Hall of fame coach Larry Brown wants to return to coaching and this time he is interested in returning to the college ranks.
The 70-year old Brown last coached in college basketball when he led Danny Manning and the Kansas Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA National Title.
“I was a college coach and did OK,” Brown told Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports on Saturday. “I was a pro coach and did reasonably well.
“Kids want to be in the NBA, and if you can coach and teach and get them ready for the NBA and you’re at a good school, I think you’d have an unbelievable head start on a lot of people. I’ve always tried to get players better, whether as a college coach or a pro coach. Two minutes on the floor on the first day of practice, players know whether you can coach or not.”
Brown parted way with the Charlotte Bobcats in December 2010 after a two-and-a-half season stint as their head coach. Since returning to the NBA in 1988 Brown has coached seven teams, captured the 2004 NBA title with the Detroit Pistons, and coached the 2004 United States Olympic Team.
In seven seasons as a college basketball coach at the University of Kansas and UCLA, Brown compiled a 177-61 record and reached three Final Fours, including a title win at Kansas.
“I don’t want this to sound wrong, but I think I can teach as well as anyone,” Brown said. “I can win games. I can recruit because I know what it takes to get to the next level and I can be honest with these kids. I can’t tell you how many college players I spoke with during my NBA career that I urged to return because they aren’t ready.
“I want to go into a recruit’s home and say, ‘Look, I know you want to be in the NBA and I’ll get you ready. But nothing bad ever came from getting a degree. Let’s have something to fall back on.’“
Leave a Reply