Dave Hyde: For Jim Larrañaga, teaching didn’t end with his coaching career
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — On Tuesday morning, a night’s sleep after watching college basketball’s national championship game, the University of Miami professor had students set their watches to 10:15 a. m.
, as he does every class, and then review motivational author Stephen R. Covey’s “Seven habits of highly effective people. ” “Who can name them?
” Jim Larrañaga asked 10 freshman students around a conference table. For years, these seven habits were written on signs lining the baseline at Miami men’s basketball practices for players to learn. Now Larrañaga stopped a freshman who forgot one and asked the class to help.
“Put first things first,” another student said. These students are having an educational treat, a one-hour class on leadership each week taught by a master on the subject for five decades in college basketball. Larrañaga’s final 14 seasons were at Miami, where he took teams to the Final Eight and then the Final Four.
As part of Tuesday’s class, Larrañaga had students bring in an “artifact” about their lives to discuss its importance with the class. A religious pendant, framed photos, a track shoe, pajamas — each student had their story. Larrañaga passed around his Final Four ring.