According to some historians, the late, great X and O whiz Confucius was the first to observe: "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."
So what does the wisdom of an ancient Chinese man have to do with new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball coach Lamont Paris, the former seven-year Wisconsin Badgers assistant?
Just this: By his own words during Tuesday's introductory news conference, Paris's best sport during youth in Findlay, Ohio, wasn't basketball. Nor was it his only sport.
"I played football at 145 pounds," he said. "My best sport was probably baseball. I was a shortstop and second baseman. I was invited to work out for both the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks, but ..."
But this, and only this: "If you love basketball, you love basketball. And I've always loved basketball."
It shows. Returning to his playing days at Division III College of Wooster (Ohio), Paris broke into a smile as he recalled when he was a senior and current Texas coach Shaka Smart was a freshman at fellow Division III power Kenyon.
For those who love small-world stories, Smart first tasted national coaching fame at Virginia Commonwealth, where one of his top assistants became Will Wade, who, of course, became the UTC coach in the spring of 2013 before returning to VCU as its head coach in the spring of 2015.
Now one of Smart's college rivals (and friends) is following in the footsteps of Wade.
Another small-world story: After graduating from Wooster, Paris landed an assistant's gig at fellow Division III member DePauw in Greencastle, Ind. One of his Tigers players was Brad Stevens, whom some of you may recognize as the cagey and crafty coach of the Boston Celtics.
"Great teammate," Paris saidi of Stevens. "Great mind."
The great mind of UTC athletic director David Blackburn made the near-instant decision to set up a job interview with the 43-year-old Paris last week after Wade successor Matt McCall announced he was leaving the Mocs to take a similar job at Massachusetts.
Remembering how he passed on Paris two years earlier when McCall got the gig, Blackburn said, "You've got to stay ready (for change). Not get ready. We were ready."
There is a strong sense judging from social media posts that Moc Maniacs are ready to end the two-and-done reigns of Wade and McCall. Said Paris of that dynamic, no doubt aware of his new fan base's concern for continually starting over: "I'm not a fly-by-night guy."
No, what he appears to be is a fellow who's old for his age. And calm. And bright. It would not be unfair, at least by demeanor, to compare him to the Celtics' Stevens, even if Paris says of his NBA preferences during his youth: "I was a Lakers guy. I was a Magic (Johnson) guy."
Yet the Wisconsin program he served so well - the program that averaged 27 wins during his time there, the program that reached six Sweet 16s in seven seasons (including this one just ended) and two Final Fours - much more closely mirrored those Larry Bird/Kevin McHale/Dennis Johnson Celtics than the Showtime Lakers.
The Badgers have defined efficient offense and stingy defense. They valued good shooting and dominant board work. No detailed description of them these past seven years ever has excluded the words "strong fundamentals."
And so Paris intends it to be with the Mocs.
"I want to be efficient on offense," he said. "The better teams you play (come tourney time), finding a good shot is going to take a little more work. Defensively, I want to be tough. I want to be disciplined. You have to be disciplined to be a good unit (on defense). It's not one-on-one. You play as a unit."
This is the coach in him, and that side is mature and sound and impressive.
But there also remains the kid in him, the guy who flashes back to his youth league baseball days and answers a question about how good his teams were this way: "I don't remember what all we won, but I remember that when we won we all got ice cream at the Jolly Dipper."
The Celtics taking on Paris's beloved world champion Cleveland Cavaliers, someone asked if Stevens currently runs anything that Paris taught him all those years ago at DePauw.
"If it's working," he said with a big grin, "I did."
If next March with Paris is as entertaining as this April with Paris, that fly-by-night dismissal might be put to the test much sooner than anyone wants to imagine.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.