Another year over, a new one soon to begin. And yet: we’re also in the middle of a season. Just like every year.
Still, we have time to reflect. With 2024 soon to be out the door, the moment’s come to rank and reflect on the year that was. My annual men’s college hoops year-in-review is below. Since 2020, I’ve been increasing the number of stories to correspond with the year we’re in, but I’m thinking 2024 will be the last in this motif; moving forward, there will be no set number. As always, I’ve linked stories associated with the headlines in parentheses; click through and hop in the time machine at your leisure.
Good and bad, shocking and sizable, here were the 24 most notable stories of 2024 in men’s college basketball.
24. Jim Larrañaga steps down at Miami (Dec. 26): This story’s not even a day old! A semi-stunner right before the buzzer. The 75-year-old Larrañaga, who went on record frequently in recent years to declare he wasn’t soon to retire (I wrote a big column on this just 19 months ago), tapped out the day after Christmas on account of his inability to keep up with the changing times. Also: Miami started 4-8.
“There’s one thing you’ve got to constantly ask yourself: Are you going to give everything you have, the commitment that it deserves, 100% of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?” Larrañaga said Thursday. “Quite frankly, I’ve tried to do that throughout my life and throughout my time here, but I’m exhausted. I’ve tried every which way to keep this going.”
It’s an unwanted end for a one-of-a-kind coaching career: Miami won only nine games in the past 360 days, since 2024 began. Larrañaga won more games than any coach in Miami history (274 in 12.5 seasons) and took the Hurricanes to the 2023 Final Four and 2022 Elite Eight. He’s also the winningest coach in George Mason history, having helped author one of the all-time Final Four runs.
In total,…
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