For George Mason men's basketball head coach Jim Larranaga, his first challenge with the Patriots was to rebuild a program that had fallen into disarray. He has accomplished that and much more in his eight seasons in Fairfax, having made four postseason appearances in seven years, including two conference championships. Now, with a long-term contract at George Mason, he prepares for the next challenge of maintaining the level of success he has established at Mason.

Larranaga, who owns a 139-97 record in eight years at George Mason, including a 130-79 mark over the past seven, became the Patriots all-time leader in men's basketball victories with his 131st win on January 22, 2005 when the Patriots won 77-58 at arch-rival James Madison. Those seven seasons broke a streak of eight consecutive losing campaigns, and returned the Patriots to a level of prominence in the CAA they hadn't enjoyed since the late 1980s. Larranaga earned his 100th Mason victory in the 2002-03 regular season finale against Drexel and his 139 overall wins over the past eight years is tops among all Patriot head coaches in a eight-year span in the 39-year history of George Mason men's basketball.

Larranaga, 56, accomplished many of the same things in his 11 years at Bowling Green State University from 1986-97 and in two years at American International College from 1977-79. In 21 years as a head coach, he has a career record of 337-266, earning his 300th coaching victory in Mason's third game of the 2003-04 campaign - a 92-83 victory at Iona on Nov. 29.

The remarkable turnaround at George Mason began just two years into Larranaga's tenure and well before most people thought the Patriots would be a contender. A 9-18 record in his first year with the Patriots in 1997-98 drew plaudits from knowledgeable basketball people who realized the program was headed in the right direction, but it all came together the following season.

George Mason was 19-11 overall and a school-best 13-3 in the CAA in 1998-99, making a 10-game improvement over the previous season, the 12th-best performance in the nation. The Patriots won their first-ever conference regular season championship and their second CAA Tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The 19 victories were tied for sixth on the all-time list and were the most in nine years, and the season included a 10-game winning streak, the second best in school history.

The performance by the Patriots earned numerous honors for Larranaga as he was named Coach of the Year by the CAA and in the NABC District 4, and he was selected state Coach of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

George Mason followed up with another 19-11 overall mark in 1999-2000, tying James Madison for first place in the CAA at 12-4 and earning the top seed in the conference tournament. In 2000-01, the Patriots finished 18-12 overall and 11-5 in the CAA, good for a tie for second place, and they won the CAA Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The Patriots produced another solid campaign with a 19-10 overall record (13-5 in the CAA) and a NIT berth in 2001-02. Mason's 2002-03 roster was hampered by injuries throughout the year, but managed to pull together a 16-12 record (11-7 in the CAA), and a fourth-place conference finish.

The 2003-04 George Mason season was one for the record books. Larranaga not only led the Patriots to a 7-2 non-conference record - marking the team's best non-conference winning percentage since joining the CAA in 1985-86 - but also to a school record 23-win season, as Mason finished 23-10 on the year, its first 20-or-more win campaign in 14 years. It was Larranaga's first 20-win season at Mason and earned him the highest single-season total of his coaching career (23). Gaining an NIT berth (the Patriots fourth postseason appearance in six years), he led Mason to two consecutive postseason victories for the first time in school history, and in the process, earned his first postseason win in seven tries. Larranaga's 2003-04 team was especially dominant on its home court, setting a school record for wins at the Patriot Center, finishing with a 14-1 mark.

Last season, a young Mason squad with only three proven junior starters and nine talented sophomores and freshmen battled to a 16-13 overall record and 10-8 mark in league play. Finishing above .500 and with 16 wins, the Patriots won 15 or more games overall and 10 or more games in league play for the seventh consecutive year - a streak unmatched by any other CAA team, including recent members Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson when they were affiliated with the America East Conference.

A model of consistency over the past seven seasons, the Patriots have had the best regular-season record in the CAA at 82-38 and have earned an imposing 77-13 mark at the Patriot Center, including a 10-2 record in 2004-05.

At his previous stop on the coaching circuit, Larranaga made an immediate impact upon his arrival at Bowling Green in 1986-87. The Falcons were the nation's most improved team under a first-year head coach that took over a program with a losing record, posting a 15-14 record for an eight-game improvement over the previous season.

Larranaga went on to record a 170-144 mark in 11 years at Bowling Green. He was the 1997 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year after leading Bowling Green to a 22-10 record, a conference regular season co-championship and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. The 22 victories were the most by a Bowling Green team in 47 years and the 13 conference wins were the second-highest total in Falcon history.

