PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - MARCH 20: Luke Skaljac #3 of the Miami (OH) RedHawks dribbles the ball while being guarded by Ja'Kobi Gillespie #0 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 20, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Miami (Ohio) was a huge college basketball talking point in March.
A new season is here, though, which brings plenty of new challenges. Miami went 31-0 in the regular season last year, but that's obviously a tough thing to replicate. Players transferred out. Opposing rosters are very different. Nothing is a given for the RedHawks.
But if Miami can again get off to a fast start and string some wins together, they'll again get noticed. They no longer will be an unknown commodity. They'll be a program that has had respect put on its name, and one that will be trying to garner even further attention.
The RedHawks' quest to do just that began on Monday night with their season opener against another mid-major power, James Madison.
The result of that game tells part of the story of what this Miami season could be.
And then there's the most important part of this whole season for Miami: Luke Skaljac is back.
GettyPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MARCH 20: Luke Skaljac #3 of the Miami (OH) RedHawks dribbles the ball while being guarded by Ja'Kobi Gillespie #0 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena on March 20, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Skaljac, the skilled lefty point guard for Miami, could've left. His performance last season, including in the NCAA Tournament, would've brought plenty of suitors in the transfer portal.
But he returned to Oxford, Ohio for another go at it. He returned to try and lead the RedHawks further.
An Ohio native himself, Skaljac felt the special season last year and wanted to feel it again.
He got himself off to a great start with 19 points to open the season against JMU, and it won't be the last time he leads Miami.
Miami was in a close battle throughout with JMU but ended up pulling out the victory on Monday night by an 86-77 score as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Skaljac's 19 points were followed by 15 from Evan Ipsaro, who also chose to return this season. He started all 12 games he played for Miami last season but had injuries ruin the rest of his season. Ipsaro is also back for more.
Almar Atlason, a native of Iceland, added 10 points to the cause. This is his second season at Miami after two at Bradley.
The other two starters are Justin Kirby, a sophomore from Fishers, Indiana, who has been at Miami for both college seasons; and Antwone Woolfolk, in his third season at Miami after starting his career at Rutgers.
It's a strong group yet again, so start paying attention to Miami early this year. They could have another special run in them.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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