Hurricanes Weekly

University of Miami Men's Basketball point Guard Nigel Pack talks to Joe Z about this upcoming basketball season

Joe Zagacki and Don Bailey Jr take a look at the Hurricanes football team as they get ready to take on the Duke Blue Devils this Saturday at 12:30 pm ET

Hurricanes Head Coach Mario Cristobal joins Joe Z and DBJ to recap the win over Virginia Tech and previews this Saturdays contest vs Duke at the Hard Rock stadium at 12:30pm ET

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami head men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga announced Wednesday the hiring of Kotie Kimble as the team’s new assistant coach. Kimble’s hire is pending the completion of a standard University background check.

Kimble comes to The U with 14 years of Division I coaching experience, including the last four at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“I’m humbled and excited to be a part of the University of Miami basketball program. I’d like to thank Jim Larrañaga for providing me with this amazing opportunity to come work for him, not only in the best conference in the country, but at one of the world’s most recognizable schools,” Kimble said. “I also want to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to Ron Sanchez and everyone else who made my time at Charlotte so special. That said, it’s truly an honor to be a Miami Hurricane. I will pour all I have into helping this excellent program continue to reach new heights and into assisting our players’ pursuit of their goals.”

In July 2020, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman ranked Kimble as a top-five assistant coach in Conference USA based off an anonymous poll of 20-plus coaches in the league.

A renowned recruiter, Kimble helped Charlotte sign the top class in CUSA each of the last four years. Included in that group is Jahmir Young, a three-time All-CUSA honoree, two-time first-team designee and the 2020 CUSA Freshman of the Year.

Inheriting a program that went 6-23 in 2017-18, the year before he arrived alongside head coach Ron Sanchez, Kimble helped Charlotte to a 16-13 campaign in 2019-20, good for the team’s most wins since 2013-14.

The 49ers also went 10-8 in CUSA play in 2019-20 to finish fourth in the league after being picked No. 12 in the preseason poll. It marked the first time the 49ers finished above .500 in conference action since going 9-7 in 2009-10 in the Atlantic 10 and the first time they won double-digit league games since an 11-5 mark in 2005-06 in A10 play.

Two years later, during the recent 2021-22 season, the 49ers exceeded that overall win total by going 17-14. Charlotte also again finished 10-8 in CUSA play, giving the team multiple winning league records in a three-year stretch for the first time since 2003-06.

The program posted its most road wins (six) since 2011-12 and most conference road victories (four) since 2009-10, both during its A10 era. Meanwhile, Young placed third in the CUSA in scoring at 19.6 points per game, his second straight top-five finish.

“Kotie is an excellent addition to our program. He is an intelligent coach with an energetic personality who will mesh well both with the staff members and players already here in Coral Gables,” Larrañaga said. “Kotie’s 14 years of coaching experience have him well-prepared to make an immediate impact at Miami. People whom Kotie has worked for and with rave about him. He has climbed his way up through the industry with a strong work ethic, excellent recruiting acumen and tremendous knowledge of the sport.”

Joe Z & DBJ take a hard look at the UM football team and look around college football 

The Coach joins Joe Z and Don Bailey Jr. to look back at last weeks lose to UNC and look ahead to this weekends match-up with VA Tech 

Former University of Miami Quarterback Steve Walsh joins Joe Z to talk about the 35th anniversary of the 1987 National Championship team

Chris 'The Bear' Fallica has spent almost his entire ESPN career working as a research producer for the eight-time Emmy Award winning College GameDay - college football's longest-running and most-celebrated pregame show. In addition to providing vital information for the on-air and production crews leading up and during each week's telecast, Fallica has expanded his role and become a personality of his own. Each week, he makes game selections against the spread in addition to chiming in on a number of topics. Fallica joined GameDay in 1996.

