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Frank Haith enters his sixth year at the helm of the University of Miami men's basketball program in 2009-10.
Since taking over the program on April 12, 2004 -- in what then-Athletic Director Paul Dee referred to as "an important event in the evolution and history of Hurricane basketball" -- Haith has met the challenge and surpassed expectations in bringing the Miami program back into the national spotlight.
In five seasons, Haith has led the Hurricanes to four postseason appearances and already has more postseason wins that any other coach in Miami men's basketball history. With Haith's guidance, the Hurricanes have advanced past the first round of postseason play in back-to-back seasons and in each of their last three trips to the postseason.
After a thrilling run to the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the Hurricanes opened the 2008-09 season ranked among the nation's Top 25 in both preseason polls for just the second time in program history. The Hurricanes were No. 16 in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll -- tying the highest preseason ranking in program history -- and No. 17 in the preseason Associated Press Poll -- marking the team's highest preseason ranking in that poll. Miami - who was also picked to finish fourth in the ACC in a poll by media members - was among four ACC teams ranked in the preseason Top 25 and was the highest ranked team in Florida in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN preseason polls.
Playing the nation's sixth toughest conference schedule while competing in the top-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hurricanes went on to win 13 of their first 16 games en route to a 19-13 finish while appearing on network television a school-record 13 times. With an overall strength of schedule ranked 35th in the country, Miami played seven games versus ranked opponents - with five games versus teams that were ranked No.1 during the season, including four of the five teams that had been atop the polls in 2008-09 -- UConn, North Carolina (twice), Wake Forest and Duke.
The Hurricanes put together one of the biggest wins in program history on Feb. 4, knocking off the No. 6/7 Demon Deacons, 79-52, at home at the BankUnited Center. Miami's 27-point margin of victory is its largest ever over a ranked opponent and is also UM's largest margin of victory in ACC play. It marked the Hurricanes' second win over a Top 10 team and their 13th versus a ranked opponent under Haith.
In addition to the win over Wake Forest, Miami's season was highlighted with a series sweep of Boston College and wins over Florida State, Maryland, at Kentucky and at Providence in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Behind the sharpshooting prowess of two-time First Team All-ACC selection and NBA draft pick Jack McClinton, Haith's Hurricanes hit a school-record 251 three-pointers in 2008-09 - including a school-record 101 from McClinton alone, to break the previous record of 236 set both the previous season and in 2001-02.
A well-respected recruiter, Haith and the Hurricanes welcome a recruiting class ranked among the nation's Top 25 by both ESPN and Scout into the Miami family in 2009-10. Baltimore-native and prep school transfer Antoine Allen joins ESPNU 100 picks Durand Scott (New York, N.Y.), Garrius Adams (Apex, N.C.) and Donnavan Kirk (Detroit, Mich.) in the Hurricanes' 2009 class. With a solid foundation developed by Haith and his staff over the last five years, the future of Miami basketball is bright.
USA BASKETBALL
Haith expanded his coaching duties this past summer, serving as an assistant coach on Bo Ryan's staff for USA Basketball's World University Games men's basketball team. The team - comprised of some of the top collegiate basketball players in the country - practiced at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in July before departing for the Games in Serbia where the team went 6-1 en route to a bronze medal.
WE'RE GOING DANCING
Despite predictions that the Hurricanes would finish in the basement of the top-ranked ACC in 2007-08 after an injury-laden 2006-07 season, Haith led the Miami men's basketball program to one of its most successful campaigns in school history, culminating in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
With that NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008, Haith became the first coach in Miami history to take UM to the postseason in three of his first four seasons at the helm - and has since become the only coach in program history to take the Hurricanes to the postseason in four of his first five seasons.
The team ran off 12-straight victories to open the season, including winning the inaugural Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic and knocked off Mississippi State on the road. The Hurricanes went on to win eight of their last 12 games, highlighted by an upset of No. 4 Duke at a packed BankUnited Center and a victory over St. Mary's (Calif.) in the NCAA Tournament, en route to Miami's 10th 20-win season. The Hurricanes' 23 wins tied for second-most in school history and were the most by a Miami squad since a school-record 24 wins in 2002, while their 14 home wins marked a program best.
Haith and his Hurricanes orchestrated a 10-game turnaround -- among the best in the nation, as Miami moved into the nation's Top 25 for the first time since 2002, reaching as high at No. 19 during the season.
The Hurricanes posted an ACC first in 2007-08 with their remarkable turnaround from a 12-20 mark in 2006-07 to their 23-11 finish in 2007-08 -- becoming the first ACC team in its 55 seasons to put together a 20-win campaign immediately following a 20-loss season.
The Hurricanes finished a program-best fifth in the ACC after winning a school-record eight ACC games, and produced Miami's first First Team All-ACC selection in McClinton.
During 2008, Haith was recognized by collegeinsider.com and the Prosser family as a finalist for the inaugural Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, which will be presented annually to the Division I head coach who best represents the high standards of the coaching profession and wins with integrity.
"People ask me what I'll remember most about this season," said Haith. "Of course the Duke win was special, but I know that I will always remember that first NCAA Tournament win, and having the opportunity to get all of the guys on the floor. No one can ever take that away from them."
