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Seventeen years ago Jim Larrañaga took George Mason to the Final Four, a seminal moment in men’s NCAA Tournament history — the Patriots, a No. 11 seed, were the lowest seed to ever make the Final Four.

Now he’s back in the final weekend, with the Miami Hurricanes. Larrañaga, at 73, has now joined the small group of coaches to take two different teams to the Final Four, and he’s done it in different eras with different levels of programs.

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Does that make him a Naismith Hall of Famer? We asked three of our experts that question.

Brian Hamilton

As soon as the horn sounded on Miami’s win over Texas in the Elite Eight, this outcome was treated like a fait accompli. I’m not sure why. Rick Barnes, Lou Henson, John Beilein, Bo Ryan, Dana Altman and Kelvin Sampson all have won more games than Larrañaga without claiming a Division I national championship. All of them have better career win percentages. None of them have a Hall of Fame plaque. And while Larrañaga has won more games that some contemporary Hall of Famers such as Rick Pitino and Tom Izzo, well, they’ve hoisted the trophy on a Monday night in April. That’s determinative, at this elevation.

For sure, the degree of difficulty along Larrañaga’s path can’t be discounted. The man almost certainly will win more than 700 games while working at Bowling Green, George Mason and Miami. Success hasn’t been baked in at any stop. I wouldn’t blame anyone for giving Larrañaga the ‘”yea” vote simply because he has taken freaking George Mason and freaking Miami to Final Fours.

That being said: Mark Few is not in the Hall of Fame. He has almost as many wins as Larrañaga in 15 fewer seasons as a head coach, just as many Final Four appearances (two) and two Naismith national coach of the year awards to Larrañaga’s one. And turning Gonzaga into a national powerhouse is a lift unlike anything Larrañaga has undertaken or managed to date.

In closing: Every case is different. When you juxtapose Larrañaga’s resume with those of all the aforementioned coaches, he may come out ahead by comparison here and there. But Jim Larrañaga, Hall of Famer? It’s a squishy deal. Shape-shifting. The discussion ends if he leads the Hurricanes across the finish line in Houston on Monday, but until then it’s still a discussion. I’d probably give him the nod, but I’d also wonder what’s taking so long with a lot of coaches who have accomplished just as much or more.

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Dana O’Neil

The problem with handing out Hall of Fame honors like candy is it dilutes how special it ought to be. Jim Larrañaga has had a long, impressive career, succeeding where others ordinarily don’t. That is to be commended. Is it worthy of the Hall, though? Stick around long enough, and you’ll win some games.

The bar used to be winning a title, and then it was simply just getting to the Final Four. But if that’s it, Larranaga should have been inducted already, after taking George Mason on its improbable run. And where, then, is Shaka Smart? Shouldn’t Mick Cronin be in already? Let’s fast-track Dusty May.

So … beware the slippery slope. I wish we could make it a tad more difficult — like not just say Miami is in the Final Four, ergo Larrañaga makes the Hall of Fame. Not to begrudge the man his due but just to pause long enough to put some real thought into it. Consider the totality of work rather than just hand out an induction because of a second Final Four run.

Seth Davis

For those who might dismiss Larrañaga’s candidacy out of hand because he has yet to win a national championship, there are actually plenty of coaches who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame without having claimed that honor. A few of those (including recent inductees Eddie Sutton and Lefty Driesell) didn’t even get to a Final Four. Gene Keady, who also never coached in a Final Four, is a finalist this year. I wouldn’t have previously thought of Larrañaga for the Hall, but now that he is getting to the final weekend for the second time — with two different schools, no less — it is worth a close examination, especially since one of those Final Four teams was the 2006 George Mason squad that broke the sound barrier for mid-majors.

The closer you look, however, the weaker his candidacy gets. Yes, Larrañaga has won 725 games (including 27 at Division II American International), but his overall win percentage is 60.1. Driesell, by contrast, won 66.6 percent of his games and had 786 total; Sutton won 804 games (71 percent) and went to three Final Fours (and a championship game) with two different teams. Longevity is a trait that should be valued, and at 73 Larrañaga is as good as he has ever been. But to Dana’s point, coaches who work this long accrue a lot of wins by virtue of the math.

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As for the multiple schools thing, I count 15 other coaches who have taken more than one school to a Final Four: Kelvin Sampson, Lee Rose, Frank McGuire, Bob Huggins, Lou Henson, Hugh Durham, Larry Brown, Gene Bartow, Eddie Sutton, Forddy Anderson, Jack Gardner, John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Lute Olson and Roy Williams. Only eight of these are in the Hall of Fame. So this is far from an automatic.

If Miami wins the title this weekend, that could definitely change the conversation. And it’s a close call. For the moment, I’ll lean “no” on this one, but opinions can change over time, and Larrañaga looks like someone with great potential to improve his case in the near future.

GO DEEPER

Don't stop Jim Larrañaga now: The Miami coach, at 73, is going to his second Final Four

(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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