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Jim Larrañaga cites exhaustion of roster management in decision to resign
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Jim Larrañaga took Miami to the Final Four for the first time in school history in 2023, then looked around in disbelief as a slew of his players headed out the door for apparent greener pastures.
That alone, he said on Thursday as he stepped down as Hurricanes men’s basketball coach, made him ask “what is this all about?” And that stuck in his head for over a year until the 75-year-old came to the realization that he no longer wanted to be a part of this college sports’ world, at least not now.
“I love the game, and I love the university that much, but there’s one thing you got to constantly ask yourself: Are you going to give 100 percent of yourself, physically, mentally, emotionally? But I’m exhausted,” said Larrañaga during Thursday’s press conference. “I’ve tried every which way to keep this going. What shocked me beyond belief, is that after we made it to the Final Four, just 18 months ago, 8 of the players decided they were going to put their name in the (transfer) portal.”
Larrañaga went on to say the college game has become “professional.”
Larrañaga also took George Mason to the Final Four in 2006.
Miami’s current record is just 4-8, and the Hurricanes struggled to a 15-17 record last season. Assistant coach Bill Courtney has been named interim head coach.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
