Larranaga article!
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:24 pm
Bet ya didn't expect seeing that thread title anytime soon! This was sent to the BG News today from a BG Alum who is in Spain.
In April 1971 Real Madrid tried to sign James Larranaga, 34 years later, in May 2005, the team from Madrid announced the arrival of James Larranaga. That’s right, you’ve read correctly, although it’s not the longest signing in the world. Real Madrid signed his son three decades after taking interest in his dad, who received a letter sounding out his availability for coming to Spain.
Jim Larranaga is the father of Jay, the current Madrid player, and a coach with a long career at the university level. He has been coaching the George Mason Patriots since1997 and was also the front man at Bowling Green, where Jay grew up under his father’s orders. "He might have been harder with me, but he prepared me for the future. After dealing with him, I can deal with anyone", says Jay as he laughs, he thinks that the Madrid coach, Bozidar Maljkovic is "a great coach " and that "Real Madrid is the best team" he has played for.
Let’s go back three and a half decades. Real Madrid discovered a 21-year old guard in Providence College that could strengthen the outside game of Pedro Ferrándiz’s team. His Spanish last name made him even more interesting. Could he be another naturalized player like Clifford Luyk and Wayne Brabender? Ferrándiz wasn’t too far off, because the Larranaga family (Jay plays with an Irish passport, like his brother Jon, who played one season with Menorca) have Spanish ancestors, although far removed. His distant family was originally from Santander, in Northern Spain, they then moved to Cuba and, then, settled in Florida. Nevertheless, the signing never took place.
Jim dreamed of playing in the NBA, but the Pistons cut him in training camp. He ended up taking a job at Davidson College as assistant coach to Terry Holland, who he went with to the University of Virginia (1979-86) to guide the twin tower Ralph Sampson. Previously, in 1977, he had played in the Belgian league as a player-coach. "My dad says Europe has changed a lot over the last 30 years. I think at some point he might have regretted not going to Madrid, that’s why he was so excited that I signed with them. He knows how prestigious the organization is".
Ferrándiz: "A surprise"
Pedro Ferrándiz, the Real Madrid coach when the letter was sent to Jay Larranaga’s dad, commented yesterday: "I was stunned when I found out the new Madrid player is the son of the one we wanted to sign, and even more so when I heard his mother had saved the document. Víctor de la Serna, who knew the NCAA and NBA very well, was our advisor and scout. He discovered that there was a player there with a Spanish last name and I asked him to get in touch with him to see if we could sign him: I don’t remember if there was even a reply but the operation wasn’t successful".
In April 1971 Real Madrid tried to sign James Larranaga, 34 years later, in May 2005, the team from Madrid announced the arrival of James Larranaga. That’s right, you’ve read correctly, although it’s not the longest signing in the world. Real Madrid signed his son three decades after taking interest in his dad, who received a letter sounding out his availability for coming to Spain.
Jim Larranaga is the father of Jay, the current Madrid player, and a coach with a long career at the university level. He has been coaching the George Mason Patriots since1997 and was also the front man at Bowling Green, where Jay grew up under his father’s orders. "He might have been harder with me, but he prepared me for the future. After dealing with him, I can deal with anyone", says Jay as he laughs, he thinks that the Madrid coach, Bozidar Maljkovic is "a great coach " and that "Real Madrid is the best team" he has played for.
Let’s go back three and a half decades. Real Madrid discovered a 21-year old guard in Providence College that could strengthen the outside game of Pedro Ferrándiz’s team. His Spanish last name made him even more interesting. Could he be another naturalized player like Clifford Luyk and Wayne Brabender? Ferrándiz wasn’t too far off, because the Larranaga family (Jay plays with an Irish passport, like his brother Jon, who played one season with Menorca) have Spanish ancestors, although far removed. His distant family was originally from Santander, in Northern Spain, they then moved to Cuba and, then, settled in Florida. Nevertheless, the signing never took place.
Jim dreamed of playing in the NBA, but the Pistons cut him in training camp. He ended up taking a job at Davidson College as assistant coach to Terry Holland, who he went with to the University of Virginia (1979-86) to guide the twin tower Ralph Sampson. Previously, in 1977, he had played in the Belgian league as a player-coach. "My dad says Europe has changed a lot over the last 30 years. I think at some point he might have regretted not going to Madrid, that’s why he was so excited that I signed with them. He knows how prestigious the organization is".
Ferrándiz: "A surprise"
Pedro Ferrándiz, the Real Madrid coach when the letter was sent to Jay Larranaga’s dad, commented yesterday: "I was stunned when I found out the new Madrid player is the son of the one we wanted to sign, and even more so when I heard his mother had saved the document. Víctor de la Serna, who knew the NCAA and NBA very well, was our advisor and scout. He discovered that there was a player there with a Spanish last name and I asked him to get in touch with him to see if we could sign him: I don’t remember if there was even a reply but the operation wasn’t successful".
