Here’s how NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon helped Miami Hurricanes land a promising guard
If you are a college basketball coach seeking to unearth talent in this age of ever-changing rosters, there are advantages to having a son coaching in the NBA.
Just ask Jim Larranaga.
The reason Larranaga knew about Divine Ugochukwu, a promising freshman combo guard from the Houston area, is because his son, Jay, is an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers and has a connection with NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon, whose sons Abdullah and Aziz were Ugochukwu’s high school teammates.
Jay was previously on the Boston Celtics staff and was tasked with mentoring Jayson Tatum over the summer. After bringing him to Miami to train for a bit, he took Tatum to Houston to work out with Olajuwon, who gets paid big bucks to help players with their footwork and post moves. The younger Larranaga had previously taken Marcus Smart to train with Olajuwon.
“Jay became friendly with Hakeem, who has sons who play high school basketball in Houston and Oguchukwu is their teammate,” Jim Larranaga said. “The Clippers were in Dallas for a game, and Hakeem reached out to Jay and said, `Look, there’s a kid at my sons’ high school who we think would fit very well into your Dad’s system at Miami.’”
The “we” of whom Olajuwon spoke is Frank Rutherford, the Bahamian Olympic triple jump legend, who has been Olajuwon’s best friend since they attended the University of Houston together. Rutherford and Olajuwon run camps together in the Houston area.
“Jay called me and said, `I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I would suggest you talk to these guys about this kid,” Larranaga said. “So, I spoke to Frank first, and then Hakeem. And they both said the same thing: `This young man has got a lot of talent. He may not be ready to help you win a championship his freshman year, but under your tutelage, we think he can be a heck of a player.’’’
Larranaga contacted Ugochukwu and his parents and promised to watch video of the young prospect, study his game, and offer him a scholarship; but he would have to be willing to redshirt his first year because the Hurricanes had already signed freshman guards Jalil Bethea and Austin Swartz, and had upperclassmen Nijel Pack, Jalen Blackmon, and Paul Djobet.
“The first thing Divine said was, `I’d love to do that, I think I’d fit in very well,’” Larranaga recalled. Ugochukwu and his parents visited the UM campus in early May, loved it, and they agreed that he would redshirt his first year and work at getting better.
Ugochukwu, who is 6-3, was a three-star recruit who averaged 17.1 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game at Clements High School and led the Rangers to a 32-1 record. He played AAU ball for Houston Hoops of the EYBL circuit and then for TJ Ford adidas. Baylor, SMU, George Mason and Texas A&M were among his suitors.
He said at the time of his signing that UM’s history developing guards was a key reason he chose the school.
Incidentally, Larranaga said it was his son Jay who also first alerted him to former Hurricane standout forward Sam Waardenburg, whom Jay spotted when he and David Robinson were in Australia representing the NBA in a Basketball Without Borders camp.
“When Jay was in Australia, he saw this kid Sam Waardenburg, came back, and told me, `Hey, I saw this kid play, don’t know anything about him, but I got his name in case you have interest. He’s 6-9 or 6-10, can shoot. So, we reached out and six years later he helped us get to the Elite Eight.”
Larranaga said he likes what he has seen of Ugochukwu so far this summer. The team is off for two weeks and resumes practice when the Fall semester starts Aug. 19.
“He has good size and a very good feel for the game,” Larranaga said. “He’s been extremely well-coached. His high school coach Van Price did a great job with him and I think he’ll be a terrific player. He’s got skills, is smart, and is getting stronger.”
Since he arrived at UM the first week of June, he has gone from being able to do just three bench press reps at 185 pounds to nine. His maximum bench press improved from 215 lbs. to 255 lbs. And he is squatting 345 lbs.
“He can play both point guard and shooting guard, but our plan for now is to redshirt him because when a guy is a freshman and is behind other guys, he’s not going to get a significant amount of playing time,” Larranaga said.
The Hurricanes are undergoing a complete makeover for the 2024-25 season. Pack is the only player remaining from the Canes’ 2023 Final Four run as most of his teammates transferred after a disappointing 15-17 record in 2023-24. Norchad Omier left for Baylor, Bensley Joseph to Providence and Wooga Poplar to Villanova.
Transfers joining the Hurricanes this season are 6-10 Lynn Kidd from Virginia Tech, 6-8 Brandon Johnson from East Carolina, 6-3 Blackmon from Stetson, 6-9 Kiree Huie from Idaho State, 6-5 A.J. Staton-McCray from Samford, and 6-8 Yussif Basa-Ama from Yale.
Johnson averaged 14 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season. Kidd averaged 13.2 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 66.8 percent from the field, which ranked fourth best in the nation. Blackmon was the 10th-highest scorer in the nation with 21.3 points per game.
This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 5:06 PM.