Conference USA Basketball

You can call off the initial hype that followed reports that Larry Brown would be the next head coach at SMU—at least for now. 

The Associated Press reports that SMU has not officially offered the job to Larry Brown, according to the legendary coach himself. 

The report issues that Brown has had contact with athletic director Steve Orsini, but he is waiting for his long-time agent Joe Glass to further discuss any job offer. 

Brown stated: 

They haven't offered me the job, I haven't accepted the job, and I would never do it without Joe's blessing. I think before anything happens, Steve would probably have to have his blessing from his president. That's where we are.

The Hall of Fame coach remains the only man to have lead a team to an NBA championship and NCAA title. 

Brown last coached in the college ranks from 1983-1988 with the Kansas Jayhawks—a tenure that culminated with a title in '88. He then embarked on a long tour through the NBA with various teams, winning a title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. His last stop was with the Charlotte Bobcats that ended in December 2010 after the team started 9-19.

There is no doubt that Brown wants to step back into the coaching ranks, and he said as much: "My desire is to get back in coaching, and I have a lot of respect for this school."

Those are powerful words, especially for SMU supporters who are hoping that their next step into the Big East is a successful one. 

Brown has the prestige to recruit big-time players and the mind to make it all worth their while on the court. If this deal does get done, SMU will indeed have a promising future ahead of them. 

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Larry Brown coached championship teams in both college and the NBA, won nearly 75 percent of the college games he coached and earned a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Despite those impressive accolades, he won't be able to turn the SMU basketball program around.

Update: Wednesday, March 18 at 4:15 p.m. ET

The Associated Press reports a deal hasn't been reached between Brown and SMU, but the coach said his agent is expected to have further conversations with the school after Brown talked with Orsini more than once since Monday.

Update: Thursday, March 19 at 3:40 p.m. ET

Brown has officially been named the SMU head coach, according to Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News.

After expressing his interest in the job, Brown waited while athletic director Steve Orsini sought out other options, all of whom decided against assuming the new Mustangs job. Even though Brown wasn't a terrible fallback option, he doesn't have what it takes to run a college team anymore.

Being a college basketball coach, a position Brown hasn't held in more than two decades, tends to take a heavy toll on somebody. Between recruiting trips, practices, games and all the miscellaneous events, it's a never-ending cycle of activity.

That's a lot to ask of a 71-year-old coach. He obviously had the itch to get back into the mix, but you have to wonder if he understands exactly what he's getting himself into.

The college game has changed a lot since he was leading Kansas to a national title in 1988. Rebuilding a team that won just four conference games last season will take a Herculean effort, which is why bigger names didn't have interest in taking on the task.

Brown doesn't have as much pull as he once did with potential recruits, either. The players he will be trying to land weren't even alive when Brown was making his way up the coaching ranks at Kansas. And his final few seasons in the NBA weren't exactly memorable.

Whether you look at John Calipari from national champion Kentucky or a rising star like Shaka Smart of VCU, the coaches having a lot of success right now are those who can excite recruits and give them reason to play for their team. That's not Brown's style.

Things won't be getting any easier with SMU's move to the Big East. If the Mustangs couldn't remain competitive in Conference USA, it's hard to imagine Brown having a big enough impact for them to become a threat in one of the nation's premier conferences.

Brown will hold down the fort and make the team more fundamentally strong, but it takes a whole lot more than that to build a successful college basketball team.

If SMU will be content with mediocrity—which would actually be a minor improvement—Brown should provide it. Just don't expect him to turn the program into a powerhouse.

SMU has reportedly offered Larry Brown the vacant SMU head coaching position and the legendary coach has accepted, according to Dallas Morning News' Kate Hairopoulos.

"Larry Brown and SMU have reached an agreement for the 71-year-old Hall of Famer to become the school's new men's basketball coach, a source said Thursday afternoon.

Brown confirmed the news.

'I'm thrilled that they think enough of me to put me in this position,' he said when reached by SportsDay's Brad Townsend. 'I realize how important this hire is, going into the Big East. But it's a thrill. I always thought of myself as a college coach. Now this gives me a chance to get back where I started.'

The official agreement finally ends days of negotiations between the parties and a brutal five-week coaching search for SMU."

Update: Wednesday, April 18th at 4:11 p.m. EST

Larry Brown apparently isn't the head coach at SMU just yet. According to Sports Illustrated, Brown hasn't even received an offer yet.

