Jim Larrañaga building one of the top recruiting classes in Hurricanes history
Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga and his staff were hosting a couple of key prospects this offseason for their official visits, but there was one potential major hiccup: Larrañaga had lost his voice.
“I had such bad laryngitis that I couldn’t speak,” Larrañaga said. “So my coaches did all the talking, and we got those two kids. It just shows you my impact is not as great as some people might think, but my assistant coaches do an amazing job.”
The assistant coaches did the job, and the Hurricanes have been on a roll on the recruiting trail during the offseason. Miami has landed three prospects for the 2024 class, and UM’s class is currently ranked fourth in the nation by 247Sports.
If the Hurricanes hold onto the players in the class and the ranking stays the same, it will be Miami’s top-ranked class in 247Sports’ database, which goes back to the 2003 class. Miami has had only one other recruiting class that reached the top 10 in that span (2017).
The Hurricanes’ excellent September started with four-star guard Austin Swartz committing on Sept. 5. Less than two weeks later, four-star forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu committed, too.
But the biggest catch has been five-star guard Jalil Bethea, the No. 9 player in the 2024 class. The standout guard picked Miami on Sept. 20, vaulting the Hurricanes into the top five.
“It all came down to where I would see myself improve in the future,” Bethea said after committing. “I feel like this is the best stage for me to play on, one of the best coaching staffs to play for and I’m glad I picked Miami. I can’t wait. I just can’t wait.”
The Hurricanes’ ace recruiting does not just work for high schoolers. It has also worked for college players looking for a new team in the transfer portal. Under Larrañaga, Miami has brought in successful transfers such as Charlie Moore, Jordan Miller, Kameron McGusty, Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack. Those four transfer additions have played major roles in getting the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight in 2022 and the Final Four in 2023.
Matthew Cleveland is poised to be the next major transfer addition. Cleveland, a 6-foot-7 guard, arrived from Florida State. He hit a buzzer-beating winner against the Hurricanes last season. But when he was looking for a team to join, the rival Hurricanes made him and his family feel comfortable, so he joined Larrañaga’s team.
“What made me decide to come here was just the comfortability that I had with the coaching staff and the success of that team they had with transfers and the way they have with transfers like Norchad, Nijel and even way before then, like in my freshman year, it was Charlie and Kam and Jordan. So that was really the main reason, and the winning that this program has had over the past couple years.”
