He was most recently the head coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team from 2011 to 2024 when he retired.

Following that Final Four appearance Miami had two disappointing seasons, causing Larranaga to resign his position on December 26, 2024.

Larrañaga has won several national coach of the year awards and retired with 744 wins in his career.

Larrañaga attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens,[4] where he started on the varsity basketball team under coach Jack Curran and graduated in 1967.

He graduated from Providence in 1971 with an economics degree and was selected in the sixth round of the 1971 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons.

He left the Pistons' rookie camp to take a coaching position at Davidson College after he was told he had slim chances of making the team.

In his five years under Holland, Davidson won three regular season Southern Conference titles, reached the NIT once, and he amassed a 47–12 record as freshman coach.

He returned to the U.S. in 1977 for his first head coaching job at American International College, a Division II program which had losing records in the previous five years.

Larrañaga became an assistant at a program that had begun to emerge as a power in the ACC, arriving at the same time as highly touted freshman Ralph Sampson.

One notable NBA player who played for Larrañaga was guard Antonio Daniels,[5] who was selected fourth overall in the 1997 draft.

The Patriots survived an overtime scare in the quarterfinals from Georgia State, and then lost to Hofstra in the semifinals.

During that match, starting guard Tony Skinn hit a Hofstra player below the belt, earning a one-game suspension for his action.

"[6] The Patriots found themselves in a 16–2 hole, but climbed out of it to win 65–60 and advance to the regional site at the Verizon Center, about 30 minutes away from their Fairfax, Virginia campus.

Mason would win 86–84 in overtime, becoming only the fourth team not from a BCS AQ conference to make the Final Four in a quarter-century (after UNLV in 1987 and 1991, Massachusetts in 1996 and Utah in 1998).

Led by seniors Cam Long and Isiah Tate, the Patriots' campaign started off with mixed emotions as they dropped two games vs NC State and Wofford.

In a seesaw game, Mason pulled out the victory when Luke Hancock knocked down a late three, and Mike Morrison threw down a last-second breakaway dunk.

On March 17, 2013, Larrañaga coached the Hurricanes to its first ACC tournament title in the program's history with an 87–77 win over North Carolina.

He claimed the Hurricanes had not enough energy to win the game because of Reggie Johnson's injury and Shane Larkin's sickness.

Although his basketball schedule only allowed him to teach part-time, he was a frequent presenter in classes on leadership, management, and team development, and often spoke at school-sponsored seminars.

[12] Larrañaga's 271 career wins at George Mason make him the winningest coach in the history of both the school and the CAA.