Larry Brown is serious about coaching high school basketball.

The Hall of Fame coach, the only man to win NBA and NCAA championships and the winner of nearly 1800 total games in his 45-year career on the bench, may do the one thing he always wanted to do. Coach high school in a mostly empty gym.

Brown, who played for and coached under Dean Smith at UNC, had much the same philosophy of his mentor. Teaching kids the right way to play basketball. As the money increased and the pressure made winning paramount, Brown always fashioned himself as a teacher more than a coach. And now, at 76, he may get his first wish.

Brown left three college programs on probation for breaking or ignoring NCAA rules that he thought were ridiculous. He always said that if a kid needed help in his personal life, whether clothes at UCLA, a plane ticket home at Kansas or a grade to stay eligible at SMU, Brown either made it happen or turned his head.

Now a wealthy retiree, Brown has talked to officials at East Hampton High school on Long Island, where Brown owns a home and where the basketball coach quit suddenly over the summer. He certainly doesn’t need the money and doesn’t want the recognition, but he can’t get the game out of his life. So Brown may go back to teaching basketball at the base level, something he said has been missing from the sport for years, since kids have worried more about dunking and shooting the three than learning fundamentals.

Of course, if Brown does it he won’t be anonymous. It will become a national story with sportswriters and sportscasters reporting on the novelty act of perhaps the best pure basketball coach on the planet ending his career where he began it, on a high school court. He has to choose between coaching 16 to 18 year olds instead of serving as a consultant to the dozens of college and pro coaches who want him to observe and help their programs. Brown will still find time to do some of that, but my guess is Larry Brown will wind up coaching in a half-empty high school gym.

And, somewhere, Dean Smith will be watching and smiling.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
Critics of North Carolina School Athletics Governing Body Pass Bill Ordering More Oversight
Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS North Carolina legislators have ordered additional oversight of the chief nonprofit body that manages high school sports, finalizing legislation Friday that seeks to leave more rule-making in the hands of state education leaders. In separate House and Senate votes, the General Assembly passed a bill that for months had focused solely on […]
Veto Overridden: Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors Takes Effect in North Carolina
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Transgender youth in North Carolina lost access Wednesday to gender-affirming medical treatments after the Republican-led General Assembly overrode the governor’s vetoes of that legislation and other bills touching on gender in sports and LGBTQ+ instruction in the classroom. GOP supermajorities in the House and Senate enacted — over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s opposition […]
Transgender Sports Ban Nears Finish Line in North Carolina Legislature
Written by HANNAH SCHOENBAUM A bill banning transgender girls from playing on the middle school, high school and college sports teams that align with their gender identity is approaching the finish line in North Carolina as GOP-controlled state legislatures nationwide round out a record year of legislation targeting transgender residents. The North Carolina bill, which […]
2 Athletic Groups Sign On for NC Education Board Oversight
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Formal agreements reached between North Carolina’s education board and two nonprofit bodies that already run high school athletic competitions in the state will take effect next month. The initial memorandums of understanding entered into with the State Board of Education are in keeping with a 2021 state law that sought more rigorous […]
Chatham County Roundup: Victor Hensley of the Chatham News + Record
Chatham News + Record Sports Editor Victory Hensley joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell on Tuesday, February 22 for this week's Chatham County Roundup. Hensley shares details on high school basketball playoffs, which feature a strong Chatham contingent. He also shares highlights from other winter sports seasons, including some state titles won by Chatham students, and what he's looking forward to from local spring sports.
Cooper Approves Bill Formalizing NC Prep Sports Oversight
Written by BRYAN ANDERSON North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper approved a measure Tuesday for a new governing structure for high school sports. The new law allows the State Board of Education to create a formal agreement with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, the nonprofit body currently governing high school athletics. Under the compromise […]
Chatham County Roundup: Victor Hensley of the Chatham News + Record
Victor Hensley, the sports editor for the Chatham News + Record, joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell for this week's Chatham County Roundup! He shares details on the start of a highly-anticipated season for high school men's basketball in the region. Plus: how did Seaforth High School fair in its first season of fall sports and other local high schools fair in deep state playoff runs?
Rules Formalizing NC Prep Sports Oversight Heads to Governor
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Legislation that likely will create a formal agreement between the nonprofit body currently governing North Carolina high school sports and state education leaders received final approval on Wednesday. The compromise scales back specific demands previously advanced by legislators that the North Carolina High School Athletic Association fought against. The House […]
N. Carolina Officials: Prep Sports Governing Deal Reached
Written by GARY D. ROBERTSON Legislation that would lead to new controls upon the nonprofit body governing North Carolina high school sports has been agreed to in principle, state officials said Thursday. But there’s still uncertainty, as all the details haven’t been worked out. House and Senate GOP members who have scrutinized the North Carolina […]
Carrboro Runs Past East Chapel Hill, 50-0
In a rare Thursday night showdown between two Orange County rivals, the Carrboro High Jaguars had themselves a game. Carrboro racked up three touchdowns, two onside kick recoveries and a safety… in the first quarter. The East Chapel Hill High Wildcats proved no match for Carrboro Thursday, as the Jaguars rolled on the strength of […]
›