Darius Rice among UM Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Here's who else will be honored
Longtime University of Miami basketball fans surely remember Jan. 20, 2003, the night Darius Rice scored a career-high 43 points, including the winning three-pointer at the buzzer, and almost single-handedly beat then-No. 11 UConn 77-76.
Rice, now a high school coach in Texas, remembers every detail of that game. All the memories flooded back to him when the Hurricanes faced the Huskies in the Final Four two years ago, and again this week, as he prepares his speech for his induction into the UM Sports Hall of Fame.
Rice won that game after stealing an inbounds pass and launching the three.
'When [Shamon Tooles] let the ball go, it was in my reach, so I stuck my hand out, and when it touched my hand, I said, 'This is mine,'' Rice said. 'I saw the rim and I knew it was going in. The basket looked as big as the ocean all night. 'They went bigger on me, smaller, I think their whole team, including coach [Jim] Calhoun tried to cover me, but it was one of those nights.'
Thursday will be another special night for Rice and the other inductees. He said he has written and torn up his speech five times.
'It is exciting to be back on campus, 25 years after I got here, knowing that all the things I did and set out to do were appreciated,' said Rice, whose mother and sister flew in for the ceremony. 'Everyone always talks about the UConn game, but I have so many other great memories, too. The week before that game against UNC I hit a shot from the corner to force OT. I also remember scoring 33 against the Gators in the Orange Bowl Classic. This will be a happy moment for me.'
He played for Perry Clark but also singled out Leonard Hamilton (who recruited him), Stan Jones, Dwight Freeman and Brock Kantrow as coaches who had a big influence on him.
The induction banquet will take place at the Watsco Center, where Rice played.
The eight-member Class of 2025 is comprised of Rice, Vikki Alonzo (soccer), Mark Cooper (football), Kevin Howard (baseball), Cindy Kessler Miller (golf), Jerome McDougle (football), Brian Ramos (diving), and Krista Simkins (track & field).
UM Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Biographies
▪ Vikki Alonzo, Soccer (2008-2011): Holds nearly every school record for goalkeepers including wins (36), shutouts (25), saves (358) and minutes in goal (7,256). Also holds three single-season records for saves, shutouts and minutes in goal.
▪ Mark Cooper, Football (1978-1982): Recruited to the Hurricanes as a tight end out of Miami's Killian High, but Coach Howard Schnellenberger moved him to left tackle to protect quarterback Jim Kelly due to many injuries on the offensive line… Named second-team Independent South All-American and selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl following his final season…Drafted in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft by Denver…'Coop' spent seven seasons in the league and played in Super Bowl XXI for the Broncos.
▪ Kevin Howard, Baseball (2000-2002): One of the program's best all-around hitters… Named the 2000 Freshman of the Year and a Freshman All-American by Baseball America and Louisville Slugger, a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American and Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American… Hit .413 with 90 hits and 52 in his first season… As a junior put together another outstanding season with a .363 batting average, 86 hits, 23 doubles, 12 home runs, 52 RBI and a .602 slugging percentage… Ranks fourth all-time in career hits with 260 and his career .368 batting average is eighth all-time for batters with 300-plus at bats.
▪ Cindy Kessler Miller, Golf (1975-1978): Began her career as a walk-on in 1975 and earned her way to a scholarship spot in 1976…Helped the Canes to back-to-back national championships in 1977 and 1978 and was named an All-American in her senior campaign in 1978, serving as team captain… After a brief career on the LPGA Tour, established herself as one of the game's finest golf teachers and will be inducted into the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame as a member of their Class of 2024.
▪ Jerome McDougle, Football (2000-2002): Named a 2002 first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and a two-time first-team All-Big East selection by the league's coaches in 2001 and 2002… Key member on the defensive line of the 2001 national championship team… First-round draft pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and spent six seasons in the league.
▪ Brian Ramos, Diving (1990-1995): One of legendary head coach Randy Ableman's first top recruits and helped turned the UM diving team into a dynasty… Seven-time All-American who finished second at the 1992 NCAA Championships in the 1-meter springboard…Named 1995 Big East Diver of the Year.
▪ Darius Rice, Basketball (2000-04): Electrifying scorer from all areas of the court… Three-time All-Big East selection (twice second team, once third team)… Left Miami as the school's fourth-leading scorer all-time with 1,865 points for a career average of 16.1 points per game… Ranks in UM's career top 10 for field goals made and attempted, 3-point field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted and games started.
