HOUSTON — In the 17 years that passed between Final Four appearances for Jim Larranaga, he changed schools (from George Mason to Miami), became a worse dancer (according to his players and his own self-appraisal), and lost none of the love for coaching he absorbed from Terry Holland.
In the 12 months since Miami last made a deep run in March, Larranaga has also emerged as the ACC’s elder statesman and de facto spokesman, continuing to coach as Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim retired and Mike Brey moved on.
“I just feel anybody associated with the ACC should be blowing our horn, because I’ve been disappointed the last two years we’ve only got five teams in,” Larranaga said Thursday. “Because I’ve had to compete against those coaches and teams and know how good they are.”
