PROVIDENCE – In the end, Jim Larranaga said thanks, but no thanks to his alma mater.
Larranaga turned down the men’s basketball job at Providence College, the announcement coming Wednesday afternoon. To say Larranaga, a 1971 graduate of the college, was caught between a rock and a hard place these last few days isn’t a stretch. The 58-year-old was presented the opportunity to coach in a place he has strong ties with, but in the end decided on staying put at George Mason, where he has coached the past 12 seasons and is the program’s all-time leader in wins (207).                                                                           Not long after word came down did George Mason lock up Larranaga  to a three-year contract extension, which will take the school and coach to the 2014-15 season.
“I've said before that I hope to retire here at George Mason and this contract extension allows me to do just that,” said Larranaga, who reportedly met with PC officials over the weekend.
Larranaga first became in heavy demand two years ago following the Patriots’ unprecedented run to the Final Four in which perennial powers Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut were toppled along the way. Seton Hall was one of the school’s that made a hard press for Larranaga’s services, but the position was eventually filled by former Friar assistant Bobby Gonzalez.
Some believed the Providence job might have been enough to change Larranaga’s mind, but the Bronx, NY native decided  that remaining in Fairfax, Va. would suit him and his family just fine.
Former Friar coaching great Dave Gavitt was believed to be one of the people courting Larranaga to come to PC.  It was Gavitt, after all, who landed Larranaga the necessary contacts to get into the coaching fraternity.
First, there was a call to Jack Gregory, the AD at Bowling Green at the time, to set up his first D-1 head coaching job, which came in 1986. Another phone call by Gavitt was made to George Mason’s Tom O’Connor when the time arrived for Larranaga to move up the chain. Larranaga has been in the Beltway since the 1997-98 season, which was the last season Pete Gillen coached at Providence.
With Larranaga turning down the offer, Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll now heads back to the drawing board. Issuing a statement, Driscoll stated “Over the last several days it became public knowledge that we were in discussions with George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga about becoming our men's basketball coach.
“We offered him a very substantial package but he was too comfortable in his current situation and opted to stay at George Mason. As a result, I will continue to have ongoing discussions with the other finalists in this search. I remain very optimistic that we will find a head coach who will embrace the rich tradition of Friar basketball and move the program forward.”
Driscoll would not elaborate any further, but it was confirmed by PC associate athletic director Arthur Parks that Driscoll was on his way to San Antonio for this weekend’s Final Four.
Whether Driscoll has a head coach accompanying him back to Rhode Island remains to be seen. The competition for the vacany is believed to be wide open, though Driscoll could potentially be reaching out to someone also on Marquette’s radar. The Golden Eagles have an opening after Tom Crean departed for Indiana earlier this week.
This Saturday will mark three weeks since Tim Welsh was dismissed by the college. Names that surfaced immediately following Welsh’s firing could once again come into play with Brown’s Craig Robinson being the headliner. Or it could be someone like UMass’s Travis Ford who Driscoll takes a long look at.