Jim Larranaga only needs five minutes to convert anyone into a college basketball fan. The Miami head coach is so earnest in his passion for the game and his players it’s bordering on emotional. “They’re really sharp. They’re smart,” he said of his team. “Their basketball IQ is high. They listen attentively. And they understand the importance of doing little…
Larranaga grew up in the Bronx and played under legendary high school coach Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy. Curran’s former players include Kenny “the Jet” Smith and Kenny Anderson. After spending four years at Providence where he recorded 1,258 career points, Larranaga immediately moved into coaching, taking a position among Terry Holland’s staff at Davidson.
That was the last of Larranaga’s career as an assistant. After 11 successful seasons at Bowling Green, Larranaga returned to Virginia, this time with the George Mason Patriots. Longtime fans of March Madness might start to recognize this story. In the Elite Eight, they clawed themselves out of a 12-point deficit to beat UConn in overtime. This cemented their status as one of the all-time great Cinderella stories and Larranaga’s place among March Madness lore. He moved to Miami in 2011 but is never one to shy away from his success. Miami guard Jordan Miller joined the Hurricanes in the 2021 offseason after spending three years with George Mason, a school less than an hour from his hometown of Middleburg, Va.
“There's so many great teams around the country that are not playing in the event,” he said ahead of Miami’s Elite Eight matchup with Kansas. “And if St. Peters had lost in their tournament, they wouldn't have been invited. And yet you see how good they are.” Larranaga credited the transfer portal for increasing the competitiveness of college basketball as talented players move for a number of reasons and create greater parity among the conferences.
“I know there's a tendency to think that this game is more important than other games,” he said. But if you didn't make every game important, then you couldn't get to this game.”
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