▪ Krista Simkins, Track & Field (2006-2008): 2008 NCAA indoor 400-meter champion with a time of 52.16 seconds… Also named 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track Performer of the Year, claiming ACC titles in the 400 and 200 meters…won the 2007 ACC title in the 100 meters…four-time All American, receiving honors twice each in indoor and outdoor events in her career.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
What's going on with USMNT? Plus: Players to watch at Club World Cup
The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic's daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! Mauricio Pochettino was sold the American dream. His USMNT are having a nightmare. We're trying to get our heads around it. 🥵 Poch feels the heat 🏀 NBA, NFL bids for EPL club 📡 The Club World Cup Radar 👀 Totti's long-range belter 'I'm the guilty one here,' said Mauricio Pochettino, which made a change from apportioning blame to the players around him. Nothing has epitomised the awkward coupling between the USMNT and their new head coach quite like him digging out his squad at regular intervals. But Pochettino's mea culpa after Tuesday's 4-0 mauling by Switzerland was a variation on a recurring theme: that his collaboration with the U.S. has started badly, or taken longer than it should have done to take off. Don't forget, this was supposed to be U.S. Soccer getting serious and making the national team all they could be at the 2026 World Cup. It paid big to pluck Poch from the uppermost club coaching bracket. Advertisement So what's going on? Some mitigation before anything else. Pochettino's pool of players for the past week of friendlies has been weaker than normal. Certain mainstays such as Christian Pulisic and Sergino Dest are resting, and fringe names were rotated in on Tuesday. The fitness of his squad has been so temperamental he must think a clean bill of health is something that only happens for other coaches. His record over 10 games, though, is concerning: five wins and five defeats, with four of those losses in his past four matches. He fumbled the fixtures which really mattered, at the Concacaf Nations League, and he'll be bailing water if the confederation's Gold Cup — starting this Sunday — goes wrong, too. It took a mere six months for USMNT godfather Bruce Arena to imply that the Argentine was a poor choice. The Athletic's Paul Tenorio made me chuckle when he wrote in yesterday's TAFC: 'The honeymoon is over and a marriage counsellor is on retainer.' The trouble is that when you watch Poch's side, it's not easy to spot a fluent style forming, or dependable patterns of play. To wit: they Americans are no more potent than they were on the day Gregg Berhalter was fired last July. Just to branch off on a tangent for a second: across international football as a whole, we might be seeing evidence that switching from club jobs to a national team's technical area is trickier than it sounds. The crossover is in vogue, but how wise a ploy is it? England are furrowing Thomas Tuchel's brow. Germany have been ordinary under Julian Nagelsmann. Carlo Ancelotti isn't a sure-fire cure for Brazil's mediocrity. In reality, international coaching offers little scope to implement a detailed, tactical plan over a finite period. Training sessions are too few. Perhaps that's why associations went through a phase of banking on pragmatic types already working for them in another position, often coaching an age-group team; England did it with Gareth Southgate, Spain with Luis de la Fuente and Argentina with Lionel Scaloni. Advertisement There's an added complication for Pochettino, and one which is largely out of his control. The USMNT is not awash with world-class talent. Pulisic is as close as it gets but it surely says something that the cream of the crop in European club football aren't spending to sign him. It's concerning — if not surprising — that fatigue will see him sit out the Gold Cup entirely. The U.S. roster has its limits. That much is obvious. As Paul writes, the requisite depth is not there. But they should be, and have to be, better than this. 'If you want to criticise me, go ahead,' Pochettino said on Tuesday, and that grumbling could mount internally as well as externally at this rate. Because the World Cup is huge, it's predominantly on home soil next time, it's arriving soon and it will be many, many years before it comes around again. Somewhere in the not-so-distant future, FIFA will announce ticket prices for next year's World Cup finals. A handful are up for grabs already — corporate bargains at $73,500 a head, for example — but general-sale costs are still being finalised. The World Cup is a far bigger event than FIFA's Club World Cup (CWC), the revamped version of which starts in the U.S. on Saturday. But in Adam Crafton's overview of all of the things which need sorting for summer 2026, ticket sales are as intriguing as anything — because the CWC is failing to capture the imagination. The world governing body is offering students five tickets for $20 for the first game in Miami this weekend (down from $349 shortly after the group-stage draw in December). Realistically, it wouldn't be doing that if a) punters were queuing up to be there and b) it wasn't concerned about television cameras showing stacks of empty seats. Broadcast rights to this event set DAZN back $1bn after all. Advertisement On TV, the equivalent of two thirds of the globe's population will watch the 2026 World Cup. That audience is assured. But on the ground? It will sell better, sure, but were common sense to prevail, the take-up for the CWC should have some influence on FIFA's plans for next year. Don't hold your breath. One of the highlights of The Athletic's coverage of any tournament is always The Radar. Published before the games begin, it's our tactical, who's-who bible. You'll find Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe et all in today's Club World Cup breakdown but the real treats are the lesser-known profiles, like that of Auckland City's Dylan Manickum. He's a 32-year-old whose working life combines semi-pro football and, incredibly, full-time employment as an engineer. Beyond him, look out for River Plate's 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono. The precocious midfielder broke Lionel Messi's record as the youngest debutant in a competitive match for Argentina, and he's most likely off to Real Madrid soon. Also, a shout out to Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams. Last year, he was the first Africa-based 'keeper to be shortlisted for the Yashin Trophy, awarded annually to the world's best. Williams has the knack of reading penalties (below) and if Sundowns make any sort of splash, they'll likely be indebted to their main man. It's been one of those weeks for Italy's national team; one of those weeks they have from time to time. Who can rescue them from the hole they have dug for themselves? What about Francesco Totti, the drop-dead-gorgeous 2006 World Cup winner? He's 48 years old now but the force remains strong, as shown by him casually finishing from halfway in an old-boys' game over the weekend. In October, he talked (semi-seriously) about coming out of retirement. Let's get it on.
