James Joseph Larrañaga Sr ( ; born October 2, 1949) is a former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach. He was most recently the head coach of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Hurricanes men's basketball team from 2011 to 2024 when he retired. Before joining the University of Miami, Larrañaga was the head men's basketball coach at

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885 by Calvin E. Amaron who sought to create an institution of higher ...

from 1977 to 1979,

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

from 1986 to 1997, and

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

from 1997 to 2011, where he coached the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

to 13 consecutive winning seasons and became a media sensation during the Patriots' improbable run to the Final Four in the 2005–2006 season. In the 2022–23 season, he led the Miami Hurricanes to their first Final Four appearance in program history. The team then had two disappointing years, with Larranaga resigning his position mid-season in December 2024. Larrañaga has won several national coach of the year awards and retired with 744 wins in his career.

Early life and education

Larrañaga is one of six children and grew up in the Parkchester section of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Larrañaga's grandfather was born in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

parents and was part of Cuba's

Por Larrañaga Por Larrañaga (meaning ''by Larrañaga'') is the name of a cigar brand produced in Cuba for Habanos S.A., the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, as well as a non-Cuban line of cigars produced in the Dominican Republic and Honduras for Altadis, ...

cigar company. Larrañaga attended

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a four-year private, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9–12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the D ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, where he started on the varsity basketball team under coach Jack Curran and graduated in 1967. He went on to play college basketball at

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Roman Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate Academic ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where he was the team captain as a senior in the 1970–71 season and led the

Friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendic ...

to a 20–8 record and an NIT appearance. He graduated as fifth-highest scorer in school history with 1,258 career points, was the team's top scorer as a sophomore and junior, and was named New England's Division I Sophomore of the Year in 1969. In 1991, Larrañaga was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame. He graduated from Providence in 1971 with an economics degree and was selected in the sixth round of the

1971 NBA draft The 1971 NBA draft was the 25th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 29 and 30, 1971, before the 1971–72 NBA season, 1971–72 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting ...

by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. He left the Pistons' rookie camp to take a coaching position at

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

after he was told he had slim chances of making the team.

Coaching career

At Davidson, Larrañaga was an assistant coach to Terry Holland and also the freshman team coach. In his five years under Holland, Davidson won three regular season

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

titles, reached the NIT once, and he amassed a 47–12 record as freshman coach. In 1976, he moved to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in order to serve as player-coach for a professional club, but only stayed there for one season. He returned to the U.S. in 1977 for his first head coaching job at

, a Division II program which had losing records in the previous five years. In two years at AIC, his teams had a 28–25 record, including a win against

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...

, whose team was coached by

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( ...

at that time. In 1979, he was reunited with his former Davidson mentor Holland, who by now had become the head coach at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Larrañaga became an assistant at a program that had begun to emerge as a power in the ACC, arriving at the same time as highly touted freshman

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

. In seven seasons at Virginia, Larrañaga was on the bench for an NIT title in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

and NCAA Final Four berths in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Bowling Green

In 1986, Larrañaga left the

for the head coaching job at

. In his first season there, the Falcons improved by eight games over the 1985–86 season, finishing 15–14. He went on to record a 170–144 record in 11 years there, and was only the second coach in Bowling Green history to take the Falcons to postseason play in consecutive years (the

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

and

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

editions of the NIT). During his tenure at Bowling Green the Falcons defeated the perennial national powers Kentucky, Michigan State (twice), Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue. In his final season at Bowling Green (1996–97), he led the Falcons to a regular-season co-championship in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

and another NIT berth, and was also named the conference's Coach of the Year. He is still the second-winningest coach in school history (behind only Hall of Famer Harold Anderson), as well as one of the winningest coaches in the

. One notable NBA player who played for Larrañaga was guard Antonio Daniels, who was selected fourth overall in the 1997 draft.

George Mason

Larrañaga arrived at

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, where he was one of three delegates who refused to sign the Constitution. His wr ...

in 1997. His first team only went 9–18, but signs of improvement were present. In the 1998–99 season, the

went 19–11, won the school's first

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

regular-season title in history, and won the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. The Patriots would again go to the NCAA tournament in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and two NITs in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. The 2004 team was notable as Mason's first 20-win team in 14 years, and also won consecutive postseason games for the first time in school history.

2004–05 season

The 2004–05 team, with three junior starters but dominated by freshmen and sophomores, went 16–13. However, these players would prove themselves the following season.

2005–06: The dream season

The Patriots entered the 2005–06 season as a strong contender for the CAA title. They entered the conference tournament 22–6, finishing in a tie for the regular-season title with UNC Wilmington. Near the end of the regular season, they were briefly ranked in the Top 25 in the ESPN/''USA Today'' poll, the school's first ranking ever, and were on the brink of making it to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

poll. They also narrowly lost to Wake Forest and

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

, and survived a tough match at

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

in the

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

-sponsored BracketBusters event. However, from Mason's perspective, the CAA tournament would not live up to their expectations. The Patriots survived an overtime scare in the quarterfinals from Georgia State, and then lost to Hofstra in the semifinals. During that match, starting guard Tony Skinn hit a Hofstra player below the belt, earning a one-game suspension for his action. Many observers considered Mason to be "on the bubble" for an NCAA bid; some believed that Skinn's suspension would lead the NCAA Selection Committee to leave Mason out of the field. However, the committee put the Patriots in the field, making them the first at-large team from the CAA in 20 years. Some commentators, notably Billy Packer, criticized Mason's entry in the tournament. The Patriots would enter the tournament as a No. 11 seed in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Regional, facing 2005 Final Four participant

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. They pulled a 75–65 upset, giving Larrañaga and George Mason their first NCAA tournament victory ever. Next was a matchup against defending national champion

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Prior to the game, Larrañaga famously told his players: "Their fans think they're supermen. Our fans know we're

kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...

