Miami Hurricanes Pro Day 2024

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

I’ve always made it a point that when there is something important with the Miami Hurricanes Football Team, I don’t miss it!

That proved to be the case on Monday afternoon as the Canes held their Pro Day featuring players that could be on NFL rosters, or perhaps land with the Canadian Football League.

NFL scouts, player personnel and coaches were on hand at the Canes indoor practice facility to see this year’s group led by safety Cam Kinchens.

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce was also in attendance as well as former Canes TE Will Mallory, who now plays for the Indianapolis Colts, to support his former teammates.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell coined a phrase that said, “what do you learn when a player is in shorts?” This obviously refers to the players not involved in contact drills.

Canes Head Coach Mario Cristobal was in attendance to not only support his players but to also provide information about his players. Former Miami Dolphin and current Canes Coach Jason Taylor did the same.

But there was one player that didn’t work out for the scouts, but will likely do so in 2025.

His name is Xavier Restrepo, the 21-year old wide receiver who is a native of Coconut Creek, FL, who attended Deerfield Beach High School.

The 5-10, 198 pounder is a Fifth-Year Senior and was First-team All-ACC in 2023. 

He was Miami’s leading receiver in 2023. 

He delivered one of the best seasons by a wide receiver in Miami history, starting all 13 games and set a program single season record with 85 catches. Restrepo recorded 1,092 yards and six touchdowns, only sixth 1,000-yard season by a pass catcher in program history.

He led the team in all-purpose yards with 1,149 and he had five 100-yard games over the course of the season.

As I spent the entire workout seeking players to interview, the light went off in my head to speak to an individual for whom I’ve spoken to so many times.

What intrigued me about talking to Restrepo is he was sponging the Pro Day and I could tell by his body language that he wanted to get a feel of what he’s likely to participate in during the Spring of 2025.

I decided to approach him and he was very nice to give me a few minutes just before he had to go to class. 

We talked about the Canes off-season and what he was learning from the event. 

When you listen to the interview, you’re going to be rooting for him to have a sensational year and look forward to seeing him play on Sundays.

What I’ve learned through the years about finding stories is that certain ones just fall in your lap and when the opportunity presents itself, you simply pounce on them. 

I learned this lesson covering a lot of Spring Training Games.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com. You can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

His broadcasts can be seen by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Scott just published a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Owls Looking To Take Care Of Unfinished Business

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The FAU Owls Men’s Basketball Team is back in the NCAA Tournament with unfinished business. 

This is a veteran team that joined the American Athletic Conference and played not only a tough non-conference schedule which did include a win over Arizona, but fared well in the AAC. 

The Owls finished the season with a 25-8 record and was second in the conference.

FAU’s last loss occurred on Saturday as the Temple Owls nipped their Owls counterparts 74-73. Temple finished the season with a 16-20 mark and was 10th in the AAC.

Prior to the AAC Tournament, the Owls were battle tested.

On February 25, Memphis edged FAU in Tennessee 78-74.

On Saturday, March 2, I attended the FAU vs Tulane game and the Owls defeated the Green Wave 79-73. 

I asked Head Coach Dusty May how he felt about his team and he was extremely positive but knew he had a tough week ahead of him as his squad needed to win the final two regular season games to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.

FAU did just that as it won on the road vs North Texas 80-76. Johnell Davis led the team in scoring with 29 points with five rebounds, and four assists. Nick Boyd added 13 points and center Vladislav Goldin amassed 11 points to go along with five rebounds.

On Saturday, March 9, the Memphis Tigers came to town on Senior Day and the Owls looked like a poised and possessed squad in the rematch at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena.

Led by Goldin, who had 21 points and 12 rebounds, FAU defeated Memphis 92-84. 

FAU out rebounded Memphis 40-28 and controlled the offensive boards, 16-10. FAU led in points in the paint 46-24 and second chance points 20-13. FAU scored 16 points off turnovers while Memphis had nine.

This game was nationally televised on CBS and before the game Athletic Director Brian White told me that this was the biggest game in FAU Men’s Basketball history. 

This victory sent a message to the NCAA Tournament Committee that the Owls deserve to return to the “Big Dance” which subsequently happened.

Despite the University of South Florida winning the AAC Regular season title, the Bulls inability to win the conference tournament sent them to the NIT.

After the game, I asked May if he felt better than he did a week ago about his team and you can see his response in the video.

Meanwhile, Memphis Coach Penny Hardaway was pleased with his team’s 22-10 record which was fifth in the AAC. 

But he was impressed with the Owls and is optimistic that FAU can make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.

You can see Hardaway’s comment in this story as well.

The Owls defeated North Texas 77-71 in the first round of the AAC Tournament on March 15, then lost to Temple the next day. 

FAU’s opening round opponent is the Northwestern Wildcats who were 21-11 and fourth in the Big Ten.

Northwestern is 6-4 in their last 10 games, and are coached by Cris Collins, the son of former NBA player and coach Doug Collins.

The Owls enter this game as the eighth seed while the Wildcats are ninth. FAU is 7-3 in their last 10 contest.

The game on Friday starts at 12:15 PM.