Fallica also co-hosts the "Stanford Steve and the Bear" podcast focusing on sports with a Las Vegas angle with midnight SportsCenter segment producer/commentator "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and is a sports betting analyst appearing on the daily sports betting program "Daily Wager." He also writes about sports betting for ESPN.com and has contributed to ESPN's horse racing coverage, notably the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Fallica also works on men's college basketball and golf, previously attending multiple editions of the U.S. Open, Open Championship and the Masters. He also worked the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Fallica began his ESPN career as a production assistant/tape operator with ESPN Radio in 1995.

A 1994 graduate of the University of Miami, Fallica earned a bachelors degree in broadcast journalism and history. He is a native of East Moriches, N.Y.

Andy Kershaw is entering his ninth year at the helm of the Miami Hurricanes swimming program in 2021-2022.

The Hurricanes have ascended towards the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference since Kershaw’s arrival to Coral Gables in 2013. As the head manager of the USA Swimming team for the past two Olympic Games (2012, 2016), Kershaw has provided Miami swimming with a wealth of domestic and international swimming experience.

In 2016-17, Kershaw coached an Olympian, a World Short Course Championships qualifier, a World University Games qualifier, an NCAA Championships qualifier and led seven different swimmers to a total of 13 NCAA consideration cuts.

In an impressive year for Hurricanes swimmers, Heather Arseth represented Mauritius at the 2016 Olympics, Roxanne Yu qualified for the World Short Course Championships as a Phillipine international, and Manon Viguier clinched a trip to the World University Games, where she will represent France.

Two swimmers – seniors Angela Algee and Christina Leander – represented Miami at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, and Algee qualified for her second NCAA Championships under his guidance. Algee finished 38th in the 100 fly, 52nd in the 200 fly and 53rd in the 50 free nationally.

Outside the lanes, Kershaw has placed a heavy emphasis on academics; the Miami swimming team’s combined GPA of 3.5 in 2016-17 was the highest of any women’s team on campus. The Hurricanes earned NCAA Academic honors in the fall and spring semester, three swimmers earned NCAA Academic All-America recognition, and the Hurricanes swimming program compiled the second-most community service hours of any program in the country.

Miami posted seven dual meet wins in 2015-16 – its highest win total in five seasons – with a team that featured an NCAA Swimming Championships qualifier (Algee) and two U.S. Olympic trialists.

Miami’s win total increased in each of his first three years. As head manager of Team USA at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the American swimming contingent hauled in a world-leading 33 medals, including 16 golds.

Kershaw joined the Hurricanes in the summer of 2013 after spending the previous 10 years with Southern Methodist University. After seven years as an assistant coach, Kershaw served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for his final three seasons with the Mustangs.

Kershaw has been a force for U.S. Swimming as head manager. In addition to serving in the role at the 2016 Olympics (Rio), he has been head manager for the 2015 World Championships (Kazan, Russia), 2012 Summer Olympics (London), the 2011 World Championships (Shanghai), the 2010 Pan Pacific Games (Irvine, Calif.) and the 2009 Duel in the Pool (Manchester, U.K.). Prior to his time with U.S. Swimming, he served as an assistant coach for the Slovenian national swimming team from 2004-06.

“I think he is an incredible person,” said Teri McKeever, who served as head coach of the U.S. women’s swimming team for the London Olympics. “He is very people-oriented, a great communicator, proactive and very driven. Andy is committed to the sport and to developing young people.”

During his time at SMU, Kershaw coached 79 NCAA All-Americans and helped the Mustangs finish in the top 25 in the country six times. The Mustangs had six Conference USA Swimmers of the Year and 35 NCAA Academic All-Americans under his watch. In 2012, Kershaw was recognized as Honorable Mention NCAA Assistant Coach of the Year bycollegeswimming.com.
Kershaw’s coaching career began as a student assistant for the men’s and women’s team at Ohio and continued in that role until 1998, when he became the graduate assistant for the 1998-1999 seasons. In 1999 he was hired as the head assistant coach for both programs, a role he served until 2003. As the assistant, he was primarily responsible for the distance group and oversaw the organization of the recruiting efforts. During his ...

Joe Z and Don Bailey Jr talk about the State of the U