Tributes pour in as Miami head coach Jim Larranaga steps down

Tributes for Miami head coach Jim Larranaga were extensive across social media on Thursday after reports emerged he was resigning immediately. Larranaga game to Miami late in his career and led the Hurricanes to the most successful era in program history.

Miami was 274-174 in 13 plus seasons under Larranaga. The Hurricanes won their first ACC title in 2013 under Larranaga and added a second in 2023. The 2013 team also is the only one in Miami history to win the ACC Tourmanent. In 2022, Miami advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final for the first time.

Miami topped their 2022 NCAA Tournament run with the first Final Four appearance in program history. With four of the top six players returning in 2023-24, there was a lot of optimism with Miami picked third in the ACC. After a 15-7 start, Miami lost its final 10 games in 2023-24 to finish 15-17.

Miami starters Bensley Joseph, Wooga Poplar and Norchad Omier transferred afer the 2023-24 season and freshman Kyshawn George became an NBA first-round pick by the Washington Wizards. Joseph, Omier and Poplar teamed with Nijel Pack as the four key returnees in 2023-24.

Sedano is a Miami native who is now a national reporter for ESPN. Larranaga was the fifth Miami head coach following the rebirth of the program in 1985. Bill Foster was the first Miami head coach of the rebirth, followed by Leonard Hamilton, Perry Clark and Frank Haith before Larranaga.

Russini is a longtime NFL reporter who played soccer at George Mason from 2001 through 2004. Larranaga coached at George Mason from 1997 through 2011. In 2006, Larranaga led George Mason to an improbable Final Four run. George Mason won its regional final 17 years to the day before Miami did the same.

A tribute from Vitale is among the ultimate form of admiration in college basketball. No one has represented the sport more over the last 45 years. Vitale began his career as an assistant college basketball coach at Rutgers in 1971, the same year Larranaga started at Davidson.

Manso posted multiple tributes from himself and others as well as a clip from the press conference with Larranaga explaining his reason for stepping down. Larranaga was one of the longest-tenured coaches in South Florida.

Goodman is a longtime college basketball reporter and writer. Larranaga stated during the press conference the changes in college basketball with NIL and the transfer portal played a major role in his decision to step down immediately.

Larranaga led Miami to milestones that had never been accomplished in program history. The foundation is set for Miami to be successful. The permanent head coach will have to balance what made Miami successful from 2021 through 2023 with embracing the new era of NIL and the transfer portal.

Spoelstra had been the Heat head coach for four seasons by the time Larranaga was hired by the Hurricanes. They were the faces of basketball in South Florida for over 10 years. Spoelstra helped set the foundation that basketball could be successful in South Florida,

Ruthie Polinsky who worked in Miami for many years before moving to Chicago gave her remembrance of Larranaga with a short video clip greeting him after a game at the Watsco Center. The tribute was kind and captured the type of person Larranaga is.