Larry Brown says he has not been offered the job at SMU on.si.com/I5iF1m

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 18, 2012

The lack of an official deal doesn't mean that a deal is not in the works or that Brown isn't the favorite to land the job, but it suggests initial reports by ESPNDallas were premature.

Initial Update:

Southern Methodist University could soon have a new men's basketball coach on its hands.

According to a tweet by ESPNDallas, Hall of Famer Larry Brown will be the next Mustangs coach:

RT @ESPNDallas: BREAKING: Hall of Famer Larry Brown, 71, agrees to become next #SMU men's basketball coach.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) April 17, 2012

Brown, who interviewed for the position on Sunday, has gone on record in recent years saying he wants to return to the college coaching game. In his last NCAA coaching gig in 1988, he led Kansas to a national championship before leaving for the NBA.

Brown also won a title at the professional level as the head coach of the Pistons in 2004.

The Mustangs are in search of a coach after firing Matt Doherty in March after six seasons at the helm. They need someone with the pedigree to take them to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1993 and to help them prepare for a move to the Big East conference in 2013. 

This is Larry Brown's MO.

He takes a job, gets the team to overachieve, because after all—he is a hell of a coach. Then just as the program or organization gains momentum, he checks out.

It's genuinely because he doesn't relate well to young players.

Hey, I've got a great idea, let's let Larry the nomad go coach on the collegiate level again. That's an awesome way to get him away from those youngsters.

I understand the lure of possibly hiring a hall-of-fame head coach. I especially get it when you're talking about a program that many didn't even know competed outside of helmets.

Still—I strongly caution SMU and their fan base, all 100 of them—when getting excited about this potential hire.

Larry Brown doesn't leave programs or organizations in better shape after he's gone.

Seeing as though you'll likely only get two years out of him tops—is it really worth it?

First off, he's 71 years old. Even the healthiest coach at that age doesn't figure to be in for the long grind of a college basketball season for an extended period.

That would be the case, even if we weren't talking about Brown, who has had 10 coaching positions over the last 30 years.

The longest he has stayed at any of those jobs was six years with the Philadelphia 76ers. Brown has had success just about everywhere he's ever coached. That is evidenced by his tremendous combined NBA and collegiate coaching record of 2515-1388. 

There is no question what Brown will do on the sidelines; the question is what will SMU do when Brown leaves?

In the year after Brown departs, teams without stellar talent have struggled mightily, and Brown leaves no lifeline when he exits.

The L.A. Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers were a combined 60-114 the year after Brown departed. We can all see what's happening to the Charlotte Bobcats, whom Brown coached for a little over two seasons, ending in 2010-11.

All three of these teams thrived because of Brown's system and attention to defense, as none of them had proven stars.

The same thing will happen with SMU, as they aren't likely to recruit players like Shabazz Muhammad or Nerlens Noel anytime soon. The Mustangs will overachieve, but what happens when he leaves?

They'll return to the doldrums and obscurity their program is in currently. SMU is a combined 44-50 over the past three seasons, and they are desperately looking for a spark.

The Mustangs would be better off hiring a young coach that can grow with the program. Brown will only tease them with success, and by the time anyone gets to enjoy it, he'll have moved on.

It's true, Brown hasn't coached in the collegiate ranks for 24 years—maybe things will be different.

If I were making the decision, I wouldn't bet on that being the case. Here's to a 18-win season in 2012-13, just missing the NCAA tournament, followed by a surprising 20-win season in 2013-14 with a tournament berth.

Fired up, right?

April 2014 headline reads: Brown steps down at SMU. 

What's the point? 

SMU should steer clear of Brown.

Longtime basketball coach Larry Brown apparently isn't ready to enjoy retirement quite yet. He has both NBA and NCAA championships under his belt and has now turned his focus to the head coaching job at Southern Methodist University.

Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News reports Brown has shown interest in the SMU job, but there haven't been any signs yet that the program will bring him in. The school wants to bring in a high-profile coach before moving to the Big East in 2013.

Brown has made 13 stops during his coaching career, with the Charlotte Bobcats being the most recent in 2010. He led Kansas to a national title in 1988, which earned him Coach of the Year honors. His NBA championship came while coaching the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

The report states SMU was attempting to land Marquette coach Buzz Williams, who had another successful year with the Golden Eagles, but he wasn't interested in changing jobs. That could open the door for Brown to be considered.

