Back Where It All Began
The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. New York City.
But for head men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga, it’s just home.
And it’s a place he will be returning on Tuesday as the Hurricanes are set to take on No. 1 Tennessee at Madison Square Garden as part of the 2024 Jimmy V Men’s Classic.
For Larrañaga, a New York native who grew up in the Bronx, Madison Square Garden is where his basketball dreams began as he got hooked on the game watching his older brother, Bob Larrañaga, play for the legendary Lou Carnesecca at St. John’s.
“I would go to Madison Square Garden to watch St. John’s play against some of the greatest teams in college basketball history,” Larrañaga said. “I fell in love with basketball at about 10 years old and I thought Madison Square Garden was the best and I wanted to play there, too.”
Larrañaga got his wish as he would go on to play seven games at Madison Square Garden as a member of the Providence Friars men’s basketball team – two games in the 1968 Holiday Festival, three games in the 1970 Holiday Festival and two games in the 1970 NIT.
Jim Larrañaga (right) plays in the 1968 Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden.
Overall, Larrañaga went 3-4 as a player at the Garden and played against the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Curtis Rowe and John Vallely.
While Madison Square Garden is where Larrañaga fell in love with basketball, Archbishop Molloy is where found his love of coaching.
Larrañaga’s first foray into coaching came during his freshman year at Archbishop Molloy when, upon returning from Christmas break, Jack Curran called Larrañaga into his office and asked him to coach the freshman team alongside teammate Dick Zeitler as the current coach had unexpectedly departed.
“Dick and I coached the team, went undefeated 21-0 and won the city championship,” Larrañaga said. “I was hooked on coaching after that and Mr. [Jack] Curran became my mentor. He was a tremendous role model for me and everything I have done in coaching is a reflection of him.”
Larrañaga and Curran would remain close until Curran passed in March of 2013, with Curran even attending the 2006 Final Four when Larrañaga coached George Mason to its deepest NCAA Tournament run ever.
Archbishop Molloy head coach Jack Curran (left) and Jim Larrañaga (right).
While being back in New York brings up countless childhood memories for Larrañaga, it also brings to the forefront the incredibly important work done by the Jimmy V Foundation, in honor of the late great Jim Valvano.
“Coach Valvano’s legacy and the work the Jimmy V Foundation does touches everybody, including my family when my father was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1993,” Larrañaga said. “Raising money for cancer research is so important so we can find a cure for the dreaded disease.”
Both New York-born players, Larrañaga and Valvano crossed paths numerous times during their time as college basketball contemporaries, mainly when Larrañaga was an assistant coach at Virginia and Valvano was the head coach at NC State.
One of the most memorable meeting came during the 1983 season when NC State knocked off Virginia twice – once in ACC Tournament and again in Elite Eight of the 1983 NCAA Tournament – en route to its historic National Championship win.
When Larrañaga and the Hurricanes take the court on Tuesday, it will be with two goals in mind – going 1-0 against the Volunteers and continuing to raise awareness for the fight against cancer.