." The Patriots found themselves in a 16–2 hole, but climbed out of it to win 65–60 and advance to the regional site at the Verizon Center, about 30 minutes away from their

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

campus. The Patriots next won a rematch with Wichita State, controlling the game throughout and winning 63–55. That put them in the regional final against 2004 champions and regional top seed

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The Patriots trailed by as much as 12 during the first half, and by nine early in the second. However, they would storm back to make the game close the rest of the way. Larrañaga would motivate his team during timeouts by telling his players that the UConn players didn't know what conference George Mason was in. He told them that on this day "CAA" stood for "Connecticut Assassins Association." Mason would win 86–84 in overtime, becoming only the fourth team not from a BCS AQ conference to make the Final Four in a quarter-century (after UNLV in 1987 and 1991, Massachusetts in 1996 and Utah in 1998). Their improbable run ended on April 1 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

when they lost 73–58 to eventual national champion

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the national semifinals. Larrañaga received the

Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award The Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award honored the active men's NCAA Division I basketball coach who has made the most significant positive contributions to his sport during the preceding year. The winner reflected the character and professional qu ...

for his accomplishments during this season. Larrañaga's overall head coaching record going into the Final Four was 366–273.

2010–11: The Revival

The 2010–2011 season brought great promise for the Patriots. Led by seniors Cam Long and Isiah Tate, the Patriots' campaign started off with mixed emotions as they dropped two games vs NC State and Wofford. From then, the Patriots sparked a seven-game winning streak including a key home win in the 'Battle of the Orange Line' versus

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. The following four games proved to be a test as GMU traveled to the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

, played at home versus the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

, and away at both

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

and at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

. After the lowly spell of dropping three of those four, the Patriots became red hot as they went undefeated during the regular season winning 16 straight games including a crucial conference game at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

. Heading into the CAA tournament, the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll ranked George Mason as the number 25 team in the country, which was their first national ranking since 2006 when they made the improbable run to the Final Four. Senior Cam Long was voted first team all-conference and Coach Larrañaga was awarded the coach of the year. GMU would fall from the rankings after a semifinal loss to VCU in the conference tournament. In the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Mason was assigned a No. 8 seed and faced off against No. 9 seed and Big East stalwart Villanova. In a seesaw game, Mason pulled out the victory when Luke Hancock knocked down a late three, and Mike Morrison threw down a last-second breakaway dunk. In the next round, Mason lost to No. 1 overall seed

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

University of Miami

On April 22, 2011, Larrañaga accepted the head coaching position at the

. In his first season with the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

, he led the team to a 9–7 record in-conference, which marked the university's first-ever winning record in the ACC. In his second season, Larrañaga led the Hurricanes to arguably their best season since the

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the m ...

era, winning the ACC regular season title. It represented the first time in 11 years and only the fourth time in 32 years that a team not from North Carolina had won at least a share of the title. The highlight of the season was an unprecedented 90–63 rout of top-ranked

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, which represented Miami's first-ever defeat of a top-ranked team and the largest margin of defeat for a top-ranked team ever. On March 17, 2013, Larrañaga coached the Hurricanes to its first ACC tournament title in the program's history with an 87–77 win over

. On April 4, 2013, Larrañaga was voted the

' college basketball coach of the year. A week later, the Hurricanes advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament with their school record 29th win. The season ended the following weekend with a loss to Marquette. He claimed the Hurricanes had not enough energy to win the game because of Reggie Johnson's injury and Shane Larkin's sickness. In the 2022–23 season, Larrañaga led the Miami Hurricanes to their first Final Four appearance in program history. On December 26, 2024, Larrañaga announced his retirement from coaching and left the program.

Other achievements

In August 2007, Larrañaga was appointed as an associate professor in the

School of Management (SOM) in the school's Executive

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

program. Although his basketball schedule only allowed him to teach part-time, he was a frequent presenter in classes on leadership, management, and team development, and often spoke at school-sponsored seminars. He had been a guest lecturer at SOM since arriving at George Mason in 1997. Larrañaga's 271 career wins at George Mason make him the winningest coach in the history of both the school and the CAA. He has won CAA Coach of the Year twice, in 1999 and in 2011. The latter award came after the Patriots reeled off a school-record 15 straight wins to finish the regular season, remaining undefeated at the Patriot Center, setting a school record for regular-season wins (25), and securing the No. 1 seed heading into the CAA tournament. Larrañaga was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum at its 53rd Annual Induction Banquet on May 4, 2023.

Personal life

Larrañaga is the father of James "Jay" Larranaga Jr., an assistant coach of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

Miami profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larrañaga, Jim 1949 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players American International Yellow Jackets men's basketball coaches American people of Basque descent American people of Cuban descent Archbishop Molloy High School alumni Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Davidson Wildcats men's basketball coaches Detroit Pistons draft picks George Mason Patriots men's basketball coaches George Mason University faculty Miami Hurricanes men's basketball coaches Providence Friars men's basketball players Sportspeople from the Bronx Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen