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Jim Larranaga shares biggest lesson learned from 2022 Elite Eight loss

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren•03/26/23•

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GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 10: Head coach Jim Larranaga of the Miami Hurricanes looks on during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils in the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 10, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

For the second straight season, Miami and head coach Jim Larranaga find themselves in the Elite Eight and on the doorstep of the Final Four.

Last year the Hurricanes ran up against Kansas and the eventual national champions. The Jayhawks won the game, 76-50.

Looking back on that game, Larranaga was asked whether there were any lessons he learned from the game.

“Don’t get in foul trouble,” Larranaga said. “Really, we were ahead by six at halftime against Kansas in the Elite Eight, but we had several guys sitting on the bench in foul trouble, and that really made the difference. We could not sustain the effort. We had a couple of guys foul out. You’ve got to give Kansas and basically David McCormack the credit because he was awesome. They had a great team, and they ended up winning the National Championship.”

Isaiah Wong was one of the Miami players not in foul trouble, finishing the 2022 Elite Eight game with 15 points and three assists.

He said the game last year has given the team a knowledge of what to expect from a game like this.

“We have a lot of knowledge of like how it was,” Wong said. “So I feel like with this team this year, we’re just going to play through it. We have me and Jordan and Wooga to show Nijel and Chad the experience and just help each other throughout the game tomorrow and just be the best version of each other.”

Larranaga agreed with the statement from Wong and said that Elite Eight experience will help them as they go up against Texas.

“I think what Zay said is really right,” Larranaga said. “They experienced this last year. They understand the level of competition and what’s at stake, but Jordan and Isaiah and Wooga were on that team, and hopefully they can kind of help bridge the gap with the other guys on the team, including Nijel and Norchad, of getting them to know that it’s not about who we play and it’s not about where we play, but it is how we play.”

How we play means we have to execute our game plan better than our opponent executes its game plan, and that will be true against every team we play.