After leading the Hurricanes to one of the most successful campaigns in Miami's 59 years fielding a men's basketball program, Haith signed a new contract in April 2008, keeping him in Coral Gables through 2012-13.
INTO THE ACC
Haith's numerous accomplishments at the helm of the Hurricane program include ushering Miami into the tradition-rich Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004, back-to-back postseason appearances in 2005 and 2006, an NCAA Tournament berth in 2008, 13 wins over nationally-ranked opponents, recording the school's first National Invitation Tournament win since 1963, earning the first NIT road win in school history and advancing past the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2008 for the first time since 2000.
Quickly establishing himself as one of the league's top coaches, Haith is also one of only five current ACC coaches to record 88 or more victories in their first five seasons at their respective ACC school.
Haith faced the daunting task of leading Miami into the ACC during his inaugural 2004-05 season, after taking over a UM program coming off back-to-back losing seasons, including the 2003-04 campaign in which the Hurricanes failed to qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament.
Picked to finish last in the conference in the preseason ACC media poll, Haith shocked critics while leading the Hurricanes to a 16-13 overall record, seven league victories, three wins over ranked opponents and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. Among those three wins over ranked opponents was a thrilling 72-65 win over Florida on its homecourt -- the first win for the Hurricanes in Gainesville in 41 years.
That year, he was honored as the National Association of Basketball Coaches District Coach of the Year, the first coach in UM history to win the award, and was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award.
In 2005-06, Haith built on the success of his first season as Miami posted an overall record of 18-16, marking the most victories for a UM team since the 2001-02 season, while also winning seven ACC games.
Miami also saw several program firsts under Haith during the 2005-06 campaign. In one of the more thrilling games of the year, Haith and the Hurricanes, coming off an upset over 12th-ranked Maryland, knocked off 20th-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill at the historic Dean Smith Center for the first time in school history.
Miami would later earn the program's first ACC Tournament victory with a win over Clemson before advancing to the postseason for the second-consecutive year with a berth into the 2006 NIT.
In the NIT, Haith guided Miami to wins over Oklahoma State and Creighton, marking just the second time in school history that a Hurricane team recorded consecutive postseason wins.
With the Hurricanes NIT appearance in 2006, Haith became just the second coach in Miami history to take UM to the postseason in his first two seasons.
In 2006-07, Haith and the Hurricanes defeated four ranked teams, marking just the second time in school history a UM team has downed four ranked opponents. It was even more impressive given that the Hurricanes fought through an injury-laden season in which eight players missed a total of 72 games.
Despite all of the success Haith's teams have seen on the court at Miami, what could be considered his greatest asset to the program is his emphasis for achievement off the court and in the classroom. In his first five years, 17 of 18 players who exhausted eligibility earned a degree from UM. In addition, Adrian Thomas - who enters his redshirt senior year this season - earned his degree in 2009. Before wrapping up his collegiate career, McClinton was a two-time ACC All-Academic Team selection, was selected as the recipient for the 2008-09 Skip Prosser Award given to the ACC's top men's basketball scholar-athlete, received the Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award from the ACC for outstanding performance in both athletics and academics and was tapped into Iron Arrow - the highest honor attainable at the University of Miami.
SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS
Success, however, is something that has followed Haith everywhere he has coached. In his 15 seasons as an assistant at the collegiate level, he was a part of programs that won one NIT Championship, advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen three times, reached one Elite Eight and one Final Four.
Haith has recruited six McDonald's All-Americans including Rodney Rodgers (1990) to Wake Forest, Jerald Brown (1995) to Texas A&M and Brad Buckman (2002), LaMarcus Aldridge (2004), Daniel Gibson (2004) and Michael Williams (2004) to Texas.
Intent on preparing players for the next level, Haith has had more than a dozen former players go on to play or be drafted in the NBA, including Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers), Gibson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks), T.J. Ford (Indiana Pacers) and former Hurricanes Robert Hite (Miami Heat), Guillermo Diaz (Los Angeles Clippers) and Jack McClinton (San Antonio Spurs).
Prior to taking over at Miami, Haith spent three seasons at the University of Texas under head coach Rick Barnes, where he was promoted to Associate Head Coach in April 2003. In his three seasons in Austin, Haith helped guide Texas to its winningest three-year period in school history.
During his tenure with the Longhorns, they recorded a 73-27 (.730) record while advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2002 and 2004 and the Final Four in 2003. The 2002-03 season marked UT's first appearance in the Final Four since 1947.
Texas was one of only five schools to reach the Sweet Sixteen from 2002-04, joining Connecticut, Duke, Kansas and Pittsburgh. Prior to Haith joining the Texas staff, the Longhorns had never made consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances.
Haith, who was named Rivals.com Recruiter of the Year in 2004, was responsible for putting together the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in 2004, including commitments from McDonald's All-Americans Aldridge, Gibson and Williams.
While at Wake Forest, Haith was instrumental in helping lead the Demon Deacons to four consecutive postseason tournament appearances, including an NCAA Tournament berth in 2000-01. He also helped Wake Forest secure one of the nation's Top 10 recruiting classes during the 1999-2000 campaign.
