The Larry Brown Final Four

“This is a nightmare for Roy Williams” — Billy Packer, 9:31 remaining in the first half with the score Kansas 33 UNC 10

“This game…is OVER” — Billy Packer, 7:31 remaining in the first half with the score Kansas 38 UNC 12

LBF4

It would take a blind person less than a nanosecond to recognize the enormous difference in quality between the N&O’s fantastic ACC Now blog and the college basketball blog of the Charlotte Observer. Therefore, typically don’t link to the Charlotte Observer’s “Above The Rim” blog because…well…it’s pretty bad and rarely offers us any value.

But, every now and then we can get surprised. Today the Charlotte Observer originated an interesting set of observations that we will share as a part of our Final Four open entry when David Scott (no surprise that it wasn’t Ken Tysiac) blogged the following:

Larry Brown sure attracted a lot of attention at the Alamodome on Friday. But there was good reason. Brown’s influence has been huge on each of the four programs at the Final Four:

— He played and was an assistant at North Carolina.

— He was coach at UCLA from 1979-81.

— He was coach at Kansas from 1983-88 and took the Jayhawks to the NCAA title in 1988.

— Memphis coach John Calipari was a Brown assistant at Kansas and with the Philadelphia 76ers.

How can we connect Larry Brown to NC State? Take a look back to this coaching search de-brief from two years ago to educate yourself.

Update 5:30pm – Maybe I spoke just a moment too soon by giving the Charlotte Observer some credit for their comments. Click here to see how the New York Times was all over the Larry Brown-angle with significant more quality and quantity. Check out this neat graphic.

Lastly, we would be SFN if we didn’t remind you of the following:

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94 Responses to The Larry Brown Final Four

  1. BoKnowsNCS71 04/05/2008 at 4:04 PM #

    Coach Brown usually did well every where he went. The only gripe is that he never stayed much longer than 5 years at most of those venues. The fact everyone wanted him says a lot. The fact that the grass was always greener at the next job offer is both a flaw and a compliment.

  2. RBCRowdy 04/05/2008 at 4:15 PM #

    I hope he comes back to college next year, a guy like him can only help the quality of basketball being played in the NCAA

  3. RickJ 04/05/2008 at 4:28 PM #

    One of the least known facts about Larry Brown is that his first head coaching job was with Davidson. Amazingly, he only lasted a few months in the position and never actually coached a game at Davidson. The story I always heard was that the Davidson’s admission department turned down every recruit he had lined up to come the next fall.

  4. BJD95 04/05/2008 at 5:54 PM #

    I wish Brown ended his illustrious career at NC State. Sadly, it didn’t happen.

  5. wufpup76 04/05/2008 at 7:22 PM #

    ^Larry Brown – questionable recruits? – NO WAY!

    j/k

    It’s going to be a nightmare championship game for me now either way … I HATE Memphis, HATE Chapel Hill, and really dislike Kansas (I should probably say HATE again) …

    bummer

  6. Wulfpack 04/05/2008 at 7:30 PM #

    ^I really dislike Memphis and Calipari too. Bunch of thugs and sleeze balls. Go Kansas, I guess.

  7. ncsu96 04/05/2008 at 8:02 PM #

    SFN – is it true that Brown called Fowler after it was rumored he told Calipari not to take our job? I can’t remember if I read that here or another site.

    SFN: This rumor was floated by one of our readers in the comments section of the ‘de-brief’ entry that we linked in this entry. They spoke the rumor with extreme confidence. I have no knowledge of those circumstances, so I cannot comment as to their validity. However, the required chronology of that set of behaviors may or may coincide with what we know of the search…and a contact that was extremely close to the search never mentioned this while discussing Brown. By the same token, this could explain the otherwise odd connection of Brown to our search process.

    Here is what we know about the search re: Brown and (I don’t think) ever shared the specifics on the blog – Larry Brown actually flew to Raleigh and took a private meeting with Lee Fowler and some people close to the search at the Carolina Country Club. This meeting took place late during the first week or the second week (a Thursday?) and therefore happened on either April 6th or April 13th. This is important because John Calipari said “no” on Tuesday, April 11th. So, if it happened in the first week of the search then I do not believe the story. If the Brown-Fowler meeting happened on or around the 13th then that rumor could explain the connection.

