Jim Larrañaga wants Matthew Cleveland to put the last two years out of his mind. Forget Tallahassee, forget any tips or hints about the Seminoles. Just focus on the here and now and focus on beating FSU on Wednesday.
“We won’t even talk to Matt about that because there’s enough pressure on a young man like Matt Cleveland, playing against his former team,” Larrañaga said. “I just want him to relax and enjoy playing with his Miami teammates. I don’t want him to get into the idea that he was once a Florida State player. That’s something that’s more of a distraction to him than anything.”
Cleveland has been playing well recently, leading the Hurricanes (12-4, 3-2 ACC) into a key home matchup with rival Florida State (10-6, 4-1) at the Watsco Center at 7 p.m.
The Miami junior has scored 20 or more points in three of UM’s last four games, averaging 20.8 points, six rebounds and two assists in that stretch. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, that has not completely translated to wins, as Miami has gone 2-2 during that span.
“I just want him to stay focused on our game plan and our execution,” Larrañaga said.
Larrañaga said the key for Cleveland is his efficiency. In the last four games. Cleveland is shooting 57 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, eclipsing his career marks of 47 percent and 34 percent, respectively. He is shooting 56 percent overall and 45.5 percent on three-pointers this season.
Against Virginia Tech on Saturday, the FSU transfer, who drilled a game-winner for the Seminoles against UM last season, shot 63.6 percent.
“I wish it was all that easy, just to tell someone, ‘Hey, you need to be more efficient,’ and he has been,” Larrañaga said. “But you look at his efficiency numbers with us, they’re incredibly good.”
Cleveland and the Hurricanes kept a two-game losing skid from getting longer with a back-and-forth win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, but the Seminoles offer a tough task, as well.
FSU has already exceeded its nine wins from last year and has reeled off four straight wins in conference play. The Seminoles have picked up wins against Colorado, which routed Miami, and Wake Forest, which beat UM on Jan. 6.
“I think Leonard Hamilton’s team is really coming together,” Larrañaga said. “They’re playing very, very well right now. They’ve been very, very impressive. Teams that we’ve played already, mutual teams, they beat Colorado. They beat Wake Forest. We lost to both of them. They are very long, very athletic.
“They’ve got Darin Green Jr., who;s a tremendous shooter, and (Jamir) Watkins is just a great all-around player. Their big guys are very good in and around the basket, and they play a unique style of defense. They’re constantly switching and denying, and that’s different than our recent games.”
