It’s been a rough stretch for the Canes and their legendary coach is reportedly looking to hand up his whistle
On Thursday morning, Michelle Kaufman of The Miami Herald reported that Miami Hurricanes Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jim Larrañaga was going to step down. The announcement could come as early as today.
BREAKING NEWS: UM basketball coach Jim Larranaga to step down, two years after historic Final Four run. Announcement expected as early as today.https://t.co/ATdHl2hAUQ@HeraldSports @MiamiHerald @CanesHoops #GoCanes #ACC
— Michelle Kaufman (@kaufsports) December 26, 2024
A legendary coach with more than 40 years on the bench, Larrañaga came to Miami and helped raise the profile and performance of the program to previously-unseen heights.
Larrañaga became a widely known coach when he led the George Mason, a Colonial Athletic Conference team, to the Final 4. George Mason’s run was the thing of March Madness Cinderella dreams, and featured wins over #6 Michigan State, #3 North Carolina, #7 Wichita State, and #1 UConn, before losing to #3 Florida in the National Semifinals.
Larrañaga stayed at George Mason for another 5 years following that dream NCAA Tournament run, before taking the Miami job in 2011. In his 14 years at Miami, Larrañaga continued to do what he’d done throughout his career: recruit, develop, and win.
Miami routinely overperformed their preseason media predictions with Larrañaga on the bench. The Canes won the ACC Regular Season in 2013 and 2023, and added the ACC Tournament Championship in 2013 as well. For his efforts in 2013, Larrañaga was named AP National Coach of the Year.
The 2013 Canes — led by Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Durand Scott — made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to Marquette.
The 2022 Canes — led by Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, and Kam McGusty — made it to the Elite 8 before losing to eventual National Champion Kansas.
Larrañaga and the Canes recaptured the George Mason Magic in 2024, making it to the Final 4 for the first time in School History, before losing to eventual National Champion UConn. Guard Isaiah Wong was ACC Player of the Year, and the key player pushing Miami to these heights.
With his strong roots in the Northeast, Miami recruited that area extremely well under Larrañaga. Players like Isaiah Wong, Lonnie Walker IV, Jalil Bethea — both of whom set the record for highest ranked recruit to ever sign with Miami Basketball — and others formed the foundation for tough, well-coached teams that were a thorn in the side of traditional ACC bluebloods.
In the end, however, things went awry for Larrañaga and the Canes. After losing the final 10 games in the 2023 season, Miami has been one of the worst teams in the country in 2024. The Canes have stumbled to a 4-8 record and have looked bad doing it. 4-18 in their last 22 games is bad for anyone, but for a coach with the bona fides of Larrañaga, it’s enough to call it a career.
Coach L is a legend, and his time at Miami raised the program to heights previously unseen. Thank you for everything, Coach! It’s been a wild ride.