Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown to take over at SMU - NBA Update
Southern Methodist Mustangs (SMU) will now be coached by Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown it has emerged. The 71 year old who last coached the Charlotte Bobcats in NBA will coach a college basketball team after a gap of 25 years.
Commenting upon the opportunity, Brown said in a statement released by the university;
“I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to coach at SMU," Brown said. "I've built so many relationships in the basketball world and my success has been due to the coaches I've played for and the players I've coached. ... I always
thought of myself as a college coach and this gives me a wonderful chance to get back where I started."
Brown has been off the coaching scene since 2010. He was hired by Bobcats owner Michael Jordan in 2008 and led the young team into the playoffs for the first time in its history. However, with time, he grew wary of Jordan’s penchant
of making trade, which ultimately saw all the experienced player departing and leaving Brown a young lot, which just could not follow his offensive precision mentality. Although the contract was till 2012, but Brown resigned on 22 December, 2010 making way
for present coach Paul Silas.
He is the only coach in the history of basketball to win both NBA and NCAA titles. He started his professional coaching career in 1972 with Davidson College in North Carolina. He went onto to coach Carolina Cougars and Denver Nuggets,
who joined NBA in 1976.
It was during his tenure (1983-88) with University Of Kansas when he was named as “Coach of the Year” for NCAA and “Coach of the Year” for the Big Eight Conference.
Kentucky coach John Calipari, Brown’s former colleague and assistant coach at Kansas showed his full confidence in Browns ability and graded him as a man with unmatched abilities.
"We're talking about a Hall of Fame coach that's won both an NCAA and NBA championship and is the only coach to ever do so," said John Calipari. "He's been a friend and mentor for years and I look forward to watching him take SMU
to new heights."
He stayed with Kansas till 1989 and then moved back to NBA. He went onto coach San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. It was with Philadelphia, when he
was named as the coach of the year.
He also holds the record of being the only person to coach 2 franchises San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers in the same 1991-92 NBA season. Brown won 1,275 games in his career which also saw him lose 965. He was enlisted
in Basket Ball Hall of Fame in 2002.
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