Head Coach Jim Larranaga was made available for questions from the media Monday morning. Miami is preparing for its next game against conference opponent Notre Dame. The Hurricanes will travel to South Bend, Indiana to fact the Irish Wednesday night. The tip is scheduled for 7 PM Eastern.

On starting freshman Kyshawn George last Saturday against Syracuse:

"Well, every decision we make is on a day-to-day basis. We're not a very big team. So we just decided to get a little bigger and put Bensley Joseph back into that sixth-man position, which he did so successfully in his freshman and sophomore years. We got a little taller in our starting lineup, and we got a little more experience coming in off our bench, which has been an issue. We weren't planning on Norchad [Omier] not playing, so we ended up starting two freshmen for the first time. So, we're having to adapt to the circumstances that we're dealing with. For example, I just met with my staff, we've had 19 practices since mid-December, and we've not had a practice where we've had our starting five. So that makes it really challenging to prepare. Someone's always out. First, it was Nijel [Pack], he missed eleven days, then it was Wooga [Poplar], he missed six days, now it's Norchad, missed the other day and the game as well. So, it's not just missing practice, missing some games, which has really affected our on the court chemistry. We've always relied very heavily on being able to play well together, but when you miss practices, you're a little bit out of sync. And in addition to that when you miss many practices, you're not in great shape. So we're hoping today we have our whole team to practice, but we won't know until this afternoon."

On Norchad Omier's health status:

"It's the same ankle. I'm hoping we'll have him for practice today and tomorrow, then he'll play Wednesday, but you can't predict that. A guy gets out on the practice court, and it doesn't feel right. Wooga Poplar, he dressed and wanted to practice full and after about ten minutes, he went out. So you can't count that as a practice where he actually practiced and prepared for the game. There's no definitive answers for those questions. Norchad's a warrior, I told you that. He's going to do everything he can to practice and play, but we won't know that until practice this afternoon, practice tomorrow, and the game on Wednesday."

On freshman Michael Nwoko filling in for Omier:

"Well I thought Michael did a great job at Syracuse. He defended, he rebounded pretty well, but you can't ask a freshman with limited playing experience to replace your best player, your leading scorer, your leading rebounder, a guy who's scored 1500 career points. It's just not reasonable. So it really needs to be a team effort. We need everybody to play well, and if someone has a subpar game, we're not going to be nearly as good."

On how the injuries have affected game play:

"We're every bit as good as the preseason prognosticators said we would be if we were healthy. But if you have a sprained ankle, you can't run as fast and move laterally as quick. You can't jump as high. When's the last time you saw Wooga Poplar dunk the ball? You got to be, as a coach patient with your players to understand what they are going through. Our players are going through some difficult times, because they want to play great and are not physically capable of doing it at this moment.

On Wooga Poplar's health and performance against Syracuse:

"He just hasn't been 100 percent, even to this day. He is working that ankle and treating it, but he's just not himself yet. I said, he hasn't dunked the ball in practice or in a game because he can't elevate off of that left ankle, and that's the one he jumps off of when he elevates off of one foot. He's frustrated a little bit about the ankle and getting a couple of early fouls and having to sit out."

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