Southern Methodist will struggle to find a coach with a more impressive résumé than Brown. Including his time as a player, he has been involved in the game at either the college or professional level for more than 50 years.

There are legitimate questions about whether the game has passed the 71-year-old coach by, however. Today's college stars are a lot different than when he was leading the Jayhawks, and the media pressure has also increased.

Having been out of the spotlight for a couple years will also hurt his power to attract recruits. Prospects will have a hard time remembering his title run with the Pistons and weren't even alive when Brown's Jayhawks cut down the nets.

Throwing his hat into the ring can't hurt, though. He clearly wants to be involved in the sport once again, and if SMU isn't able to find another viable candidate, Brown is a solid backup plan.

In what can be best described as a surprise that very few saw coming, UAB Athletic Director Brian Mackin has hired Jerod Haase to replace Mike Davis.

Davis was fired on March 16 after six seasons that included three NIT appearances, one NCAA appearance and a Conference USA regular season championship. The Blazers finished with a disappointing 15-16 record (9-7 in Conference USA) this past season.

A few days ago I wrote an article of potential replacement candidates thinking that Mackin would go after either assistant coaches with ties to the Birmingham, Alabama area, big name assistant coaches, those with ties to the university or Division II head coaches at Alabama schools who possess impressive resumes.

Haase is not on that list. However, it does make sense of why he was hired.

He has been mentored and groomed by one of the best, Roy Williams. In fact, Haase spent 10 years coaching as an assistant on Williams' staffs at both UNC and Kansas. He even played three seasons for Williams at Kansas.

That is why Haase's hiring at UAB is kind of similar to Josh Pastner being selected to replace John Calipari at Memphis. Pastner both played for and coached under the legendary Lute Olson.

Pastner basically picked up where Calipari left off and kept the Tigers as a dominate team in Conference USA.

UAB is likely hoping to become what the Memphis Tigers (who are headed to the Big East) have been in the Conference USA for years, a constant top team and repeated conference championship winners. The upcoming Conference USA and Mountain West merger will be a perfect test.

To take your program to that highest level, Mackin needed a guy with Haase's experience and leadership ability. Plus, like Pastner, he is young (37). I suggested Orlando Antigua and Richard Pitino partly for those reasons. The other reason is name recognition that can draw fans back in.

Prior to his hiring at UAB, Haase coached the UNC Tar Heels junior varsity basketball team for three years.

Sportswriters like me usually start salivating this time of year, hoping an underdog emerges as a Cinderella to juice our cliche-filled stories. I'd like to point out two teams with the potential of cracking the Sweet 16 to have on your radar.

A birth into the Sweet 16 means winning two games in the NCAA Tournament, no easy task. A team needs to be able to perform on its biggest stage of the season. I'd like to argue that these teams have what it takes to win in the NCAA Tournament at least twice.

(8) Memphis Tigers

The Memphis Tigers are on an extraordinary roll, having won seven in a row, including three games in the C-USA Tournament, where the Tigers' margin of victory averaged 25 points.

Sophomore forward Will Barton's play has been exceptional down the stretch, as he was motivated to improve after being cut from the Naismith Award watch. Barton leads the Tigers, averaging 18.1 points and eight rebounds per game.

The Tigers will see St. Louis in the first round, who are making their first tournament appearance since 2000. The Tigers have been in this tournament five out of the past six seasons, and are poised to make another deep run.

Along with Barton are Memphis natives Joe Jackson and Tarik Black, whose steady improvement through a season which saw some rocky times has helped jolt the Tigers into their current winning streak. After coming off the bench during a stretch in the season, Jackson is back in the starting lineup and leads the team in assists and is second in scoring (11.1 points, 3.8 assists per game).

To get to the Sweet 16, the Tigers will need to defeat the No. 1 seed Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans are led by big man Draymond Green, who is averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.

The Tigers' Tarik Black is listed at 6'8" and 243 pounds, and he sizes up well against Green, who stands at 6'7" and weighs 230 pounds.

Don't be too shocked if the Tigers become a surprise team to sneak into the Sweet 16.

(14) Belmont Bruins

The Bruins enter the Tournament with an 0-4 record, having lost in the first round from 2006 to 2008, and again last season. Belmont has a deep team with experienced players who are ready to help their school get over the hump and win in the NCAA Tournament.

Belmont is on a tear. They have won 14 games in a row and they won their six road games by a margin of 18.5 points per game. In other words, they are ready to face some adversity.

