Coach Jim Larranaga Tells Wild Story Of A Recruit Getting Bit By A Dog

Jim Larranaga isn't lying about this insane recruiting story. 

The University of Miami basketball coach fired up Twitter Thursday to tell the story about a recruit being bit by a dog on a recruiting trip. It wasn't just any dog. It was the recruit's dog. 

Here's how Jim tells the story: 

"True story: When I was an assistant at UVa, we flew recruits in a private jet—totally legal. One weekend, we had 4 kids from NY. Our Lear Jet had 2 pilots, a flight attendant, and we served breakfast on board. First-class all the way," Jim writes. 

"One of the recruits had a dog. When we picked him up, the dog ran out. A minute later, the cab pulls out—bang—it runs over the dog. The recruit jumps out to check on it, and the dog BITES him. Ripped a 3-inch gash in his hand," the story goes. 

But, wait, there's more! 

"We told his parents not to worry—UVa had the best hand doc in the country. Wrapped his hand in a towel and still took the visit. Doc stitched him up, we had a great trip. The best part is, the dog lived and he signed."

That recruit, according to historians, is Tom Sheehey, who went on to start 110 games at Virginia and was a forward on the 1984 Final Four team.

Larranaga didn't embellish this story a bit. 

In 2012, the New York Times noted that it was UVA assistant coach Dave Odom who arrived at the Sheehey house for the visit. "Odom got out of the taxi and the cab driver put the cab in reverse and ran over Sheehey’s dog, a springer spaniel. Tom Sheehey bent down to try to pick up the dog, which had a broken leg, and the dog bit him," the Times reported. 

In his book, "The End is Not The Trophy," Odom wrote that this wasn't just any dog to Sheehey. "He had hit the dog that had grown up with Tom," Odom noted while adding that the dog was "almost the same age — sixteen — as Tom was." 

Ah, but there's a happy ending. Larranaga says the dog survived, a UVA doctor stitched up the prized recruit and Sheehey signed.