Larranaga 'Very Happy' at GMU

George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga told Seton Hall officials yesterday he was not interested in their coaching vacancy, a day after Seton Hall Athletic Director Joe Quinlan received permission to speak with Larranaga about the position. Later in the day, several media outlets reported that Seton Hall had hired Manhattan's Bobby Gonzalez .

"I'm flattered that anybody would have any interest at all in me, but stuff like that is not on my list of priorities," Larranaga said yesterday afternoon. "I'm very happy where I am, and I like doing what I'm doing. I've got so many things going on right now I really don't want to be distracted by anything I wouldn't be 100 percent interested in."

After leading George Mason to its first Final Four berth, Larranaga, 56, has been mentioned in connection with several prominent openings, including those at Seton Hall and North Carolina State. George Mason Athletic Director Tom O'Connor said yesterday afternoon that no other schools had requested permission to speak with Larranaga, and the coach declined to discuss the N.C. State job yesterday.

"There's no answer to those hypothetical questions," he said. "I don't deal in hypotheticals."

George Mason already has signed an impressive recruiting class, and O'Connor has said repeatedly that he believes Larranaga will coach the Patriots next season, which would be his 10th in Fairfax.

Two Aprils ago, Larranaga signed a two-year contract extension with George Mason through the 2008-09 season. His agent, Boston-based attorney Dennis Coleman , and O'Connor began working on another extension before the Patriots became the biggest story of the NCAA tournament.

The charismatic coach already serves as a motivational speaker, and in recent days he has received inquiries from the Washington Speakers Bureau and the William Morris Agency. He is scheduled to meet with both groups. " That , I'm interested in," he said.

Larranaga and his team will be honored in a parade this morning, which will depart from the Safeway parking lot on Old Lee Highway in Fairfax at 11:15 a.m. and will conclude near the on-campus Johnson Center around noon.

-- Dan Steinberg