Jim Larrananga makes the jump to Miami

Jim Larrananga's decision to move from George Mason to Miami certainly was a surprise.

Larrananga has built Mason into a powerhouse in the CAA, arguably the nation's best mid-major conference the last couple of years. He returns the majority of his roster from a 27 win team at a school where he was treated like a living legend from a better-than-you-think fan base. Larrananga is also a Providence alum. The Providence job has come available twice since his Final Four run (including this offseason), so if he wanted a rebuilding job at a power conference, why didn't he go to his alma mater?

Its not a hard argument to make that, from a strictly basketball perspective, George Mason is a better job than Miami.

The issue, however, is that nothing is ever strictly about basketball.

Before you criticize this move, answer me this. Let's say you were offered the same job that you currently have with a more powerful company where you make almost double your salary and you get to move to South Florida. Throw in the fact that you can work for a boss that you actually get a long with, and I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the people out there would take the new job.

That is exactly what Larrananga did. He moved from the CAA to the ACC, he got a significant raise, and he no longer has to work for an athletic director that he reportedly did not get along with. And I would be surprised if Shaka Smart's brand new contract didn't play a role in this decision.

Larrananga is, given the circumstances, a great hire for Miami. They couldn't get any of the young, hotshot coaches this offseason and they didn't want Frank Martin. "Settling" for a guy that has taken a CAA team to the Final Four and built the program into one that is consistently in the mix for an at-large bid is nothing to be embarrassed about.

The question is whether or not Larrananga will be able to win at Miami.

For long-term success, the key is obviously going to be recruiting, and as long as the program is competitive, it should never be difficult to recruit high school kids to Miami for college. In the short-term, however, Larrananga has a chance to win immediately. The Hurricanes have talent on their roster; Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant are a very underrated back court duo and Reggie Johnson, should he opt to return to school, is a force on the block.

The Hurricanes lost a lot of close games down the stretch last season, and much of that blame has been attributed to Frank Haith.

It will be interesting to see if Larrananga can turn those close losses into close wins.