Larrañaga calls it quits

Good morning! Apparently the ACC’s coaching change isn’t stopping anytime soon. Let’s dive into what drove Miami’s Jim Larrañaga to announced his retirement on Thursday.

1. ‘You have to ask yourself, as a coach, what is this all about?"‘

Few active college basketball coaches have been with their programs for more than a decade. NIL might be making that more rare than ever.

In the past week, two longtime Sun Belt coaches, Keith Richard of UL Monroe and Bob Marlin of Louisiana, were fired or announced they’ll retire at season’s end. So maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Miami’s Jim Larrañaga followed suit.

It’s a continuation of a ACC coaches. Virginia coach Tony Bennett retired abruptly before this season. He joined Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski as league coaches with national title under their belt but are now out of the game.

That leaves FSU’s Leonard Hamilton and Clemson’s Brownell of Clemson as the veteran faces of the league. Only five out of 18 ACC coaches have more than five years at their respective teams.

The last two seasons certainly didn’t help Larrañaga. The Canes went 15-17 last season and are 4-8 this season, including a sweep at the Charleston Classic and home losses to Mount St. Mary’s and Charleston Southern. That obscures the recent success the Canes had in March, when they reached the 2022 Elite Eight and the 2023 Final Four, the first in program history.

The 75-year-old Larrañaga spent 14 seasons at Miami, amassing 274 wins and six NCAA Tournament berths. That comes after stints at American, Bowling Green and George Mason — where he famously took the Patriots to the 2006 Final Four — totaling 744 total wins and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. 

So, who could be the next coach of Miami? Some names thrown out early are former Miami assistant and current George Washington coach Chris Caputo, Dayton coach Anthony Grant, perennial candidate Will Wade of McNeese State, and Samford coach Bucky McMillan. 

In the meantime, Miami assistant Bill Courtney will serve as interim coach. The players also have 30 days to enter the transfer portal. They wouldn’t be able to play until next season.

2. Memphis’ last chance to bolster its profile

Calling a December game a “must-win” feels a bit dramatic. However, that may be the case for Memphis.

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