The Bruins have four players averaging double-digit points and a fifth averaging 9.8 points per game. The team's leading assist man and scorer is junior Kerron Johnson, who averages 14.1 points and 5.2 assists per game. Johnson can pressure the underachieving Georgetown guards to create a miss-match.

After starting 13-1, the Georgetown Hoyas have struggled down the stretch and are only 10-7 in their last 17 games. They are susceptible to an upset. If Belmont is able to take down the No. 3 seed Georgetown, their road to the Sweet 16 may not be so tough.

The next round would be determined by the winner of (6) San Diego State vs. (11) NC State. With Belmont streaking, it would be hard to expect either of those teams to stop them.

Memphis basketball coach Josh Pastner greeted a few fans, boosters, reporters and well-wishers, among others, during Sunday afternoon’s watch party at the Tournament Player’s Club at Southwind, where the Tigers gathered to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

One by one, his players filled in the front row of chairs in the clubhouse’s main room to get a sneak peak of their first-round opponent and site in this week’s NCAA tournament.

Then came the much-aniticipated announcement the 200-or-so witnesses were eagerly waiting for, the one that, given Pastner’s reactions when speaking with reporters, could very well serve as bulletin board material for the Tigers.

The Tigers (26-8), despite a late-season surge in which they won the Conference USA regular season title, breezed through the conference tournament and claimed their second straight C-USA championship, and won 20 of their last 23 games, was given a No. 8 seed and will face ninth-seeded St. Louis (25-7) on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

The winner of the Tigers-Billikens game will face the winner of No. 16-seed Long Island University-Brooklyn and top-seeded Michigan State in Sunday’s second round.

For the Tigers, who earned their second consecutive automatic berth to the NCAA tournament since Pastner replaced his former boss, current Kentucky coach John Calipari, at Memphis in 2008, Sunday's news of acquiring a lower-than-expected seed left what initially was a festive bunch of Tigers with mixed feelings and sense of disbelief by the time they addressed the media.

Sophomore swingman Will Barton, the C-USA Player of the Year and the team’s leading scorer, went as far as to describe the seeding a “slap in the face.”

“We felt like we played our butts off the last couple of games,” Barton said. “But you can’t go back and ask for a No. 5 seed or a No. 4 seed. “I was shocked. When they was about to say No. 8 seed, I thought they were about to say somebody else.”

While many of the Tigers expressed their displeasure over the low seeding, it appears the selection committee took into account not Memphis’ body of work leading to Selection Sunday, but rather its early-season slate of games, particularly against teams ranked in the top 25.  

For instance, the Tigers, who were ranked as high as No. 9 in the country in most preseason polls, went 1-6 against top 25 opponents, including losing twice to Georgetown, whose strength of schedule is 14, according to cbssports.com.

Conversely, Memphis, whose strength of schedule improved from as low as 49 near the halfway point of the season to 20 over the past week, made a strong case for securing a higher seed with key wins over Xavier, Belmont, and Southern Miss, all of whom made the field of 68.

Still, Pastner, exhibiting his usual slight smirk while taking questions from reporters, found it somewhat difficult to embrace the “No. 8” that flashed next to Memphis on the 40-inch flat-screen television mounted to the wall a few feet from where his players sat.

“We are going in as the underdog,” Pastner said. “We have that underdog mentality, and in order for us to earn our respect, we’re going to have to win. I definitely felt like we should have gotten a five seed. We’re definitely going in with a chip on our shoulder.”

Barton was quick to echo Pastner’s fearless disclosure. Considering he feels the Tigers’ recent success has been overlooked, he believes displaying a sense swagger heading into the Big Dance is inevitable.

“What I got planned, I don’t care if the game is played in Athens (Greece),” Barton said. “People are sleeping on us, but that’s a part of the business. Sometimes you’re popular, and sometimes you’re not.”

Win a couple of games this weekend, including a potential second-round, 2008 Sweet 16 rematch against Michigan State, and chances are the Tigers could earn the respect they discovered was nonexistent Sunday when No. 8 appeared next to Memphis.

But first thing’s first, a date with a St. Louis team led by veteran coach Rick Majerus.

“We’ve got to win the first game first,” Pastner said.

Chip on their shoulders and all.

Sportswriter Andre Johnson is a frequent contributor for the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper and Memphis Sport Magazine. To reach him, call 901-690-6587. You can also connect with him via Facebook under "Andre T. Johnson," or follow him at Twitter at www.twitter.com/@AJ_Journalist.