In March, two days after losing to Virginia Tech in the opening round of the ACC tournament, Hewitt, 47, was fired. He had a 190-162 record at Georgia Tech, but four losing seasons in the last six years, including a 13-18 showing in 2010-11, sealed his fate. He accepted a reported $7.2 million contract buyout, which had five years left.

Hewitt had a 72-104 record in ACC play and was never seeded higher than fourth in the conference tournament. The Yellow Jackets reached the ACC finals twice, but never won. Hewitt took Georgia Tech to the NCAA tournament five times.

Attempts to reach George Mason athletic director Tom O’Connor were unsuccessful.

“We felt like he was the right person to have. He fit all the criteria we were looking for,” O’Connor told the Associated Press. “Paul is an excellent teacher of basketball. He’s a great communicator. He’s done wonderful things in the community. We felt he was the total package.”

After Larranaga, 61, bolted for Miami, O’Connor needed only eight days to find a new coach. Larranaga led George Mason to a 273-164 record in 14 seasons. Larranaga, 61, coached the Patriots to the 2006 NCAA Final Four and a 27-7 mark last season when the school set a record for regular-season victories (25).

Hewitt’s guard-oriented offense and pressure defensive should suit the Patriots’ personnel. George Mason returns all but two players, guards Cameron Long and Isaiah Tate, and will be bolstered by the return of guard Sherrod Wright, out last year with a shoulder injury.

Hewitt also coached at Sienna, going 66-27 in three years. Before that he served as an assistant at Villanova, Fordham, USC and C.W. Post. He played at St. John Fisher College.

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