- 2 days ago
Coach Jim Larrañaga joins us to weigh in on a potential Ja trade, Spo and Kel’el’s relationship and how he still watches basketball from the perspective of a coach.
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00:00Former head coach for the U.M. men's basketball team, he joins us on Wednesdays to talk a little hoops.
00:05Canes open the season Monday with a win over Jacksonville, and they host Bethune-Cookman tomorrow night at the Watsko Center.
00:15Do you feel out of sorts, Coach, with college basketball season underway?
00:19I think you were at the Watsko Center on Monday.
00:22Do you feel out of sorts this time of year where, hey, I'm sitting here on a radio station.
00:30I should be putting a game plan together or something.
00:34Or are you the happiest you've been in a long time?
00:37Well, I was out of sorts a few minutes ago when you were complaining about a 70-year-old mother.
00:43Your own mother.
00:44Are you kidding me?
00:46May she rest in peace.
00:48But we went on a family trip.
00:49It was me, my wife, my son.
00:51We went to Jamaica, and my mother was with us, and it was like, oh, climb Dunn's River Fall.
00:58It's Dunn's River, people are putting on the chat.
01:01Climb Dunn's River Fall.
01:02They make it sound so easy.
01:04The whole time, the way he probably was chasing the nine-year-old, I'm just standing behind my mother.
01:09I'm like, she's going to fall down these falls.
01:11Nobody seems to care.
01:13It was ridiculous.
01:15We've got to get some good pictures out of it, though.
01:17Good memories, too, because you're laughing today.
01:20Hey, and on the game Monday night, I thought the Miami Hurricanes looked very good, very physical, very good defensively.
01:30I think Jai Lucas and his staff have done a tremendous job for the early part of the season getting their team ready.
01:40Although, Bethune-Cookman, tomorrow night, they lost in overtime on Monday to Auburn.
01:50So, they must be pretty good to go on the road to an SEC team.
01:53They could go on the overtime, yeah.
01:55And lose in overtime.
01:56So, hopefully, the Canes will be ready to go.
02:00Game time, 7 o'clock.
02:01I'll be there sitting courtside.
02:03Do you miss it?
02:03Do you miss it?
02:04Is there something gnawing at you inside?
02:07You are a coach.
02:08Is there something gnawing at you?
02:10Or have you got to that point where you're like, wow, this feels great?
02:14No, I enjoyed watching the game without having to worry about every decision that you have to make.
02:21What I miss is my coaching staff, my assistants, and I miss the players at practice, hanging out with them, hanging around.
02:31Hey, Hawk, right now, instead of hanging around with college-age kids, I'm hanging around with the 80-year-olds.
02:38It's a little bit different.
02:39The conversations are different.
02:41Yeah.
02:42But it's fun.
02:43I'm enjoying it.
02:44A little pickleball?
02:45You got into pickleball yet?
02:47That's right there.
02:48I got a bad back crowd.
02:50But I can't play tennis, pickleball, golf, or anything.
02:54I do ride the bike.
02:56I do a little weightlifting.
02:59And tonight, I'm going to be speaking.
03:01I'm going to a dinner tonight hosted by the Posse Foundation.
03:06It's a group of high school scholars.
03:11These kids are all going to go to college on academic scholarships.
03:14They're all very, very bright.
03:15I'm going to be speaking at their dinner tonight at Key Biscayne Yacht Club.
03:22So, I'm looking forward to that.
03:23And, Coach, to Hawk's point about now watching games, like you say, almost as a fan, but when I watch football and somebody motions behind number two, I automatically, in the back of my mind, say, watch the crosser, watch the crosser.
03:36Even if I don't say it out loud, are you coaching just subconsciously where you'll be like, yeah, they got to pull number 12.
03:43He's a mister.
03:44Yeah, you know, you can't avoid that.
03:48You know, you're still sitting on the sideline watching the game.
03:51I watched Duke last night against Texas.
03:55And you're watching the game.
03:58And the funny thing is, you have one guy shooting lights out.
04:03Isaiah Evans is shooting lights out from three.
04:05But I've watched a lot of college basketball games where nobody's making threes.
04:11So, nobody's in midseason form.
04:14You're not going to know who is really good until they get into conference play.
04:19But I do enjoy going to the Watsko Center, sitting courtside, and not have to worry if we're going to win or lose.
04:28Well, I shouldn't say it like that.
04:30That doesn't sound – no, I want us to win.
04:32That's all there is to it.
04:33But if they lose, it ain't a relief.
04:35Because it's not on me.
04:37You can blame somebody else, but it's not on me.
04:40Now, I don't know if you're aware of this, Crowder.
04:43Your number three Florida Gators are at the Watsko Center a week from this Sunday.
04:50A week from this Sunday.
04:51It's a primetime matchup.
04:53Am I right on that, Coach?
04:55No.
04:55They're on the road.
04:56They meet in Jacksonville, I think.
04:59It's a neutral side game.
05:01There goes my idea of having a field trip with you
05:04and sit in courtside with you while we root against Crowder's Gators.
05:08You sure?
05:09We can all ride up the Jacksonville together.
05:11Yeah, you got a car big enough to hold us all?
05:14Jimmy, you're coming?
05:15I do.
05:16I'd love that.
05:17That'd be fun.
05:19That's not a home game at the Watsko Center?
05:21No, I don't believe so.
05:22That's a neutral side game created for TV.
05:24I already told my wife.
05:26I said, hey, I'm not going to be home on the 15th.
05:28I'm going with Coach L and Proud or Ron and Jimmy.
05:31We're going to go watch a Canes-Gators game.
05:34Ah, well, I'm all disappointed.
05:36Well, the good news is the following Sunday is Boy Scout Day
05:40against Delaware State.
05:41So we can all go.
05:42We'll put on our Boy Scout outfits.
05:44We're all probably Boy Scouts.
05:46And Jimmy, you're still a Boy Scout?
05:48Are you active?
05:49No, I'm not active.
05:50I used to be.
05:50Uh, that's a bummer.
05:54Well, what are you going to do?
05:56What are you going to do?
05:57Speaking of winning and losing, he said that he's not responsible
06:00for the wins or losses.
06:02Coach L put up a good Wordle score today.
06:06Yeah.
06:07Tell him, Hawk.
06:09I got a two on Wordle today.
06:12Two.
06:13Coach had four correct letters on his second guess,
06:17but he ended up with a three.
06:19He couldn't, he couldn't, couldn't cash that two today.
06:23Very close coach, but you have not yet beaten me in Wordle, correct?
06:26No, no, I haven't beaten you.
06:28And I'm disappointed in that.
06:29And I'm trying to figure out how you cheat.
06:31Cause I know you cheat.
06:32He's cheating, coach.
06:34How do you do that?
06:35How do you cheat?
06:36We're cheating here.
06:37How dare you?
06:38Uh, so remember the, the conversation we were having last week was about the
06:43heat.
06:43They had looked so good.
06:44And I said, can we determine anything about them yet?
06:46And you said, no, no, no, no, got to wait, see how they look against some of
06:49these good West coast teams.
06:51They lost to the Spurs.
06:53They lost to the Lakers.
06:54They beat your son's Clippers and they've got the nuggets tonight.
06:57So did we learn anything about the heat?
07:00Yeah.
07:01I, here's what, what, you know, the, the, the West coast is dynamic.
07:05I mean, those teams, OKC is undefeated right now.
07:08They're playing great basketball.
07:10I think that the game tonight against the nuggets again, will be, um,
07:16information that Spohen and staff can use.
07:19You keep talking about the big trades they're going to make and John Morant.
07:23And, uh, you know, history tends to repeat itself.
07:27So I I'm with Crowder with, with that.
07:31I mean, I, I, I think, uh, you know, I like where the heat are.
07:36I hope, I hope if they make a trades, it's for someone with great character,
07:40not a character.
07:41You got to worry about off the court.
07:44I like it.
07:47No, I was going to ask coach what, so the, the, that culture thing to your point
07:51about the character could, could that really change a John Morant who's I think
07:55is immature or even a Zion who has an addiction to calories.
07:59Well, in Zion, in Zion's case, it's ask anyone, you, you guys know, ask anyone
08:07that, you know, that, that has a weight issue, how difficult it is to lose the
08:10weight, but he looks, and then he's constantly hurt.
08:13He, he doesn't, he only plays in about a third to a half of the games because
08:18he's, he's hurt all the time.
08:20So I, I don't think that's a great investment in someone that you're relying
08:25on him because you, you, the best quality you have as a player, the best ability
08:32is availability.
08:34If the coach doesn't even know whether you're going to be able to play in that
08:38game, it's hard for him to coach and use you correctly.
08:41John Morant, immaturity.
08:43Yeah.
08:43As you get older, you get a little more mature.
08:45And obviously the heat culture is great for helping a guy with that, but I tend to believe
08:53history repeats itself.
08:56Hey coach, I don't know if you've, uh, if you've monitored the, uh, the situation going
09:03on too much, if you've monitored, you know, Kala where losing his starting spot, there's
09:08been some back and forth between, um, him and Eric Spolstra in terms of getting on the
09:14court.
09:14And I just wonder, like when you're dealing with a talented young player, right?
09:18Eric Spolstra and his coaching staff are dealing with a talented young player.
09:21They selected him in the first round and they're, they're seeing him play well, but not be as
09:27consistent as they've wanted him to be.
09:30And probably not be at, at the point in his progress where they wanted him to be already,
09:35despite it being early.
09:37Like, do you like how they're handling this where they still have a short leash on a young
09:41guy like this, um, or, or would you approach it a different way?
09:46I don't know, because it's just so fascinating to me.
09:48He's clearly mega talented, but man, they just get so angry with him so early and they
09:54just have this short leash on him.
09:56Yeah.
09:56I would never use that term short leash that, that, that refers to something I think is
10:01negative.
10:02I think in coaching, you're always dealing with the individual player and trying to figure
10:08out how to help them and his personality and your personality as a coach or, or as a president
10:16and owner, you're, you're dealing with so many different kinds of personalities.
10:21And in Kalelaware, you have a kid who's talented, but you've said it Solana over and over again,
10:27but he's inconsistent.
10:29So how are you going to get more consistency out of him?
10:33Is it play a more and will that more playing time lead to more success for the heat or less?
10:41Cause if he's not producing, you got to find someone else that will produce because the
10:48bottom line is you want to win.
10:49And I think in Kalelaware, he's young.
10:53What do you do when, when you have a plan before a season?
10:57We were talking about this cause the bulls have Kobe white coming back, but the bulls
11:00are six and one looking good.
11:02The heat are running and gunning and looking good.
11:04And they've got Tyler hero coming back as a coach.
11:08Do you say, Hey, before the season, my plan was to have the ball in Tyler hero's hands.
11:14And I'm not going to deviate from that.
11:16Even if it might throw off the early season success that we're having, or do you just ride
11:22the hot, the hot hand, I guess?
11:24Well, you know, I, I'll give you an example.
11:29Cause this, this is, is pertinent to the, um, Tyler hero case when Lonnie Walker was a
11:36freshman and predicted to go in the first round in the NBA draft, but he got hurt in
11:40the summer.
11:41Uh, he was behind and I felt what was best for him.
11:45He wasn't ready to play in November or December as a starter.
11:50So we brought him along very slowly.
11:53He moved into the starting lineup in the middle of January and then became our leading scorer.
11:59This is very different because Tyler hero has, has been a stud for the heat.
12:04The last several seasons, he, he knows what he's supposed to do.
12:09He should be able to, to hit the ground running as soon as he's physically able.
12:15And I don't think you take a step back then it it's actually a, a good step in the right
12:22direction to have a great player enter your lineup and give you 15, 20, 25 points each and
12:30every night.
12:31Cause he is a consistent scorer and coach a guy like hero or a guy that we're, we're
12:37you, I say we're used to watching him, you know, be ball dominant and create shots and
12:41all of that for him to just jump into a system where it's a lot of passing that fast pace
12:46that what the, what the heat are doing.
12:47I don't know if you watch Bam out of bio explain their offense where everybody just
12:51runs this big circle and guys cut every now and again.
12:54I don't, you knew what he was saying.