Larranaga's 170 victories at Bowling Green ranked second all-time on the Falcons' coaching list and he was only the second coach to record consecutive postseason appearances. Larranaga led his squad to NIT berths in 1990 (18-11) and again in 1991 (17-13), the first time the Falcons enjoyed back-to-back postseason appearances since the early `60s. Bowling Green won better than 61 percent of its games in Larranaga's last four years, recording a 70-44 mark during that stretch. The Falcons finished fourth or better in the MAC in five of Larranaga's 11 seasons and he is among the winningest coaches in MAC history.

Larranaga received his first head coaching position in 1977 when he was named to the post at American International, a Division II program in Springfield, Mass. Taking over a team that had suffered through five consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, Larranaga turned AIC into a winning program in his first year and compiled a 28-25 mark in two seasons.

Over the years, Larranaga's teams have earned a reputation as "giant killers." His Bowling Green teams defeated perennial national powers Kentucky, Michigan State (twice), Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue. The 1990 win over Michigan State (98-85) came when the Spartans were ranked fifth in the country. With the Patriots, his teams have won at Mississippi (snapping the Rebels' 44-game non-conference home win streak in 2001-02) and pushed nationally ranked Maryland to the threshold of defeat twice before dropping three-point decisions, the latest in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Boise, ID. Most recently, the 2003-04 team topped Tennessee in the opening round of the postseason NIT to earn the program its record-breaking 22nd win of the season.

Widely recognized as a "player's coach," Larranaga was a major factor in the development at Bowling Green of Antonio Daniels, currently a guard with the Seattle Sonics and former first-round NBA draft choice (fourth overall). More recently, Larranaga can take credit for the improvement of George Mason's Jason Miskiri, George Evans, Erik Herring, Jesse Young and Jai Lewis, each of whom has been a first-team all-CAA selection.

Evans was selected as the CAA Player of the Year three times, joining former U.S. Naval Academy star David Robinson as the only players to accomplish the feat in CAA history. Adding selections to the NABC All-District 4 squad and honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team in 2001, Evans also joined former teammate Keith Holdan as back-to-back recipients of the CAA's Dean Ehlers Leadership Award.

Larranaga's teams also are known for their offensive efficiency and a frenetic defense dubbed the "Scramble." In 2000-01, the Patriots led the CAA (in conference games) in scoring for the third straight year at 72.8 points per game and were second in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by 7.9 points per contest. George Mason also led the conference in field goal percentage (.460) and turnover margin (+2.97) for the third consecutive season, led the CAA in steals (8.4) and was second in assists (13.7), and it also ranked second in assist/turnover ratio (0.96).

In 2002-03, George Mason ranked second overall and 16th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to a school record 60.5 points per game. The Patriots also listed second in the conference and 27th nationally in rebound margin (+5.2). Mason's 2003-04 squad led the league in steals at 8.52 per game, and the 2004-05 group led the CAA (overall and conference games) in scoring offense and ranked 26th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (12.4).

A native of Bronx, N.Y., Larranaga is a 1971 graduate of Providence College with a degree in economics. A four-year letterman for the Friars, he was the team captain as a senior, leading Providence to a 20-8 record and an NIT appearance. He graduated as the school's fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,258 points and was selected in the sixth round of the draft by the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. He was the team's top scorer as a sophomore and junior and was named New England's Division I Sophomore of the Year in 1969. His outstanding career was rewarded when he was inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame in 1991.

Larranaga was a natural to enter the coaching ranks after being tutored by three of the most widely respected coaches in the country. He played under legendary coach Jack Curran at New York City's Archbishop Molloy High School. At Providence, he played under Joe Mullaney and later under Dave Gavitt, the former U.S. Olympic coach and Boston Celtics executive.

His first coaching opportunity came at Davidson College, where he served as an assistant coach to Terry Holland. Davidson captured three Southern Conference regular-season championships and an NIT berth in his five years there, and he compiled a 47-12 record doubling as the freshman team coach. In 1976, he left Davidson and spent one season as player-coach for the Geronemo Basketball Club in Belgium.

After his two-year stint at American International, Larranaga was reunited with Holland at the University of Virginia in April 1979. An assistant coach under Holland for seven seasons from 1979-86, he helped the Cavaliers reach the NCAA Final Four on two occasions (1981 and 1984), finish in the top five of the AP and UPI polls and average more than 24 victories per season. The Cavaliers were 169-62, won three regular season Atlantic Coast Conference championships and made four NCAA Tournament appearances. Virginia also made a pair of NIT appearances, winning the NIT Championship in 1980. Larranaga was on the staff during the careers of three-time National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson and NBA first-round draft choice Olden Polynice.

Larranaga and his wife, Liz, have two children. Jay, 30, plays professional basketball in Spain, and Jon, 25, was a member of his father's George Mason teams from 1999-00 to 2002-03.