PROVIDENCE — Jim Larranaga is staying at George Mason. Now Providence College’s search for a new basketball coach moves to San Antonio and the Final Four.

After nearly a week courtship, Larranaga turned down an offer to become PC’s new basketball coach. The ex-Friar guard (Class of ’71) informed PC athletic officials of his decision a bit after noon yesterday.

“It’s been an emotional couple of days,” Larranaga said when reached at his home in suburban Virginia. “The biggest thing is I love George Mason, as I have since the day I arrived. I was very flattered that my alma mater was interested in me but what we’ve accomplished at George Mason is very important to me.”

Larranaga kept PC officials in the dark for much of the last three days. He met with school president the Rev. Brian Shanley on Sunday in Washington, D.C., and spent Monday and Tuesday weighing what clearly was a difficult decision to leave Mason. Larranaga is that school’s all-time winningest coach (207-131) and just completed his 11th season as the Patriots’ coach with a spot in the NCAA Tournament, the fourth of his career.

Larranaga’s coaching profile was elevated to a national stature in 2006 when Mason shocked three former national champions — Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut — on the most improbable run to the Final Four in modern history. In response to his negotiations with PC, Mason awarded its 58-year-old coach a three-year contract extension through the year 2015 yesterday.

Larranaga went out of his way to praise the way Father Shanley and athletic director Bob Driscoll handled the negotiations of the last few days. PC was offering a lucrative, long-term deal that included several program enhancements including increased charter aircraft to road games. Larranaga also said the fact that his two sons own homes near his in Virginia played a role in his decision.

“I am so totally impressed with the leadership at Providence College and the way they’ve expressed their interest in me,” he said. “I know they’ll find a great coach and go in the direction that Father Shanley and Bob Driscoll want to go in. I will always faithfully follow the Friars as I have for 37 years.”

Driscoll issued a news release after speaking with Larranaga where he confirmed the coach’s interest and struggles with making the move to the Big East.

“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,” the release read.

Reached later yesterday, Driscoll said he’s planning to travel to San Antonio for this weekend’s Final Four where his search will continue.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches convention is always held during the Final Four and virtually every college head and assistant coach is in attendance.

“I’m not down at all. It’s part of the process,” Driscoll said. “I’m very excited about where we are as a college and what we’re able to do and what we’re able to offer with this position.”

Asked who he’ll contact next, Driscoll said, “I have a very short list of candidates that we’ve kept in contact with. We’ll pick up where we were.”

Who’s next for the Friars? It’s certainly not clear at this point but they’re likely to look at Davidson’s Bob McKillop (who has become wildly popular), UMass’ Travis Ford (LSU’s top target?), Brown’s Craig Robinson, Ohio University’s Tim O’Shea or Arizona assistant Kevin O’Neill.

Gaining interest from some of those candidates won’t be easy. The prime available coaches are now being targeted by schools with openings of their own, namely California, LSU, Marquette and Oklahoma State.

Oregon State and Rice are two other schools who’ll be able to attract strong interest from high-quality coaches.

kmcnamar@projo.com