American Press
39 minutes ago
- American Press
Juneteenth Freedom Festival celebrates community, culture
The Juneteenth Freedom Festival parade will start at the MLK Recreation Center, head south on Simmons Street, turn onto Opelousas, loop through Goss Boulevard and return back to the center. Lineup is at 8 a.m. and the parade will begin at 11 a.m. (Special to the American Press) Juneteenth — short for June 19 — is an annual celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The history of the holiday dates back to June 19, 1865, when federal soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to ensure slaves were freed in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation. 'Every other county, every other city in the United States at that time was aware that slavery had ended except for the people of Galveston, Texas,' said Dianna Ross, director of the Juneteenth Freedom Festival. Southwest Louisiana is invited to celebrate — and learn — about this important period of history during the four-day Juneteenth Freedom Festival scheduled for next week. 'What Juneteenth actually symbolizes is the strength and resiliency of Black Americans,' Ross said. 'For all the things our ancestors have gone through, we celebrate them because without their resilience and their endurance many of us wouldn't be here today.' Ross said like any other culture and ethnicity, 'there is a sense of pride in who we are, what we've accomplished in this country, what we've contributed to this country and we want that to be celebrated.' The Juneteenth Festival is about freedom, unity and peace, she said. The festival will kick off with the Fit Family Olympics 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, June 16, at the MLK Recreation Center, 2009 Simmons St. 'This is our first year and the idea is to bring families together — black, white, green it doesn't matter,' Ross said. 'We want them to play and fellowship.' The Olympics will include sack races, tug of war, hula hoops, jump ropes and obstacle courses. More than 270 children who participate in Ward 3 Recreation Center sports have signed up to attend. On Tuesday, senior bingo will start at 10 a.m. at the MLK Recreation Center. Games, food and prizes are planned. A screening of 'Black Panther' is scheduled for dusk on Wednesday at the MLK Recreation Center's baseball field. Vendors will arrive at 4 p.m. and patrons can start shopping at 4:30 p.m. 'People will be able to come out and enjoy the marketplace before the movie, and we'll have a kids zone and free popcorn,' Ross said. The final day of the festival will begin with a parade that starts at the center, heads south on Simmons Street, turns onto Opelousas, loops through Goss Boulevard and returns back to the center. Lineup is at 8 a.m. and the parade will begin at 11 a.m. After the parade, participants are invited to the Lake Charles Event Center for the second annual Sauce Picante Cook-Off. Entry fees are $100 and the winner will receive a 15-gallon cast iron sauce pot valued at $700. Doors open at 1 p.m. and the cook-off begins at 3 p.m. The festival will conclude with Family Day concerts from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. inside the coliseum. Performers include Connie Major, Jarius Daigle, Ashley Montegut, Angel Purdy, Harold Guillory, Marcus and Breanne Davis, Jeremy Benoit, Nebu Neezy, Keyun and the Zydeco Masters and Rusty Metoyer and the Zydeco Crush. 'We should all be in unity together as a community and this is a chance to do that,' Ross said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Paige Bueckers' Response After Dallas Wings' Sixth Straight Loss
Paige Bueckers' Response After Dallas Wings' Sixth Straight Loss originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After missing four games while in concussion protocol followed by an illness, Paige Bueckers returned to action for the Dallas Wings on Wednesday. Advertisement She had her best game yet as a pro by exploding for 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and hitting five of her seven 3-point attempts while adding six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. But the rookie couldn't prevent the Wings from losing to the Phoenix Mercury, 93-80. They now have a putrid 1-10 record, which is the worst mark in the WNBA. Bueckers was used to winning in college at UConn, and she talked about how she is dealing with losses in bunches as a pro. "It's challenging but very rewarding in a sense of you being super process-oriented and not result-oriented," she said. "How we want to have a set of standards, build a culture and have a way we do things and stick to that regardless of wins or losses... Then the results will follow and will come as we continue to stay disciplined in who we are every single day. "Just trying to lead by example, lead with my voice and just have difficult conversations. Get to know these people on and off the court and continue to build that chemistry... Just like anything in life, it's a journey." When Bueckers was at UConn, the school always reached at least the Sweet Sixteen round of the women's NCAA Tournament. In fact, during that time, the only instance in which the Huskies didn't get to the Final Four was when she missed all of the 2022-23 season with an injury. Advertisement Just a couple of months ago, they won it all by blasting South Carolina in the title game. For her college career, she averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game while shooting 53.1% from the field and 42.3% from downtown. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna SmithBruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images But she is now playing for a Wings franchise that has struggled in recent years. It has won just one playoff series since 2009, when it was known as the Shock and moved from Detroit to Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the meantime, look for Bueckers to continue to show patience as she develops her game and looks to become the WNBA's next superstar. Related: Caitlin Clark's Appearance at NBA Finals Draws Indiana Fever Reaction This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
