=== What can Brown do for the Mustangs? ===
 
 By Phil Neuffer, Associate College Basketball Editor
 
 Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It's never too late to go back to school.
 Just ask Larry Brown. It's been more than 20 years since Brown stepped onto a
 college campus to direct a basketball program, but that all changed last week
 when it was announced that Brown would take the reins at Southern Methodist
 University.
 
 Brown is largely remembered for his efforts on the sidelines in the NBA where
 he coached seven different teams in the last 22 years, including stops with the
 New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers.
 
 During his NBA coaching career Brown won 1,098 games, which is currently ranked
 sixth all-time, and he won an NBA Championship in 2004 with Detroit, making him
 the only coach to win titles in both the NCAA and NBA. He was inducted into the
 Basketball Hall of Fame back in 2002.
 
 However Brown got his first head coaching job at the college level. After
 playing for seven seasons in the ABA, Brown took over the top the coaching job
 at Davidson College in 1972, although he never actually coached a game for the
 Wildcats as he took over the Carolina Cougars of the ABA during the off-season
 leading into 1972.
 
 Brown made his first real dive into college basketball as he took one of the
 more prestigious jobs in the country by taking over at UCLA. Brown got off
 to a fast start with the Bruins, leading the team to the 1980 NCAA Championship
 game, resulting in a loss to Louisville. The appearance in the Final Four would
 later be vacated after it was revealed that UCLA had played with ineligible
 players. The following season also earned an NCAA Tournament bid for Brown and
 the Bruins but not nearly the amount of success. Brown then stepped down that
 off-season to take a job coaching in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets.
 
 Brown wouldn't stay away from college for long, taking another big time job
 after spending two seasons leading the Nets. Brown became the head coach for
 the Kansas Jayhawks beginning in 1984 and had a more successful and longer
 tenure in Lawrence than he had in Los Angeles.
 
 In five seasons Brown led the Jayhawks to a 129-44 overall record, made it to
 the NCAA Tournament every year including a pair of Final Four appearances
 culminating in a National Championship at the end of the 1988 season.
 
 It was at Kansas that the widespread influence Brown has had in the current
 coaching landscape really began to take shape. Current Kansas head coach Bill
 Self was a graduate assistant under Brown in Lawrence during the 1985-1986
 season and John Calipari, who just won the 2012 NCAA Championship as head coach
 of Kentucky, also served as an assistant for Brown.
 
 The coaching tree doesn't stop there as several former Kansas players that were
 coached by Brown took on head coaching jobs at the college level, including
 current Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon and Colorado coach Tad Boyle.
 
 "The coaches who have coached with me have been the most loyal and great people
 I could ever imagine and they're doing unbelievable things at great spots,"
 said Brown of his influence on the coaching in college basketball.
 
 Despite his success at Kansas, and in the college ranks in general, Brown
 wouldn't coach in college again after stepping down after the national title
 with Kansas.
 
 Brown will not be taking over such a prestigious program at SMU.The Mustangs
 have had only one winning season since 2003-2004 and have not been to the NCAA
 Tournament since the 1992-1993 season when they were eliminated in the first
 round. Last year's squad finished 13-19, including a 4-12 mark in Conference
 USA which put the Mustangs at second to last in the conference standings.
 
 "I can't promise you wins and losses but I get the feeling if we prepare a lot,
 if we do the right things and coach kids up we're going to be able to put a
 good group on the court that's going to give us a chance to be successful,"
 said
 
 This year's team lost three players from the 2012 squad including forward
 Robert Nyakundi who led the team in points (14.8 pg) and rebounds (4.8 pg).
 
 Although the SMU roster has not yet been set and practices haven't begun Brown
 gave some insight into how he hopes to coach the Mustangs next season during
 his announcement press conference.
 
 "I want to play fast if we're better. I want long athletic kids who can guard.
 I can't play in multiple defenses so we'll play man-to-man," said Brown who
 also joked that he would need to learn to text to adapt to how recruiting has
 changed in his years away from the college game.
 
 The Mustangs will also be a considerably young team with only one senior
 returning, London Giles who finished second on the team in points (10.0) last
 season.
 
 Age might also be a concern for more than just the roster. At 71, Brown will
 be the second oldest coach in NCAA basketball behind 75-year-old Tevester
 Anderson who currently heads the program at Jackson State. Although aware of
 this Brown doesn't seem to be worried about his age being a factor.
 
 "When I look in the mirror I get kind of scared but inside I feel like I could
 do this forever. [Coaching] has been a labor of love for me," said Brown.
 
 Brown will be leading SMU as it makes a move into the Big East next season.
 The Big East is largely considered one of the top basketball conferences in
 the country, despite Syracuse and Pittsburgh moving to the Atlantic Coast
 Conference.
 
 "I don't take this opportunity lightly. I know how important this hire was to
 this university," said Brown of the responsibility he has taken on in trying
 to revamp a program with just four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 44
 years, "The competition [in the Big East] is amazing but walking around this
 campus if we can get a kid to visit here I can't imagine him going anywhere
 else."
 
 Brown has already begun to make his presence felt at SMU, hiring former
 Illinois point guard (200-2004) Jerrence Howard as an assistant coach last week
 while also conducting meetings with individual players, some of whom it has
 been rumored may not remain with the team next season.
 
 
 
 05/03 10:08:28 ET

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