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Larranaga's key to win? Tough love
George Mason in NCAA Regionals
Date published: 3/23/2006
By JIM McCONNELL FAIRFAX--George Mason University's men's basketball program was in shambles when Jim Larranaga interviewed for the head coaching vacancy in March 1997. Mason's flirtation with "Paul Ball"--the frenetic, no-defense-allowed system espoused by former Los Angeles Lakers coach Paul Westhead--had been an unmitigated disaster. The Patriots compiled a 38-70 record in his four seasons, and their streak of consecutive losing seasons stood at seven when Westhead resigned after finishing 10-17 in 1996-97. Worse yet, there had been several off-court problems involving George Mason players on Westhead's watch. Public opinion of the program was generally unfavorable and the prospects for recruiting were bleak with Maryland, Georgetown and George Washington dominating the local basketball scene. Larranaga, the eternal optimist, didn't see any of the shortcomings, however. Having played third-fiddle to football and hockey for 11 years at Bowling Green, he visited GMU's sprawling Fairfax campus and decided it was a sleeping giant. "I came here and saw a beautiful 10,000-seat arena 20 miles from one of the hotbeds of basketball on the East Coast, Washington, D.C. Their budgets were far superior to what I'd been working with, the salaries for my assistant coaches were double what they had been. The league was very good, but if we recruited well we could certainly compete," Larranaga said Tuesday, as his Patriots prepared for tomorrow's NCAA Washington Regional semifinal game against Wichita State. Those perks certainly were attractive enough for Larranaga, who was an assistant under Terry Holland at Virginia from 1979-86. But that was only part of the equation, something he didn't hesitate to point out when he met with Mason officials during the interview process. "I told the selection committee that my No. 1 priority is my family, and if I come to George Mason, my team will become like a family," Larranaga said. "They'll function like a family, they'll care about each other, they'll be close to each other, they'll come by my house. There will be a lot of personal relationships that will be developed off the court as well as on the court." Mason's coaches hadn't stayed in town long enough to form anything resembling a lasting relationship since Joe Harrington bolted for Long Beach State in 1987.
Date published: 3/23/2006
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