Miami men's basketball coach Jim Larranaga has stepped down from the role in a bit of a surprise decision, and he took the time to explain why he made the move, citing multiple reasons, with one of the prominent ones being the new college sports landscape that involves NIL and the transfer portal.
“I just didn't feel like that I could successfully navigate this whole new world that I was dealing with because my conversations were ridiculous with an agent saying to me, ‘Well, you can get involved if you're willing to go to $1.1 million,' and that be the norm,” Jim Larranaga said, via Manny Navarro of The Athletic. “You're talking to people that expect a million dollars for playing college basketball.”
Larranaga went on to say that although he loves coaching basketball and the Miami basketball program, he is just tired at this point from all of his years of coaching.
“It's really hard to put into words why I've decided to do this, but it's because of my love of basketball. I love the game. I've loved coaching it. I love practice every day. I love working with the players,” Larranaga said. “… But because I love the game and I love the university that much, I felt like, ‘Okay, there's one thing you got to constantly ask yourself, are you going to give everything you have the commitment that it deserves 100% of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally. And quite frankly, I've tried to do that throughout my life, and throughout my time here, but I'm exhausted.”
It is the end of a long coaching career for Larranaga, who finishes with a 1,199-716 overall record during his time with the Bowling Green State, George Mason and Miami basketball programs. He did not win a national championship, but he brought George Mason and Miami to their first final fours in program history. His George Mason team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in 2006 over UConn in the Elite Eight, and his 2023 Miami team went on an impressive run to the Final Four as well. Now, Larranaga will move on, and Miami will have ample time to hire a new basketball coach.