Jim Larrañaga Exits Miami Basketball, Bill Courtney Set to Take the Helm!

Jim Larrañaga is stepping down as Miami’s men’s basketball coach, effective immediately, according to a source familiar with the situation. This news has sent ripples through the college basketball community, highlighting a significant change for the Hurricanes.

Bill Courtney, the associate head coach and a long-time friend of Larrañaga, will take over for the remainder of the season. This close friendship, spanning over three decades, adds a personal touch to the transition as the team looks to regain its footing.

A press conference is scheduled for later Thursday, where further details about this unexpected decision will be shared.

Larrañaga’s departure concludes a remarkable 14-year tenure with the Hurricanes and caps off a 41-year coaching career that included 744 victories across several institutions, such as Miami, American International, George Mason, and Bowling Green. Notably, he guided both Miami and George Mason to the Final Four, solidifying his legacy in college basketball.

The Hurricanes have struggled this season, currently sitting at 4-8 and having won only 5 of their last 24 games. This decline is particularly alarming for a program that reached the Final Four just two years ago. Injuries and a high turnover rate among players have contributed to this downturn, and Larrañaga has voiced concerns about the challenges posed by the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) changes in college sports.

Larrañaga is not alone in his decision; he becomes the second high-profile coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference to step down unexpectedly this season. Tony Bennett of Virginia also announced his resignation in October, just weeks before the Cavaliers’ season opener.

Bennett expressed his views on the changing landscape of college athletics, stating that NIL has fundamentally altered the coaching dynamic, often for the worse.

“College athletics is not in a healthy spot. It’s not,” Bennett remarked in October. “And there needs to be change. It’s not going to go back. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way — that’s who I am and that’s how it was.”

Larrañaga’s exit adds to a list of prominent veteran coaches leaving the ACC in recent years, including North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, who ended his 47-year career in 2023.

This marks the second abrupt retirement for Miami’s basketball programs in 2024, following the unexpected departure of women’s coach Katie Meier, who left after 19 seasons. Meier continues to support the university as a special advisor to athletic director Dan Radakovich and as a professor.

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