A ‘Clutch’ tip helps Miller, Miami reach first Final Four

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Miller took 20shots in the regional final for Miami and made them all, helpingthe Hurricanes rally their way into the Final Four. Thepersonification of clutch.

Fitting.

A guy named Clutch is why he’s at Miami, why Miller has becomeone of the stars of March Madness — and why the Hurricanes are oneof the four men’s teams lucky enough to head to Houston thisweekend and see their season stretch into April.

It was around this time two years ago when Miami then-assistantcoach Bill Courtney’s phone rang with news that Miller had enteredthe transfer portal and was leaving George Mason. Courtney doveinto some tape and began looking into Miller’s background. Turnsout, one of Courtney’s old pickup-game buddies from Virginia —Clutch, real name Gary Collins — was Miller’s AAU coach.

“The recruitment got pretty simple from there,” said Courtney,now the Hurricanes’ associate head coach.

Good thing that recruitment went the way it did, because Miamihas needed Miller this season — never more than it did on Sunday.Miller was 7 for 7 from the field and 13 for 13 from the foul linein Miami’s 88-81 win over Texas, a victory that sent the Hurricanes(29-7) into Saturday’s national semifinals against UConn (29-8).For the season, Miller is averaging 15.4 points and 6.1 reboundsper game, second-most for Miami in both categories.

He helped the Hurricans get to the Elite Eight last season — andat least one step further this season.

“That loss sat with me for a really, really long time,” Millersaid of the defeat to eventual national champion Kansas in lastyear’s tournament. “I had to put it in the past because it was anew season, but having the opportunity to kind of right your wrongsalmost and get past something that stumped you previously is agreat feeling.”

The 20-for-20 combined shooting effort from the field and theline against Texas matched Christian Laettner’s historic game forDuke against Kentucky in a regional final in 1992. Laettner — whowent 10 for 10 from both the field and the line in that game —tweeted congratulations to Miller on Monday; Miller responded with“Appreciate you! Glad to join some elite company.”

There is rich irony in that Miller came to Miami from GeorgeMason — as did Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga, who took that schoolto the Final Four in 2006 and got Miami to the Final Four onexactly the 17th anniversary of that win.

“I just asked Jordan to ask the people at George Mason who knowwhat kind of coach I am if he’d fit in my program,” Larrañaga said.“And a lot of them told him, ‘Yeah, you should go play for CoachL.’ I was so impressed with him as an individual. You know, thebasketball ability is one thing but his personality, his workethic, his basketball IQ made me feel like ‘OK, this kid will fitin really, really well.’ I had no idea he was this good.”

The Hurricanes were even talking to other players — frankly,with better numbers — than Miller had when he entered the portal.Had it not been for Clutch, it’s extremely likely that Miami wouldhave gone in a different direction. And then who knows how thisseason would have turned out for Miller or the Hurricanes.

“I don’t know if anyone expected this,” Courtney said. “Clutchwas the only one who told me he could be this.”

Larrañaga doesn’t think many people know how good Miller is. Hecalls the 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing “the most underrated player inthe country.”

That moniker might not hold up anymore, especially not after theshow Miller put on on Sunday. The 27 points might be a breakout ofsorts; it was the second-best scoring effort of his 141-gamecollegiate career, and by far the most points he’s managed in apostseason game at either George Mason or Miami.

Larrañaga essentially challenged Miller when last season endedto be this guy.

“I sat down and talked to Jordan before this season began. Ijust said to him: ‘Your role is going to completely change. We’regoing to expand it,’” Larrañaga said. “He asked me one question:‘Hey, if I get a defensive rebound, can I push it in transition,dribble it up the court?’ I asked him one question: ‘Are you goingto turn the ball over?’ And he said ‘No.’ I said, ‘Then you can doit.’”

They chart everything in every practice at Miami, as is the caseat many schools, and Larrañaga quickly became enthralled by theidea of Miller getting his way — grabbing a rebound like a big guy,then heading downcourt like a guard. For every turnover he had inscrimmages, he had seven assists. Such a ratio is absurd for pointguards; for wings and combo players like Miller, it’s unheard of.During the season, it’s still a very respectable 2:1.

“He’s underrated because he’s under been under the radar,”Larrañaga said. “People just haven’t seen him to understand howgood he is. I think he showed the country how good he is these pasttwo weeks.”

Indeed, thanks to Clutch, he’s been clutch. And Clutch isheading to Houston this weekend, to see if Miller and Miami cangrab a national championship. The underrated kid might end upstanding tallest of all.