Retirement didn't suit Brown, but coaching SMU did
1. Retirement didn't suit Brown, but coaching SMU did
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Larry Brown, 74, was swiftly directing SMU's drills Wednesday in preparation for
the NCAA Tournament when an errant pass careened onto the arena court.
Brown, the only coach in history to win both an NCAA and NBA title, smoothly snagged the ball and
flipped it back to the passer, a reminder he had played a pretty mean point guard for North Carolina
in the early 1960s.
Brown's reaction also offered one more example why three years ago he decided sitting still simply
wasn't for him. Now, his sixth-seeded Mustangs, in the NCAA postseason for the first time since
1993, face 11th-seeded UCLA at 2:10 p.m. Thursday as part of the South Regional.
"I just want to be able to let people hear the things that I was taught," Brown said of why he
returned to the game after a two-year hiatus. "I didn't handle retirement very well."
Been there, done that
SMU served as the benefactor when Brown accepted the job in 2012, after he'd retired from the
NBA in 2010. The Mustangs narrowly missed out on March Madness a year ago before guaranteeing
themselves a slot this season with an American Athletic Conference tournament championship. SMU
(27-6) also captured the league's regular-season title.
"He's a Hall of Famer, and for him to still be doing this at this point in his life is amazing," UCLA
coach Steve Alford said. "It doesn't matter what team he coaches. You know he's going to do it at a
championship level."
Brown, whose lone stop in the Lone Star State before SMU was with the San Antonio Spurs from
1988-92, led Kansas and star Danny Manning to a national title in 1988. Sixteen years later, his
Detroit Pistons earned an NBA crown.
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Along the way, the basketball nomad has coached a record nine NBA teams, with his college stops
including UCLA, Kansas and SMU.
Mustangs senior guard Ryan Manuel, a former Fort Bend Austin standout, remembers being "happy"
when learning Brown was tabbed to replace the fired Matt Doherty.
"Before he was hired, I wasn't even sure I was going to stay at SMU," Manuel said. "But I knew
2. coach Brown, just from watching old (NBA) playoff games, that he'd coached Allen Iverson and
things like that."
UCLA among his stops
Considering Brown last led a program to the NCAA Tournament 27 years ago, he was in a reflective
mood Wednesday before leading his charges onto the KFC Yum! court for practice.
"I never felt comfortable calling myself 'coach' at UCLA," Brown said of leading the Bruins from
1979-81, only four years removed from the retirement of the fabled John Wooden when he took the
job. "I realize what kind of program it is, and to think that SMU is playing on this stage against
UCLA after only our third year is something we're all proud of."
SMU stands five seeds higher than UCLA, a remarkable turnaround for a program that played in
only 10 NCAA Tournaments from 1939-93.
Detail-oriented
"In terms of the small details, he's the best I've ever been around," said Iowa State coach Fred
Hoiberg, who played for Brown with the Indiana Pacers in the mid-1990s. "Most NBA head coaches
don't (drill the players) before games, but he'd be out there in a suit putting me through a workout.
His passion is teaching the game.
"I don't know if he likes the (actual) games so much, but the practice time and the individual work is
so much fun for him. It was great to be a part of that."
A new generation now knows the feeling as players have heard what he Hoiberg was taught.
"He's helped changed our basketball program, and he's changed the (basketball) culture around
Dallas," Manuel said. "It has been a big step for our program and our university."
brent.zwerneman@chron.com
twitter.com/brentzwerneman
