Jim Larranaga stepping down at Miami, Bill Courtney to take over

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Jim Larranaga

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Jim Larranaga is stepping down as Miami’s men’s basketball coach effective immediately, a person with knowledge of the decision said.

The 75-year-old Larranaga will be replaced by associate head coach Bill Courtney — one of Larranaga’s best friends for the past three decades or so — for the remainder of the season, the person said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school had not made any public announcement, despite a press conference being planned.

The decision by Larranaga ends a 14-year run as coach of the Hurricanes — and, presumably, a 41-year college head-coaching career that saw him win 744 games at Miami, American International, George Mason and Bowling Green. He took Miami to the Final Four in 2023 and took George Mason to the Final Four in 2006.

The Hurricanes are 4-8 this season and only 5-19 in their last 24 games, a stunning freefall for a program that went to the Final Four just two seasons ago. Injuries and roster turnover have taken a clear toll, and Larranaga is one of many coaches who has expressed some level of frustration with the lack of regulation and transparency that comes with the Name, Image and Likeness era in college sports.

Larranaga was under contract into 2027 and had some school officials try to get him to rethink the decision in recent days, the person said. Players were reconvening on campus to resume practice after the holiday break.

Larranaga is the second prominent coach to step down unexpectedly this season in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Tony Bennett did the same at Virginia back in October, less than three weeks before the Cavaliers played their season-opener.

Bennett, when he stepped down, said NIL has simply changed the game for coaches and not in a good way.

“College athletics is not in a healthy spot. It’s not,” Bennett said in October. “And there needs to be change. It’s not going to go back. I think I was equipped to do the job…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jim-larranaga-stepping-down-miami-183736346.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-26 18:37:00

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