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Miami Basketball: Top 10 Players to play for Head Coach Jim Larranaga

By Tristan Freeman

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 28: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Watsco Center on January 28, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 28: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Watsco Center on January 28, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – JANUARY 28: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Watsco Center on January 28, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – JANUARY 28: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Watsco Center on January 28, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /

Jim Larranaga has coached for over 30 seasons in Division-1 Basketball. Here are the 10 greatest players that have been with him over the decades.

Over the years, ACC Basketball, in my opinion, has the greatest level of coaching in just one league. With Hall of Famers like Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams leading the way along with a few others possibly joining them in the future, the competition was steep.

It got even tougher in 2011 when Jim Larranaga took the job of the Miami Hurricanes, a team who struggled to gain footing since entering the ACC in 2004. Since arriving, he’s been great, taking the program to the NCAA Tournament four times, including three straight active trips.

It shouldn’t be unexpected though, considering the success Larranaga had at his previous stops. The current Miami coach started out at Bowling Green in 1986 and stayed there for 11 years, with a trio of trips to the NIT.

From there, he went to George Mason, where he truly made his name as a head coach. After a rough first season, Larranaga never had an under .500 season with the Patriots again. They went to the NCAA Tournament five different times, with the historic Final Four run happening in 2006. After a 27-win season at George Mason, he decided to make the move to Miami.

His work and development of players not highly thought of coming out of high school have been impressive, and I ranked him No. 14 in my top-25 rankings of active head coaches. As with the others so far, I decided to take a look at the best players Larranaga has coached throughout his long career in the sport.

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