The Deacons registered a 74-53 (.583) mark during Haith's four seasons in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest advanced to the postseason NIT's second round in both 1997-98 and 1998-99, before its youthful squad in 1999-2000 posted a 22-14 mark en route to capturing the postseason NIT championship.
Prior to joining the staff at Wake Forest, Haith served one year as the associate head coach at Texas A&M (1996-97). He spent one season (1995-96) as an assistant coach at Penn State, helping the Nittany Lions to a 21-7 record. Penn State was ranked as high as No. 9 in the national polls before placing second in the Big Ten Conference regular-season standings and earning the school's first NCAA Tournament bid in 31 years.
Haith worked three years (1992-93 to 1994-95) as an assistant coach at Texas A&M, and helped the Aggies secure back-to-back recruiting classes that were ranked in the Top 30 in the country during his final two seasons in College Station. In 1993-94, Texas A&M posted a 19-11 mark, finished second in the Southwest Conference regular-season standings and reached postseason play (NIT first round) for the first time in seven years.
He started his full-time coaching career by serving two years as an assistant at UNC Wilmington (1990-91 to 1991-92). He also worked as a graduate assistant coach at Wake Forest for one season (1989-90) during Dave Odom's first year in Winston-Salem.
FROM THE BEGINNING
Haith graduated from Elon College in North Carolina in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in physical education. A Dean's List student, he served as a student assistant coach for two years. Following graduation, Haith worked as a part-time member of the Elon coaching staff while teaching in the public schools at nearby Western Middle School. During his three-year association with the Elon coaching staff, the Fighting Christians (now called the Phoenix) enjoyed two 20-win seasons.
Born on November 3, 1965, Haith is a native of Queens, N.Y., but grew up and went to high school at Western Alamance in Burlington, N.C. He and his wife, Pam, have one son, Corey, and one daughter, Brianna. Together, the Haith family has spearheaded fundraising and renovation efforts for Morningside Park in Elon, N.C., in the neighborhood in which Haith grew up. A walking path is being constructed, while plans are underway to refurbish the basketball court, bathrooms and playground.
Year-by-Year Record
|
YEAR |
SCHOOL |
W-L |
PCT. |
POSTSEASON |
|
2004-05 |
Miami |
16-13 |
.552 |
NIT |
|
2005-06 |
Miami |
18-16 |
.529 |
NIT-Quarterfinals |
|
2006-07 |
Miami |
12-20 |
.375 |
|
|
2007-08 |
Miami |
23-11 |
.676 |
NCAA Second Round |
|
2008-09 |
Miami |
19-13 |
.594 |
NIT Second Round |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overall |
Five Seasons |
88-73 |
.547 |
|
Coaching Experience
2004-Present . . . . . . Head Coach, University of Miami
2003-04 . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Head Coach, University of Texas
2001-03 . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Coach, University of Texas
1997-01 . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Coach, Wake Forest
1996-97 . . . . . . . . . . . Associate Head Coach, Texas A&M
1995-96 . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Coach, Penn State
1992-95 . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Coach, Texas A&M
1990-92 . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Coach, UNC-Wilmington
1989-90 . . . . . . . . . . . Grad. Assistant Coach, Wake Forest
1988-89 . . . . . . . . . . . Assistant Coach, Elon College
1985-88 . . . . . . . . . . . Student Assistant, Elon College
Education
1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelors' Degree in Physical Education, Elon College
Haith Accolades
n 2008 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award Finalist
n 2008 ACC Coach of the Year Runner-Up
n 2008 Alamance County (N.C.) Distinguished Service in Sports Award
n 2008 UM Alumni Association Inside Out Award recipient
n 2005 National Association of Basketball Coaches District 6 Coach of the Year -- First in Miami history
n 2005 Naismith National Coach of the Year Award Finalist
n The first coach in Miami history to take four of his first five teams into the postseason
n More postseason wins than any other coach in Miami history
n Opened the 2008-09 season ranked among the nation's Top 25 in both preseason polls for just the second time in program history (No. 16 in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll -- tying the highest preseason ranking in program history -- and a program-best No. 17 in the preseason AP Poll)
n Second most wins in a season by aMiami head coach (23) in 2008
n School-record 14 home wins in 2008
n Coached Miami to 13 wins over ranked opponents in five seasons
n In his first year at the helm, led Miami to a 72-65 win over Florida -- UM's first win in Gainesville in 41 years
n Led Miami to its first win over NorthCarolina in Chapel Hill in 2006
n In 2008, led the Hurricanes to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 and into the second round for the first time since 2000
n In 2008, led Miami back into the Top 25 for the first time since 2002
n Second most wins (16) by a first-year coach in UM history
n Guided Miami to back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 2002
n In 2006, led UM to both its first NIT win since 1963 and the program's first NIT road win ever
n Led Miami to its first ACC Tournament win in 2006 and to three-straight ACC Tournament Quarterfinals after that
n Graduated all 10 of his seniors in his first three years and 17 of 18 players in five years
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