Jim Larranaga
Jim Larranaga
James Joseph Larrañagais an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the University of Miami men's basketball program. Prior to his time at Miami, he was most recently the men's basketball coach at George Mason, where he coached the Patriots to 13 consecutive winning seasons and became a media sensation during the Patriots' improbable run to the Final Four of the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament...
fun higher kids maybe pressure seeds stress
We don't feel the stress maybe the higher seeds feel because we're emphasizing to the kids to have fun with this and not to put that pressure on themselves, not to put other peoples' expectations on themselves.
concern concerned emphasized foul game good group people smart stuff year
We have emphasized all year long not to put people on the foul line. Does it concern me? Before every game I'm always concerned about stuff like that. So far, we've got a very good group of smart players.
formed
Everything that I am as a coach, it was formed there.
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Everybody expected us to win the national championship. I could observe the amount of pressure that we all felt trying to get to the Final Four.
athlete call diamonds foot hand knows lewis objectives quickness somebody talented
I think one of the objectives of any professional organization is to find diamonds in the rough, what they affectionately call 'sleepers,' somebody that no one else knows about. Jai Lewis is as talented an athlete as I've ever been around. His hand quickness and foot quickness are incredible.
define entire judgment lapse second
I didn't want him to think for a second that if we didn't get in, it was his fault. I told him one lapse of judgment would never define an entire season.
conference consider excited second time
When you consider we've done something for the first time in the school's history, and only the second time in conference history, you should be excited about that.
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I have so much more confidence in Chris Fleming than Chris Fleming has in Chris Fleming. Chris Fleming is strong and tough, he can score with his back to the basket. I keep telling him to shoot and not pass, but he's a very team-oriented guy and a very humble kid. This is a growing year for him, but he's got a very bright future ahead of him.
band dancing excited kids players screaming
The players were dancing in the aisles. The kids were screaming 'George' ... 'Mason.' The pep band was playing. If you can't get excited for this, what can you? It was great. You live for this.
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I told them I'm going to have more fun than any other head coach in the NCAA Tournament, and I want you guys to have more fun than any other team. When I said that, I'm not sure exactly what I meant, but boy, it's sure been true. ... It's been an absolutely fantastic magic carpet ride.
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Does it concern me? Before every game I'm concerned about stuff like that. We've got a very good group of smart players. Jai Lewis and Will Thomas especially are very intelligent.
attitude community embrace embraced great identify players team underdog university
It's been really great for these players ... to see not only the university community embrace them but the whole country. I think we all feel like it would be great to be the underdog and to be the overachiever. I think we can all identify with that attitude and personality. This team has embraced that.
biggest bunch event guys loving playing
We're a bunch of no-name guys playing in the biggest sporting event in the world and loving it.
funny horn line managers
When the horn did it at the end, and it was blaring in my ears, I put the managers on the line and made them run. How funny do you think that was to our players?