Jim Larranaga suddenly resigned as the head coach at Miami in December, less than halfway through a disastrous college basketball season for the Hurricanes. The unfortunate ending does not take away from the 75-year-old’s successes. He is one of the most accomplished coaches of the last 25 years.
One particular win stands out above the rest. And, no, I am not talking about George Mason’s miraculous run to the Final Four in 2006.
This specific story has to do with the recruiting side of college basketball and it was only shared publicly for the first time on Wednesday afternoon. Larranaga felt like it was finally time to spill the tea. Except he did not use names so we do not know exactly who it is about!
Jim Larranaga served as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia from 1979-1986. At some point during that stretch, he flew a group of recruits from New York to Charlottesville on a private jet.
Totally legal.
— @CanesCoachL / X
Not only were the prospective Cavaliers treated to the highest form of luxury travel, they even got to eat breakfast while on board. The jet had two pilots and a flight attendant.
First-class all the way.
— @CanesCoachL / X
This is where the story takes a shocking twist. Bear with me because everything ultimately ends up okay.
One of the recruits had a dog. The dog ran out of his family home when the coaching staff arrived to his front door. Nobody thought anything of it at first. However, the taxi cab literally ran over the dog when it went to pull out of the driveway for the airport.
The concerned recruit jumped out of the cab to check on his dog. His dog bit him in the hand and ripped open a three-inch gash.
While most people might choose not to move forward with the recruiting visit, Larranaga and his staff told his parents not to worry. They wrapped his son’s hand in a towel, got him on the plane and flew him down to Charlottesville. Upon arrival, a doctor at the University of Virginia stitched him up.
Not only did Jim Larranaga bury the lead, he waited until the very end of his story to reveal the answer to the question everyone is asking. Is/was the dog okay?!
The best part is the dog lived.
— @CanesCoachL
To make this entire saga even more insane, the dog-bitten recruit ended up having a great visit to Virginia and signed with the program. All is well than ends well, I guess?
Based on the timing of this story, the unnamed Virginia basketball recruit could be one of a few different players:
- Darren Cross — Queens, New York
- Terry Gates — Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Craig Robinson — Montclair, New Jersey
- Jim Runcie — Hyde Park, New York
- Tim Mullen — Ridgewood, New Jersey
- Dan Merrifield — Linwood, New Jersey
- Rick Carlisle — Ogdensburg, New York
- Tom Sheehey — Rochester, New York
We may never know who! Maybe one day, now that this story is for public consumption, the aforementioned recruit will identify himself. It is lore for now.