George Mason Basketball: Larranaga Stays in Fairfax

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Larranaga Stays in Fairfax

Well the last few days have been rough with Mason fans going to bed each night wondering if our head coaching position would be vacant the next morning. But never fear as Jim Larranaga has rejected the offer from Providence and will remain in Fairfax. The administration at Mason finally pulled the trigger and gave the Big L a contract extension through 2015. All of us can enjoy a sigh of relief and not have to worry about losing a stellar recruiting class or demanding refunds on next year's season tickets. The D.C. Sports Bog points out that the Big East is now 0-2 in the coach-luring sweepstakes, oh joy of joys. So get ready for the scramble defense and hilarious pre-game talks to continue for the next 7 years.

Labels: Coach Larranaga

7 Comments:

Taylor said...: Coach L is the greatest thing to happen in recent memory to GMU. Yes, bigger than the Big Johnson. Bigger that Merten. Bigger than WGMU Radio. This is great news! Coach L has *earned* this contract extension! It should of be extended to 2025 if you ask me!; 7:52 PM
Seymour said...: We should snatch some elephants and other animals from that stupid circus and hold a parade in Coach L's honor.; 10:04 PM
Unknown said...: Character baby! That’s what it’s about. Find the man that hired coach Larranaga, give him a bucket of money, and say thank you.; 10:09 PM
Trent said...: A refurbished stadium, a tremendous recruiting class, unwaivering god-like status, and a program still trending upwards. All things Providence could not provide.

And I think it probably came down to a family decision...they're just very comfortable in Fairfax. Furthermore, he's got an incredible opportunity to become a mid-major basketball legend. Seems like a no-brainer, but that's easy to say when people are throwing around figures with 000's.

@ matt

I think that's probably the best damn idea I've heard in quite awhile.; 10:44 PM
B-Mac98 said...: Taylor, GMU radio? Are you kidding? Can you pick that up outside of the Johnson Center?

John, that man was Tom O'Connor. He hired Larranaga when a lot of well-known names were in the mix. Most people said, "Who?" when he was hired, but O'Connor must have a crystal ball. Another example of him being ahead of the curve: according the The Washington Times story, O'Connor saw the Providence situation coming and had offered the contract extension before they even contacted his office asking for permission to speak to Larranaga. To quote him after the announcement of the extension: "We wanted to do this anyway."

Character is right. Loyalty, too.

Let's name the Patriot Center after him.; 6:54 PM
Mark Allen said...: Wasn't the CAA 0-1 vs. the Big East in the NCAA Tournament?; 12:37 PM
B-Mac98 said...: @ Mark Allen

That may be true this year, but the CAA has had a serious presence in the tournament during the previous two years. That loss was to the No. 2 team in the Big East and nobody is saying we're on the same level as Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville, West Virginia, Marquette or Pittsburgh... we're capable of stunning those teams, but we're definitely even with the Big East's middle of the road teams and better than the schools at the bottom (Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall, DePaul and Rutgers). We beat UConn when they were ranked in the top three two years ago. VCU beat Duke in last year's tournament. I think that's a pretty good indicator of where our conference is. Throw in the fact that our coach turned down both Seton Hall and his alma mater, Providence, and you can't deny that we're one of the most competitive conferences in the country.; 1:26 PM

Larranaga Stays in Fairfax

George Mason Basketball

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Larranaga Stays in Fairfax

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