George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga’s Pregame Speech Before Ohio State Game
Jim Larranaga' George Mason Patriots had a difficult task if they wanted to upset overall No. 1 seed Ohio State and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. That task got even more difficult when starting forward Luke Hancock, the hero of their Friday win over Villanova, was pulled from the starting lineup with the flu. So the coach who led his team to the Final Four in 2006 had to give a pretty inspiring pregame speech to inspire his troops.
Larranaga didn’t disappoint. The full text of the speech is below the jump, but the words don’t do it justice. He used all the same motivational tricks that he did in 2006, and added a few more for good measure. Alas, Ohio State decided they wouldn’t miss any shots, and ended up blowing out Larranaga’s team, but it wasn’t because of the speech, right?
Hell, Larranaga had me believing I could take Jared Sullinger. I'm sure I would have fared much better than his own players did, right?
When you dream, do you dream about playing great against an average team? Hell no! When you dream, you dream about playing your best against the best. You dream about playing your best with your teammates.
And now this is your opportunity to make that dream a reality. Everybody pulling together, seeing it happen in your own mind before it ever happens. And you know how that dream ends? You're jumping for joy. You are happy and you've had more fun than you've ever had before. And I'm telling you the dream will not even compare to how you feel today at the end of this game. Get out there and make it happen.
See More:
