surratt was able to find open lanes and drive to the basket.
“Robert was playing well until he got into foul trouble. I thought that Armondo did a good job of pushing the ball when we had our spurt, getting us some nice looks and easy baskets,” said Clark.
Despite outplaying and outscoring the Orangemen in the first half, the Hurricanes seemed to fade away in the second, failing to convert on open shots on offense and playing porous defensively.
Warrick was to be the pivotal factor in the turnaround for the Orangemen. The sophomore forward scored 12 of his game-high’s 18 points in the second half and made his presence felt on the defensive end also, registering three blocks.
“Whenever he plays well, Syracuse plays well and I thought that in the second half, he was more aggressive in his play than we were at stopping him,” said Clark.
The Orangemen were able to find open looks underneath the basket and allowed themselves second chance opportunities by out rebounding the Hurricanes offensively. The Syracuse defense also stepped up, quickly converging on Hurricane players and contesting shots.
The Hurricanes scored only 19 points in the second half and none in the final eight minutes of the game. Darius Rice and James Jones were held to a combined total of 24 points for the game. After coming off of last Monday’s 43-point heroic effort, Rice seemed mortal, scoring 13 points on five-of-16 shooting. Jones finished the game with 11 points on 4-13 shooting.
“Obviously, the key to the game was the last eight minutes, not being able to come up with points. You can’t go eight minutes in this league and not score and expect to win,” said Clark.
Miami will be back in action this Wednesday when they play host to Providence at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

You can reach Sandeep Konka at skonka33143@hotmail.com.