Larra'aga Claims Naismith Coach of the Year
ATLANTA – University of Miami men’s head basketball coach Jim Larrañaga capped off the most successful season since the Hurricanes joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) by taking home the 2013 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. The award was presented to Larrañaga at the Naismith Awards Welcome Brunch in Atlanta.
Larrañaga was chosen from a group of finalists that also included Saint Louis University coach Jim Crews, Gonzaga University coach Mark Few and Georgetown University coach John Thompson III. Larrañaga was selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s National Voting Academy, which based its criteria on the coaches’ performances throughout the 2013 men’s college basketball season. First created in 1987, Indiana’s Bob Knight claimed the inaugural award.
“Coach Larrañaga led the Hurricanes’ resurgence to tremendous heights, and clearly has made the program a key force in the ACC in just two years, which is no easy feat,” said Eric Oberman, Executive Director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “His success really stood out among all the great coaching performances during the season.”
“It is humbling and really an honor to receive a national award like this, especially, in the name of the founder of our game, Dr. James Naismith,” said Coach Larrañaga. “I greatly appreciate the recognition by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, its membership and its voting academy to select me because there are so many great college coaches in the country. This really is a team award that represents a lot of hard work by my staff and our players.”
ABOUT THE WINNER:
Under Larrañaga’s leadership, the Hurricanes won the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and the ACC Tournament, earning a No. 2 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Championship. In Miami’s first appearance in the Dance since 2008, Larrañaga led the Canes past Pacific and Illinois, but in the Sweet 16 fell to Marquette. Miami finished the season with a 29-7 overall record and a 15-3 mark in ACC play. Larrañaga was named as the ACC Coach of the Year by both the media and his peers.
For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.
The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.
Coach Jim Larrañaga’s 2012-13 Awards
• Naismith Coach of the Year
• Associated Press Coach of the Year
• USBWA Henry Iba National Coach of the Year
• Skip Prosser Man of the Year award finalist
• Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year finalist
• Naismith Coach of the Year finalist
• USBWA Coach of the Year – District IV
• NABC All-District Coach – District 2
• ACC Coach of the Year (Coaches)
• ACC Coach of the Year (ASCMA)
• ACC Coach of the Year – Sports Illustrated (Seth Davis)
• ACC Coach of the Year – ESPN (Jason King)
• All-Coaches Teams – First Team – ESPN (Jason King)
