Jim Larranaga Identifies Key Moment After Miami Final Four Run That Led to Retirement

Jim Larranaga retired from his duties as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team on Thursday. It was a shocking development for a number of reasons.

The Hurricanes, of course, are in the middle of their season, sitting at 4-8 after the opening stretch of the college basketball year. Larranaga is also only one year removed from leading the U on a surprise run to the Final Four. All that combined with Larranaga holding the position for well over a decade and it's hard to envision anyone saw this coming.

Larranaga spoke to reporters after the news became official to explain why he was ready to retire. Much of his decision was linked to the changing landscape of college sports and NIL, a familiar tune we've heard from longtime head coaches who have stepped down from successful programs in recent years such as Tony Bennett. In particular, though, Larranaga pointed to one key moment after leading Miami to the Final Four that started to sour him on continuing to coach.

"After we went to the 2023 Final Four, eight players wanted to transfer or seek better NIL deals," Larranaga said while discussing how he got to this point. "They told me they loved it at Miami, but wanted to seek a better deal."

Larranaga went 274-174 in 14 seasons at the helm of the Hurricanes' program. Now Miami must move on and engage with the new reality of college basketball without him.