Backcourt duo of Nijel Pack, Jalen Blackmon lead UM men to 88-64 win over Binghamton

It is only early November, far too early to know how good this new-look University of Miami men’s basketball team will be, but a few things are obvious after the Hurricanes won their second game of the season 88-64 over Binghamton.

The team has plenty of scoring options, including a true center who draws second teams, which opens things up for the perimeter shooters.

Nine Hurricanes were in the scoring column and four were in double figures.

“If you let them get into a rhythm, a bunch of different guys can get hot,” Binghamton coach Levell Sanders said of Miami. “So many of their guys can score, so it spreads you out and can cause a lot of issues.”

Miami’s headband wearing guard duo of Nijel Pack and Jalen Blackmon combined for 34 points. They are both Indiana natives and were familiar with each other’s games when Blackmon transferred from Stetson this past off-season.

“We have a really dynamic backcourt, for sure,” Pack said. “Both of us are able to shoot the ball and play off each other. He creates for me, and I create for him. It makes us hard to guard.”

Pack, the lone player remaining from UM’s 2023 Final Four team, had 17 points and dished out six assists. Blackmon, the Stetson transfer, also scored 17 and showed why he was a Top 20 scorer in the nation last season.

Blackmon led Stetson with 21.3 points per game last season. The 6-3 guard scored in double-figures in 33 of 35 games, reached 20 points on 20 occasions and 30 points five times. He started his college career at Grand Canyon University.

He grew up with a basketball in his hands. His father and high school coach, James Blackmon, Sr., played at Kentucky, was a fifth-round NBA Draft pick of the New Jersey Nets, and played in the CBA and World Basketball League. One brother, James, Jr., played at Indiana University and is playing professionally in Europe. The other, Vijay, played at St. Frances and Indiana.

“Jalen is one of the best scorers in the country,” Larrañaga said when they signed Blackmon. “He can play both on and off the ball in either of the guard positions. He is very good in the pick-and-roll and has the ability to score off the bounce, as well. Not only is he an incredible all-range shooter, but he is also a very determined defender.”

As to why Pack and Blackmon are wearing headbands, Pack explained that Larranaga previously prohibited headbands, but the two guards like to wear them and asked if the rule could be changed.

“We told [Larranaga], `Hey, it’s a different era. Now, we’ve got long hair and the headband helps. He said, `If the team agrees with it, you can wear it.’’’

Highly touted freshman Jalil Bethea sent 3-of-7 for 13 points with three assists and two steals in 15 minutes.

East Carolina transfer Brandon Johnson added 10 points and seven rebounds. Matt Cleveland had nine points and 11 rebounds.

Linn Kidd, the 6-10 Virginia Tech transfer, ranked third nationally in shooting percentage last season (66.8 percent) and went 10-of-11 for a game-high 24 points in his UM debut last week against Fairleigh Dickinson University. Miami routed FDU 113-72 in that game, the most points scored by a UM team since 1989.

On Sunday, Kidd had six points and four rebounds.

Binghamton (1-2) was led by Gavin Walsh with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting.

Larranaga said his biggest challenge at this point in the season is trying to figure out a rotation and said it will be “an ongoing thing” until the ACC schedule gets going after the new year.

The Hurricanes return home Nov. 17 against Coppin State and then hit the road for the Shriners Children’s Charleston (South Carolina) Classic, where they play Drake and two teams TBA. Other teams in the tournament include Florida Atlantic, Nevada, VCU and Seton Hall.