A Season to Remember, A Culture To Last: The Hopeful Impacts Of Miami’s Unforgettable Season

PHILADELPHIA — The Miami players left the court Friday heartbroken and some in tears after their tournament dreams ended in March sadness. But the legacy they left behind after the most memorable season in the 121 years of the program is what will carry on.

In a world completely and undeniably dominated by NIL and “most money wins”, they demonstrated – in a heartfelt press conference Friday after their 78-56 loss to No. 6 seed Tennessee that they were committed to something bigger.

The most unforgettable season in Miami basketball history gained momentum in December, overcame the loss of their top point guard to an ACL tear late in that month, continued through a pair of back-to-back overtime thrillers in January, garnered national attention in February as they became the only undefeated in college basketball. Overcame the first loss to UMass in the MAC quarters, reached a crescendo with a wild and raucous win over SMU in Dayton and ended Friday in Philadelphia.

“Congrats to them, but that doesn’t take anything away from our team,” head coach Travis Steele said. “Our team has had a heck of a journey. The quality of human beings that we have in our locker room, man, we’re everything that’s right about college athletics in my opinion. These two are a big part of that, they spearhead it, but I couldn’t be more proud of our group.”

Steele had every right to be proud of not only what his players accomplished but what he’s built in a remarkably short period of time.

“I’m obviously very proud of our guys. I’m happy they got to experience this,” Steele said. “The rebuild, they saw it from the ground up. One senior, Eli (Yofan), he was a walk on for us to all of a sudden we went 31-0 in the regular season this year. Proud that they were able to experience all that, but I think the thing that gets lost a lot of times is everybody sees the result but the journey, the day-to-day is even better. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys that we have in our locker room, the way that we do things. It’s not the result but it’s the way we do things. How we do it I think is what makes me even more proud.

It’s one thing to build one great season. It’s another to build a lasting culture. Assuming Steele stays in Oxford, that’s the next step.

“You’re hopeful that your culture, the development of each individual player winning, getting a great education will help us keep, retain our players,” Steele said. “Not that we’re going to bat a thousand for baseball terminology, but we did pretty well last year. We kept six of our top nine guys from last year’s team. We won 25 games last year, record in team history.

“Your retention allows you to keep your culture so you’re not constantly starting a new culture every single year. We tried to build something that was sustainable. While everybody else was zigging, we just zagged. Everyone was recruiting from portal only, get old stay old. We’re not afraid to have high school guys. We’re confident we can develop our young men into really good basketball players. Retention is at a premium in order to create sustained success.”

That’s the key with a mid-Major like Miami. You have to not only be different, you have to find the right way to be different, one that plays to your roster strength, collectively and individually. Steele has found a way to do that over the last two seasons. But it was something he’s been building since he first arrived there four seasons ago. Start with a foundation of Pete Suder, Luke Skaljac, Antwone Woolfolk and Brant Byers, then players like Eian Elmer, Evan Ipsaro and Trey Perry will follow.

Of course, retaining the coach is a big part of this as well. Coaches move on, that’s part of the deal. Steele is under agreement on a contract through the 2031-32 season announced in Jan. 2025, and that could be extended by an athletic department hopeful to build something bigger. There’s also an opening 35 miles to the south that could be intriguing in the Big 12. Coaches and players move on but culture stays. Is two years enough to establish a culture?

“I’m just going to keep repeating what I’ve been saying,” Suder said in his final game in a Miami uniform. “Culture. I have so much fun playing with those guys and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Suder did what he could to lift his team Friday but the Volunteers were simply too much. Too much size, strength and Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Suder had 27 points, the only RedHawk in double figures.

Suder came to Miami two years ago from Bellarmine University and just wanted to be apart of something Travis Steele was building. Two seasons, an undefeated regular season and a Mid-American Conference player of the year honor later, mission accomplished.

“I started at Bellarmine University the first two years, and I transferred here, and it’s been uphill since I came here. The community is showing support. It’s like I said, the brotherhood, the coaching staff. It even goes down to the managers and trainers. They’ve just made me so much better as a person and as a player, and I can’t give them enough appreciation for that,” Suder said.

Asked what he’ll remember most about this team, Luke Skaljac pointed to the way the unit bonded.

“I would just say the unselfishness in this group,” Skaljac said. “We have so many good guys on the roster. Even the guys not playing are really, really good players. All time, but not many so it’s definitely very special.”

“Just winning a bunch of games together and our brotherhood on the court,” Suder added. “People enjoy watching us because we’re so connected and unselfish.

Still, it wasn’t until mid-January that fans even on Miami’s campus really started paying attention, followed by the Speedo brigade. It became a cult phenomenon.

“Yeah, the support this year was special,” Skaljac said. “When I first got here, we didn’t have a ton of fans at our games. And then after winter break, every one of our games was sold out at home and away. That was special to be able to play in that type of an environment. Every single became was awesome. It just created a lot of buzz around mid-major basketball, and it’s really cool to see.

“This loss doesn’t take away what we have done all year,” Suder said. “Our culture and connectivity, the brotherhood we have, we’re best friends on and off the court and I think it shows when we play.”