Jay Larranaga
James Joseph Larranaga Jr. (born January 30, 1975) is an Irish-American former professional basketball player. Currently, he is the top assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He is also the son of University of Miami men's basketball coach Jim Larrañaga.
Boston Celtics | |
---|---|
Position | Assistant coach |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | Charlotte, North Carolina | January 30, 1975
Nationality | Irish / American |
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Listed weight | 192 lb (87 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | St. John's (Toledo, Ohio) |
College | Bowling Green (1993–1997) |
NBA draft | 1997 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 1997–2009 |
Position | Shooting guard |
Coaching career | 2008–present |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1997 | Jacksonville Barracudas |
1997–1998 | Viola Reggio Calabria |
1998–1999 | Peristeri |
1999–2000 | ASVEL |
2000–2001 | Olimpia Milano |
2001–2002 | Paris Racing |
2002–2003 | Gran Canaria |
2003–2004 | Sevilla |
2004 | Virtus Roma |
2004 | Real Madrid |
2004–2005 | Viola Reggio Calabria |
2005–2007 | Napoli |
2007 | ASVEL |
2007–2009 | Juvecaserta |
As coach: | |
2008–2010 | Ireland |
2010–2012 | Erie BayHawks |
2012–present | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
2013–2015 | Ukraine (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
As Player:
|
Career
After graduating from St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy,[1] Jay played college basketball for Bowling Green Falcons alongside Antonio Daniels. Here he played all four years for his father, Jim, setting BGSU records for three-point field goals in a game, season, and career. Before his departure to Italy in 1997, Jay became a three-time Academic All-Mac and attained a cumulative 3.4 Business GPA at Bowling Green State University.
Larranaga joined Peristeri B.C. in Greece for the 1998-99 season. Larranaga then moved to France to play for ASVEL Villeurbanne, he also played in and won the 2000 French All-Star game. Larranaga moved back to Italy in November 2000 to join Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano however he moved back to France to play for the Paris Basket Racing.
Larranaga then moved to Spain to play for CB Gran Canaria and CSF Sevilla. He then moved back to Italy to join Pallacanestro Virtus Roma and his former club Viola Reggio Calabria. He went back to Spain in 2004 to join Real Madrid Baloncesto where he won the Spanish National Championship. He then won the Italian National Cup with Basket Napoli in 2006 and 2008. Larranaga retired after spending two seasons in Eldo Caserta and appearing in various All-Star games throughout his lengthy career.
In 2008 Jay was announced as player/manager of the Ireland team.[2] Previous to the hiring, Jay was captain of the Irish national Team from 2001-2006.
Coaching career
Larranaga entered his first season as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics in 2012. He spent the previous two seasons as head coach of the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League. In two seasons with the BayHawks, Larranaga led his squad to consecutive playoff appearances while accumulating a regular season record of 60–40. He also established team records for all-time wins (60), wins in a season (32) and player call ups (12). During Larranaga two years in Erie, eight different players received NBA call-ups. Prior to arriving in Erie, Larranaga served as an assistant coach at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and before that he was head coach of the Irish National Team for two years. Larranaga spent the summer of 2012 as an assistant for the Ukraine National Team under former NBA coach Mike Fratello.
In 2013, Larranaga was interviewed by the Celtics to possibly replace Doc Rivers, but Butler basketball head coach, Brad Stevens, became the Celtics new head coach. The past 3 seasons, Jay and the coaching staff led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Playoffs including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2016-2017 season.
Larranaga was a top candidate to fill the head coaching positions at Georgia Tech and George Mason University, but decided to retain his position with the Boston Celtics.[3][4]
Honors
All-Star
- All-Star game winner: 2000
Basket Napoli
- Italian Basketball Cup winner: 2006
Real Madrid
- Liga ACB winner: 2005
- Copa del Rey de Baloncesto runner-up: 2005
Personal life
Larranaga and his wife, Sarah, married in 2017. He has two children, daughter Tia and son James, from a previous marriage.[5]
References
- "Basketball his ticket to world travel". Toledo Blade. February 24, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
- "Jay Larranaga to Coach Ireland's National Team". George Mason. February 6, 2008. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- https://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--george-mason-jay-larranaga-204156126.html
- https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/sources-georgia-tech-reaches-jeff-capel-jay-larranaga/story?id=37993026
- http://www.nba.com/celtics/roster/coaches/jay-larranaga