12:55I didn't, but what, what a great player that's used to having the ball in his hands.
12:59Would he struggle in one of those type offenses where he might not get the ball for a couple
13:04possessions?
13:05Yeah.
13:05I, you, you mentioned about John Morant, uh, not liking that system with the Memphis
13:10Grizzlies now to me, every player should understand it's not their job to decide what offense to
13:19run or what defense to play.
13:21It's their job to play as well as they can within that system, no matter what the system
13:29is, the player needs to adjust.
13:31The coach can't adjust to every single player.
13:35He's got 12, 14, 15 different guys.
13:39You can't change your offense just based on your personnel, every possession.
13:43So I, I like the, the fast pace.
13:47I think getting into the open court and scoring before the other team's defense is set.
13:52Cause I, I think right now it is very, very hard to score when the other team is back
13:58five on five and you have to execute a play at, at, at the NBA level, as talented as those
14:05guys, they're much better prepared to score in the open court.
14:09And I think Tylee Hero will be very, very comfortable playing in that style.
14:13It's why it's genius by spoke coach.
14:16I don't know, you know, how much he basketball you've watched over the past couple of years,
14:19but their half court offense was, it was, it made me sad at times watching it.
14:23Um, I, I asked you last year, coach, I, it might've been in the playoffs when you came
14:29on, what do you need to see to put Jokic, the Joker out in Denver since the heat of playing
14:36him tonight in, in the conversation already, the top three, top five centers of all time.
14:40And I told you, I think he's already up there based on style, play and accolades with Kareem,
14:45with Shaq, with Will, with Bill Russell.
14:48Like I genuinely believe he's up there already.
14:51And you told me let's pump the brakes a little bit.
14:55Do you change your mind already watching what he's been doing at the start of the season?
14:59Like, what does he have to do?
15:00Because I mean, he's averaging a triple double again.
15:04Who are you talking about?
15:05Solana?
15:06Jokic.
15:07The Joker.
15:07No, I didn't say that about Jokic last year.
15:10I said that about that shade, Jill, just Alexander SGA.
15:14I said, we, we need to give him a little more time if he wins the championship.
15:18And now, I mean, the guy is scoring, he's scored over 20 points, like for forever.
15:24Right.
15:25Jokic has been one of the best players in the world since, since I'll say year two in the
15:31NBA.
15:31Right.
15:32He, he is the man.
15:33I don't think there's a better basketball player.
15:37I don't care what position he, he's got the combination of, of Larry bird, magic Johnson
15:43and, and, uh, Hakeem Olajuwon, his skills, his basketball IQ.
15:50No, he's one of the greatest all time.
15:52I never said we got to wait on that guy.
15:55You know, already had, how many MVPs has he won?
15:58Three, I think.
15:58But I'm, I'm talking about putting them in the conversation with like Kareem, Kareem.
16:03Yeah.
16:03He's there.
16:04Okay.
16:05Okay.
16:05Maybe, maybe I, I, I, I remembered incorrectly, but I remember saying that last year during the
16:11show and you, I thought there was some pushback from you, but maybe not.
16:15Maybe I remembered incorrectly.
16:16Well, maybe I remember incorrectly.
16:21Cause the moment I think of Kareem, I like, Oh God, he's, he was the best ever.
16:25No one could guard the guy.
16:28He, he, he was so good from the time I first saw him play in high school when he had 19 points
16:35in the first quarter of the New York city championship game against Rice high school
16:39in 1967 and, uh, no, actually 65, 1965.
16:46That was the first time I saw him in person and, and every game after that, I, the guy
16:52to me, he was the greatest, but you know, Jokic is right there.
16:57The Michael Jordans, the LeBrons, all these guys, they, they, they're in such a special
17:02category, but if you misunderstood, I apologize.
17:05I didn't explain it very well.
17:07Who was better, Michael Jordan or Josh Giddey?
17:09All right.
17:11We got to go coach.
17:14That's a close one.
17:15Hawk.
17:15You got me there.
17:16I'm not sure.
17:19Hard hitting journalism.
17:20See you coach.
17:21We love you.
17:22All right, guys.
17:23There you go.
17:23Code player.
17:24Next.
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