The Day After: Jim Larranaga reflects on Final Four run after team returns to campus
Despite a bitter final loss to Connecticut on Saturday night, the Miami Hurricanes enjoyed a historic run to the Final Four for the first time in program history.
On Sunday afternoon the Hurricanes returned home to a nice gathering of fans who welcomed the team home and chanted “Let’s Go Canes!”
And coach Jim Larranaga shared his thoughts, with his program the only one in the nation to advance to the Elite 8 or better in consecutive seasons.
“You know, only one team wins it,” Larranaga said. “So of the 68 teams that get invited, 67 of them lose their last game. And whoever wins the national championship, they’ll have earned it because they have to go through the gauntlet.
“For us, to beat Drake Indiana and Houston, the No. 1 seed, Texas the No. 2 seed, to accomplish what we did to get to the Final Four for the first time in school history is something to be very proud of.”
Larranaga said he told players it’s a lifetime memory they’ll never forget, and he said he loved every minute coaching this team.
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“I look forward to going to practice, being around my guys,” he said. “They keep me young.”
Larranaga also stressed he has no plans to retire.
“It’s a sport I love,” he said.
Now the task is to improve on the Final Four berth next year. Last year, of course, the team improved from it’s Elite 8 run.
That begins with a meeting with his coaches tomorrow to start laying out the game plan for 2023-24. The team only loses one player to graduation, forward Jordan Miller.
“We will see how many of them plan to return,” Larranaga said. “There are three options – put your name in the draft, can return if you have eligibility remaining or No. 3 put your name in the portal,” Larranaga said. “So we’ll be meeting with the players to see what their feelings are moving forward.”
Larranaga says the bottom line message for the program now after reaching the Final Four is simple.
“We can say we were in the Final Four, now we’re trying to win a national championship,” he said. “And I think every high school player who followed March Madness, every college basketball player who is thinking about going into the transfer portal, I’m absolutely certain Miami will come up in their conversations.”
