When Brad Underwood moved from the men's basketball coach of Oklahoma State to Illinois, the subject of Bob Huggins' coaching "tree" surfaced.
Underwood was an assistant of Huggins. Same with Division I head coaches Mick Cronin (Cincinnati) and Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss). Darris Nichols is an assistant at Florida. John Loyer coached the Detroit Pistons. And don't forget Jerrod Calhoun, who is leading Division II Fairmont State University into the Elite Eight on Wednesday with a 32-2 record.
But there are other "trees" rooted in West Virginia. And one of the most impressive is planted smack dab in Charleston.
It is that of ex-Marshall and University of Charleston coach Greg White.
Puzzled? From a man that hasn't coached in seven years?
The answer is yes. And the "tree" is most notable.
There's Gregg Marshall, who was with White at MU from 1996-98. All he's done is lead Wichita State to national prominence and himself to a $3.3 million annual payday. The Shockers lost a 65-62 nailbiter to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament, but finished 31-5.
There's Kevin Keatts. All he's done is land a $13 million deal over six years to coach North Carolina State after Mark Gottfried's firing. Keatts made a name for himself at Hargrave Military Academy before joining Rick Pitino's staff at Louisville.
You might have seen John Brannen on TV the other night. He was coaching Northern Kentucky, which in turn was scaring the heck out of Kentucky in the NCAA tournament before falling 79-70. The Norse, which also played WVU this season, finished 24-11 and won the Horizon League tournament.
Remember ex-UC coach Mark Downey? He's now with the Fort Wayne Mastodons, which stunned then-No. 3 Indiana early in the year. The team also scared Arkansas and finished 20-12 as a member of the Summit League.
Jeff Boals, who assisted White both at Marshall and UC before moving to Ohio State, is now the head coach at Stony Brook, which finished 18-14 as a member of the Division I America East Conference.
Jeff Burkhamer, now the head coach at West Florida of the Division II Gulf South Conference, turned around a 7-21 program to this season's 20-9 record.
And there are others, including West Virginia State's Bryan Poore, who, admittedly, had a rough season. There's Shawn Finney, who is now an assistant at Manhattan. Also, there's Steve Snell, now an assistant at the University of Denver, which finished 16-14.
"I had a very simple philosophy when coaching," White said on Monday. "I wanted to get two years out of an assistant. But I always wanted assistants with big goals. I wanted guys that wanted to be head coaches.
"I think I was pretty successful finding them. Coach Keatts gave me two years and moved on. Gregg Marshall was a very successful assistant at the College of Charleston. When I got the Marshall job, I asked him on the interview why he was still there. I said, 'You should be a head coach.' I told him to come with me and in two years he'd be a head coach. That's what happened.
"Coach Boals was with me five years at two different places. John Brannen played for me. And you hope you give them something to take with them. I was never a guy who wanted an assistant that wanted to stay with me my whole career. Coach Poore wanted to be a head coach. Mark Downey had high ambitions. He was my team captain and then was on my staff at Marshall. I have no doubt he'll be a head coach at a Division I level."
White said there's no clear-cut path to coaching success. Keatts took over at Hargrave, which provided the lifeblood - recruits - to schools before moving to Louisville.
White was simply always on the lookout for more talented assistants.
"I had a rule," White said. "On an assistant's last day I would say, 'Listen, we're having one more meeting and I want you to give me three names of other assistants you think I should hire.' I'd bring them in in addition to the ones I was already bringing in."
These days, White is a motivational speaker and owner of several companies. He's still active in basketball via his association with Big Shots hoops.
It's been quite a path. White broke into the profession at age 23 with now-Oregon coach Dana Altman. ("An incredible, incredible experience," White said.). He worked for Bob Zuffelato at Marshall and Jim Harrick at UCLA.
And his advice to young coaches?
"You have to know people," White said. "You have to be in the right place at the right time. You have to know how to interview and put together data."
He then pointed to WVU coach Bob Huggins.
"Not only does he have a great personality, but great interpersonal skills," White said. "He gets along with the janitor as well as the school president. All the guys we've mentioned have that same trait.
"Oh, and you have to move. John Beilein [at Michigan] is a perfect example. You have to get stops on your resume. The days of Dean Smith going to one school and staying 25 years are over."
The Greg White coaching tree, however, continues.