Well, I remember the first "Real Coach", Joe Harrington, who I knew as Lefty Driesell's Assistant from Maryland. (I believe he was the Head Coach at Hofstra before Mason.) I he was tied-in to D.C. area recruiting from his days at Maryland. Then left for Long Beach State (wtf?) and later Colorado.(He was back at Mason visiting a few months ago, right before Larranaga's visit a few months ago.) Then Former Harrington assistant Rick Barnes returned for one year, before he was "poached' as well by Providence after one year. (He want on to Clemson...where he famously almost got into a side-line altercation with Dean Smith...and to to Texas and to Tennessee. He still speaks fondly of this days at Mason, during the 06' Final Four Run and just a few months ago during some interview on a cable show.)
But BEFORE Mason actually signed Barnes, it actually signed North Carolina assistant Roy Williams as its new head coach. No shit. Yeah the same Roy Williams who Mason beat in the Round of thirty-two in it's 06' Final Four Run., and the same Roy Williams who was an on the sidelines of recent ESPN Classics against U.Va with Jim Larranaga as Terry Holland's main assistant at U.Va . But Dean Smith famously talked Roy Williams out of taking taking the Mason job advising him to wait for something better would come along. A year later something did when Williams was signed at Kansas a year later.
So its all "Seven Degree's of Separation" in College Basketball (For example, Mason Athletic Director Marvin Lewis was on Georgia Tech's Final Four squad coached by former Mason coach Paul Hewitt....so its .what the f*ck, what the ever live'n f*ck!....its always "Seven Degrees of Separation")