I'm Stunned...I'm Pissed...It's Larry Brown

by srr50 on Apr 17, 2025 5:49 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns and Other Basketball

Larry Brown, the only coach to win both an NBA and NCAA basketball Championship is the new basketball coach at SMU.

The over/under on Brown's stay on Mockingbird Lane is 3 years.

Brown, 71, has not coached since 2010, when he resigned from the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. SMU is his 14^th head coaching position, 10 with NBA teams and 4 college stops (Davidson, UCLA, Kansas, SMU). He never coached a game at Davidson, taking the job in the summer of 1972 and then leaving for the Carolina Cougars of the ABA.

Brown hasn't coached in the college ranks since 1988, and has no real ties to Texas High School or AAU programs, but he is expected to bring along a high-powered staff, including current Illinois State Head Coach (and former UT assistant) Tim Jankovich as a head coach-in-waiting.

Jankovich is out of the same nomadic mold as Brown, having served as an assistant at 9 different schools, including Texas under Bob Weltlich, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Jankovich has also been the head coach at North Texas.

Jankovich spent 7 years working for Kansas Coach Bill Self, who was a graduate assistant for Brown with the Jayhawks.

Jerrance Howard, a former player and assistant coach at Illinois is expected to also join the staff. Howard is considered to to one of the best collegiate recruiters around. Rod Strickland, who has spent the past two years as an administrative assistant with John Calipari at Kentucky is also expected to join Brown at SMU. Calipari is also part of the Brown coaching tree, having been a graduate assistant at Kansas.

Naming a coach-in-waiting would seem mandatory for Brown and SMU since he is 71 and has averaged less than 4 years at any coaching stop during his 50 years in basketball.

Maybe the allure of playing in the Big East for Brown will help recruiting, and the Mustangs need all the help they can get. Brown replaces another former North Carolina basketball star, Matt Doherty, who was fired after six seasons as coach. He produced just one winning season and never finished higher than 7th in Conference USA.

In fact, the last time SMU even reached the NCAA tournament was in 1993, and Dave Bliss was their coach the last time they won an NCAA tournament game (1988).

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Comments

WTF is this

Whatever. He’ll work the AAU networks, that’s for sure.

by Scipio Tex on Apr 17, 2025 6:19 PM CDT reply actions

Odd

That they would announce a backup coach at the same time they hired the new coach.

Then again it is Larry Brown, he makes Bill Parcels look like Eddie Robinson.

by texitect on Apr 17, 2025 6:37 PM CDT reply actions

They had to

Every recruit they talked to would be told by every other recruiter that Brown would’t be around long enough to see the kid through school — even if he is a one and done.

by srr50 on Apr 17, 2025 7:11 PM CDT up reply actions

they probably say this already

regarding Calipari and every football defensive coordinator UT has on staff.

by mdhorn on Apr 17, 2025 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, but Calipari considers it a recruiting advantage.

by srr50 on Apr 17, 2025 7:35 PM CDT up reply actions

a little late

for April Fools. Seriously, wtf. Is he going to institute a Pat Reilyesque strength training program to punish fools coming down the lane?

by mdhorn on Apr 17, 2025 7:24 PM CDT reply actions

Not so fast, my friend?

The plum job at Saginaw Valley State University is open and a national search is underway. You know Larry Brown will be tempted to interview.

Not germane to the topic, but here’s a recent video interview with football recruit Vonn Bell for anyone interested.

by Saul! on Apr 17, 2025 7:35 PM CDT reply actions

As an alumn, I like this

Sure, it’s probably a side show…but we’re talking about SMU basketball. The possibility that this might lead to success far outweighs any potential embarrassment.

by Amen Amachigh on Apr 17, 2025 11:28 PM CDT via Android app reply actions

Keeping Brown is not the important......

….. aspect of this hire. Keeping the majority of that staff at SMU will pay big dividends. This was a smart move. It is not as if they will have to play in a AQ conference. Given their position, SMU has implemented a smart, well designed plan.

--- All roads to the Big-XII Championship lead through OU/RRS. It's not just another game! We're all about championships here. ---

by HornChamps on Apr 18, 2025 6:08 AM CDT reply actions

What other option did SMU have

I’m no SMU fan, but I don’t see any other option they had in trying to get relevant in basketball. They offered the job to just about every Tom, Dick, and Harry out there with a breath, and got rejected more than Pee Wee Herman looking for a hot date with Salma Hayek.

The best thing for SMU to me is the staff Brown’s putting in place. He’ll be on the hilltop three years maximum, but if they can keep that staff together, and if they have any success at all just recruiting the Metroplex, they can become a player in the Big (L)east. Brown’s just the public face everybody’s seeing now.

"I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead." (Jimmy Buffett)

by coolhorn on Apr 18, 2025 7:31 AM CDT reply actions

I think you're right

If you can lock down the Metroplex second tier players, you can definitely build a team that can go to the Dance.

by Scipio Tex on Apr 18, 2025 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions

Speaking of Brown and Calipari

Calipari probably would never have taken the Memphis job without some encouragement from Brown. Calipari was working as an assistant to Brown with the 76ers when Memphis approached him. The Memphis program was in the crapper in the late 90s and Cal wasn’t planning to talk to them. However, Brown, who had interviewed with Memphis for a previous opening, told Calipari he should give it serious consideration.

Would Calipari have gotten a shot at Kentucky without his run at Memphis? Perhaps. With World Wide Wes, anything is possible.

by Cirque Du Salado on Apr 18, 2025 7:39 AM CDT reply actions