Jim Larranaga becomes ACC coaching dean with Jim Boeheim retirement
Jim Larranaga has become the dean of ACC Basketball coaches with the forced retirement of Jim Boeheim following Wake Forest defeating Syracuse on Wednesday in the ACC Tournament. The fact that Wake Forest eliminated Syracuse and will play the Miami basketball team on Thursday is perfect following Boeheim’s retirement.
Brad Brownell at Clemson, Leonard Hamilton at Florida State and Tony Bennett at Virginia are the only head coaches who have been at their programs longer in the ACC than Jim Larranaga. Larranaga has the longest tenure as a head throughout his career of anyone in the ACC.
Larranaga began his career as a head coach at American International in Springfield, Massachusetts at 29 years old in 1977 and remained there through 1979. Terry Holland who recently passed away hired Larranaga as his assistant coach at Virginia in 1979 where he remained through 1986.
Larranaga earned his first Division I head coaching job from 1986 through 1997 at Bowling Green. From 1997 through 2011 Larranaga coached at George Mason leading the Patriots to the Final Four in 2006. Larranaga became a head coach at a power conference program for the first time when he was hired at Miami in 2011.
Just tough for Syracuse to compete with these bought-and-paid-for rosters like Wake Forest, ya know?
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) March 8, 2023
The timing of Miami playing Wake Forest on Friday with Pittsburgh in the next game is perfect following the clear forced retirement of Boeheim. Last month Boeheim accused Miami, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest of buying their teams. Boeheim walked back his comments about Pittsburgh and Wake Forest but not Miami.
Now Miami will play Wake Forest with Pittsburgh following in the next game versus Duke less than 24 hours after the Boeheim era ended at Syracuse. Larranaga won the last three and four of the last five games versus Syracuse and Boeheim. Syracuse had double-digit losses in each of its last eight seasons under Boeheim.
Next. Miami basketball bought team per Jim Boeheim. dark
Conversely, Miami is 51-17 overall and 29-11 in the ACC with their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Regional Final in 2022. Miami earned its second ACC Tournament regular season title and top seed this season. At 73, Larranaga is the second oldest coach in the ACC going forward to Hamilton who is 74.