    Another item that does not support the rumor is that Brown was extremely complimentary of our job and the position and holds the position in very high regard. As we explained on the blog a while back, Brown was very supportive of Sidney Lowe both during this aforemetioned meeting as well as later in our search process.

    This part is going to make you sick — on the same day that Brown met with Fowler & Co met with Brown they also met with UNC-CH Athletics Director, Dick Baddour to get Baddour’s perspective and advice on our search. That’s right. Fowler wanted advice from Baddour since Baddour had recently gone through ‘something similar’ with the coaching search that originally landed the Heels Matt Doherty.

    By the way, Baddour and Brown did not know that they were both meeting with our officials on the same day (for obvious reasons due to the strain between the two).

    I never did figure out any formal connection between Sid and Brown… just the NBA circle? anybody know?

    Anyhow, is there a coach in country that Larry Brown doesn’t have a some kind of connection to?

  8. JeremyH 04/05/2008 at 8:16 PM #

    holy crap is Kansas fast..

  9. xphoenix87 04/05/2008 at 8:22 PM #

    31-10

    It’s like Christmas.

  10. MrPlywood 04/05/2008 at 8:25 PM #

    Dude – did you see PsychoT take a backhanded swing at Aldrich?

  11. BJD95 04/05/2008 at 8:26 PM #

    Wow. This is an old fashioned ass whipping. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’d never believe it was happening.

    I kind of wanted Calipari to knock out the Holes (and pretend he’s really coaching us), but I’ll take it!

  12. BJD95 04/05/2008 at 8:29 PM #

    Packer sticks a fork in the Holes 12 minutes into the game. Wow.

    Tyler and his will really getting abused on the boards. He’ll probably still get votes for Final Four MVP.

  13. Wulfpack 04/05/2008 at 8:29 PM #

    Haha! Choke job! Damn Kansas is freaking good tonight. Didn’t see this coming.

  14. BJD95 04/05/2008 at 8:31 PM #

    Somewhere in San Antonio, Larry Brown is laughing his ass off.

  15. MrPlywood 04/05/2008 at 8:33 PM #

    UNX is looking stoopid. Cryler is getting schooled.

  16. packof81 04/05/2008 at 8:33 PM #

    Carolina is getting stomped. The tarhole fans are staring in slack jawed disbelief.

  17. cowdog 04/05/2008 at 8:34 PM #

    This reminds me of our game over there this year

  18. MrPlywood 04/05/2008 at 8:40 PM #

    Cryler gets the charge, Kansas gets called for the block, then a bogus foul on the last drive. The refs are trying…

  19. BJD95 04/05/2008 at 8:41 PM #

    Holes have shaved a touchdown off the lead. Is it too early for an onsides kick?

  20. ruffles31 04/05/2008 at 8:46 PM #

    Kansas up 40-22 in points and also has 13 fouls to UNC’s 4. Shocking!

  21. MrPlywood 04/05/2008 at 8:50 PM #

    Amazing that T FINALLY gets called for a block… The half couldn’t get here quick enough for Kansas.

  22. cowdog 04/05/2008 at 9:00 PM #

    Kansas had better get their act square at half. Keep working toward the hole. I don’t care if it is just a matter of trading buckets.

    Loose play has let the other guys back in.

    Would love to see the Heels quit but they won’t.

  23. BoKnowsNCS71 04/05/2008 at 9:04 PM #

    Ain’t over till its over but I had KU winning in my bracket pool.

  24. MrPlywood 04/05/2008 at 9:19 PM #

    Tyler extends his arm on shot – foul on Kansas. Kaun extends his arm on Flopsborough, foul on Kansas. I am so tired of his act.

  25. GoldenChain 04/05/2008 at 9:23 PM #

    Large early leads almost never hold up…….unless its one of State’s opponents.

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