This year’s NCAA Appearance is the Owls third in program history.

There is no doubt that the rumors are going to be swirling about whether May will be coaching next year. But FAU is looking to prolong any speculation at least for a few weeks.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@Gmail.com. You can contact him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

To see his broadcasts, Subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Scott has a book “Lessons From The Microphone” which can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble.

Gloor’s Road To New Orleans

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

One of the things that I’ve enjoyed doing prior to FAU’s Men’s Basketball Games is interview the oppositions announcer.

It started on January 28 when I spoke with Hank Dickenson of the North Texas Green Wave. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke with Corey Gloor, who is the Director of Broadcasting/“Voice of the Tulane Green Wave.”

If you’re a good announcer, then you need to be able to wear multiple hats. I learned this when I became friends and colleagues with the late Chris Roberts, who was the voice of the UCLA Bruins, who called football, basketball and baseball.

Gloor began his broadcasting career on Janesville, Wisconsin where he served as a co-host for “Jock Talk” a nightly sports talk show. 

I began my career as a producer in 1979 as a producer at WXYZ in Detroit for the late Ron Cameron’s “Sports Talk” and it’s quite the challenge listening to the fans frustrations when things weren’t going well when Detroit’s Sports teams were struggling in 1979.

Gloor also served as the play-by-play voice of the Beloit Snappers—Single A Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. He earned his undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois.

Most recently, Gloor has spent the last six years as the radio play-by-play broadcaster for East Carolina University baseball on LEARFIELD’s Pirate Sports Network. During those six years, Gloor called four of ECU’s NCAA postseason tournament runs.

One of the things I like to do is speak to the visiting announcer to get a feel for that team and what that individual thinks about the FAU Owls.

Prior to FAU’s 79-73 victory over Tulane on Saturday, March 2, I spoke with Gloor and we went over his journey to Tulane University. He talked about working in Wisconsin and what it’s like to be an announcer in “The Big Easy” plus what’s in store for him down the road.

The video in this story is not only designed to tell Gloor’s story, but also give aspiring announcers some ideas of what they want to do to reach their goals.

VIDEO

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/x @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, just subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Also, Scott’s new book “Lesson’s From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle and Barnes & Noble. He talks about Old School Media vs New School Media.

Owls Are Built For March Madness

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

If anyone thought that the Tulane Green Wave was coming to the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton with a 13-14 record to get blown out on Saturday, they were totally wrong.

Before the game, I spoke to Green Wave Broadcaster Corey Gloor and he said the team was having a tough luck campaign. Tulane entered the contest on a five-game losing streak with the intent to snap it. 

With 8:26 left in the first half, Tulane led 24-19 and shot 58% from the field against an FAU team that had six days off and shot 40 %. FAU’s offense went through center Vladislav Goldin, who had eight points.

With 3:47 left in the first half, FAU finally grabbed a 33-26 lead and led 36-29 at halftime. FAU shot 12-27 from the field (44%) and was 5-13 from the three-point line at 64%.

Tulane’s numbers plummeted to 13-32 from the field for 41% and 1-9 from three point land for 11%.

At the 14:51 mark in the second half, the Owls built their lead to 50-33 and also led 74-62.

But Tulane kept battling but came up on the short end of a 79-73 decision to drop to 13-15 and saw their losing streak reach six games.

The Owls were led by Goldin, who amassed 21 points and had 12 rebounds. Alijah Martin had 13 points along with 11 rebounds followed by Jalen Gaffney 13 points and Nick Boyd with 10. Multiple players in double figures is how this team finds a way to win.

FAU’s best player Johnell David had eight points but fouled out with 44.3 seconds left in the contest.

Just to explain to you how hard fought this game was, FAU led 36-29 at halftime, but Tulane outscored FAU 44-43 in the second half.

There were eight lead changes and the game was tied five times.

FAU dominated the boards with 42 rebounds while their opponent from New Orleans had 32.

But if there is one area that FAU knows it has to get straightened out it’s with turnovers as the Owls led in a category that you don’t want to lead, 18-9.

When the game was over, I asked Coach Dusty May if his team felt a bit rusty with six days rest coming off Sunday’s 78-74 loss in Tennessee vs the Memphis Tigers. My question and all of the comments can be heard in the video in this story.

As selection Sunday approaches, the Owls have their hands full this week as they face North Texas 16-12 on the road and have Memphis 22-8 at home on Saturday.

FAU defeated North Texas 66-63 on Sunday, January 28 and I just mentioned Memphis win 78-74 win.

May knows that to get back to the NCAA Tournament, these are vital basketball games with the American Athletic Conference Tournament next week.

It won’t be long to find out whether FAU returns to the NCAA Tournament, but the Owls have a pair of tough games this week and those contests will go a long way in making that determination.

Sunday’s game versus Memphis starts at Noon ET and will be Senior Day. We’re going to learn a lot about an FAU team that currently owns a 22-7 mark and see if the “Owls Are Built For March Madness.”

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can find him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.

You can watch his broadcasts by subscribing to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Also, Scott has a book called “Lessons From The Microphone” that talks about Old School Media vs New School Media. You can purchase it on Amazon and Kindle.