pooh
10-20-2004, 08:44 PM
A rising star in the coaching ranks, Mike Brown is entering his second season as the Pacers' Associate Head Coach and 13th in the NBA. Brown, whose primary responsibility lies with the defense, joined the Pacers from the 2003 World Champion San Antonio Spurs, where he was an assistant coach for three seasons.
During his time there, he was the head coach for the Spurs' summer league teams in Boston and Salt Lake City. The 32-year-old (3/5/70) Brown began his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets in 1992, where he spent five seasons, first as the team's video coordinator and then as a scout.
He joined the Washington Wizards' staff in 1997 and spent three years there, first as an assistant under Bernie Bickerstaff, then as the team's professional scout.
Coach Brown joined pacers.com for a live chat on Wednesday, check out what he had to say about the upcoming season and much much more:
North Bergen, NJ: Coach Brown, You are very close with Jermaine. In what ways do you encourage him to improve his game?
Mike Brown: I think the biggest thing with Jermaine is that he needs to understand that he is a leader on this basketball team. We need him to lead on the court and off the court, and he has improved that every year and needs to continue to do that. It's been tough, with a guy like Reggie Miller already here, but Jermaine is stepping up and we need that. Other than that, he needs to keep refining his skills. We stay on him, stressing repetition, repetition, repetition on his skills.
Mark (New Castle): So far, after the first 3 preseason games, Stephen Jackson is looking great for our team; both for his offense, and his vocal leadership (and according to Reggie, his D is quite good as well). Do you think what he's showing us so far in the preseason is a good indicator of what he'll bring Indiana all year? I'm hoping he'll average around 15ppg off the bench.
Mike Brown: Newcastle, Indiana?....Yes, I do. I think his defense will improve. I was with him for two years at San Antonio and he was a good defensive player there, and we think he can be a good defensive player here too.
Mike Brown: But he can always put the ball in the hole and he can always pass too.
Jeff (Connersville): Maybe I am a hopeless dreamer, but I see Number 31 having a better year number wise. Does the legend still have it in him.
Mike Brown: Yes he does. And, this may seem farfetched outside of the Pacers, but I think he can play as long as he wants to. He has the one quality that most current American players lack..which is the ability to shoot the ball from long-range, with ease.
Mike (Indianapolis): The media usually hounds Jamaal Tinsley and his defense, or lack thereof, but many of us Pacers fans know Jamaal is quite good. How does Jamaal fit in with the team's defensive scheme, and do other teams underestimate his ability to play on both ends of the court?
Mike Brown: The answer to the second part of that question is Yes, teams do underestimate him. On the first part, Jamal has a nose for the ball so he gets a little more lee-way in seeking out the ball and making timely steals. We let him go a little bit, because he has that ability.
Athens GA: I am Rashad Wright's #1 fan! Just wondering how well he is competing at getting a spot with the Pacers? Let him know that his GA (Screven) fans really miss him.
Mike Brown: I will definitely let him know. He's competing extremely well, but he's in tough spot like the other free agents, in that we have three point guards already. But he is doing well and his chance is as good as anybody elses. P.S. I didn't know that they thought about basketball during football season in Dawg Country.
Paul (Indiana): We've heard that Croshere could be in for a big year? How do you see his game maturing this season?
Mike Brown: His game was mature beyond belief when we got here as a coaching staff, so I don't kmow if it could get more mature. But he is about as good a trump card as I've ever had in having a guy who can produce in many different roles in many different situations.
Jay (Denver): Where do you see newly acquired Eddie Gill fitting in with the team? I've seen Eddie play, and think that it's a great pickup.
Mike Brown: Eddie is gonna be an insurance piece for us. We have Jamal and Anthony Johnson from last year's 61-win team. Eddie is here when they need a rest or get hurt. Then as the year goes on, if Eddie can prove he is playing better than one of those two guys...then he will get his shot.
Jim, Indianapolis: Mike, Great to see you back with the team again this year. I have been following the team closer this year and it seems that we have an outstanding amount of talent that are not under contract. How difficult will it be to narrow the roster this year and is it a possibility that some trades may be made to free up some roster space for someone like Randy Holcomb?
Mike Brown: We have one spot right now, and we have four guys without guaranteed contracts, so one of those guys may get that slot. We don't feel like we need to make a trade or move somebody.
Josh, Atlanta : What was it like to work with the bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff?
Mike Brown: It was great. He gave me my start, my first opportunity. Without him I wouldn't be where I am. He is an excellent choice to lead that franchise through it's early years.
Mike Brown: He is one of two guys I am still intimidated by. The other is Gregg Popovich. (Laughing) But they are both great guys.
Krish Vatsan, San Jose, CA: Where do you think we will end up at the end of the regular season?
Mike Brown: I don't know, I just hope we get better game by game and month by month. If that happens, the sky is the limit.
Mike Brown: Thanks everybody for logging on, it was my pleasure to spend time with Pacers fans. If you see me in the future, maybe in an arena around the country, be sure to come up to me and say, 'Hi, I chatted with you on the web site," and we can continue our talk about Pacers basketball.
During his time there, he was the head coach for the Spurs' summer league teams in Boston and Salt Lake City. The 32-year-old (3/5/70) Brown began his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets in 1992, where he spent five seasons, first as the team's video coordinator and then as a scout.
He joined the Washington Wizards' staff in 1997 and spent three years there, first as an assistant under Bernie Bickerstaff, then as the team's professional scout.
Coach Brown joined pacers.com for a live chat on Wednesday, check out what he had to say about the upcoming season and much much more:
North Bergen, NJ: Coach Brown, You are very close with Jermaine. In what ways do you encourage him to improve his game?
Mike Brown: I think the biggest thing with Jermaine is that he needs to understand that he is a leader on this basketball team. We need him to lead on the court and off the court, and he has improved that every year and needs to continue to do that. It's been tough, with a guy like Reggie Miller already here, but Jermaine is stepping up and we need that. Other than that, he needs to keep refining his skills. We stay on him, stressing repetition, repetition, repetition on his skills.
Mark (New Castle): So far, after the first 3 preseason games, Stephen Jackson is looking great for our team; both for his offense, and his vocal leadership (and according to Reggie, his D is quite good as well). Do you think what he's showing us so far in the preseason is a good indicator of what he'll bring Indiana all year? I'm hoping he'll average around 15ppg off the bench.
Mike Brown: Newcastle, Indiana?....Yes, I do. I think his defense will improve. I was with him for two years at San Antonio and he was a good defensive player there, and we think he can be a good defensive player here too.
Mike Brown: But he can always put the ball in the hole and he can always pass too.
Jeff (Connersville): Maybe I am a hopeless dreamer, but I see Number 31 having a better year number wise. Does the legend still have it in him.
Mike Brown: Yes he does. And, this may seem farfetched outside of the Pacers, but I think he can play as long as he wants to. He has the one quality that most current American players lack..which is the ability to shoot the ball from long-range, with ease.
Mike (Indianapolis): The media usually hounds Jamaal Tinsley and his defense, or lack thereof, but many of us Pacers fans know Jamaal is quite good. How does Jamaal fit in with the team's defensive scheme, and do other teams underestimate his ability to play on both ends of the court?
Mike Brown: The answer to the second part of that question is Yes, teams do underestimate him. On the first part, Jamal has a nose for the ball so he gets a little more lee-way in seeking out the ball and making timely steals. We let him go a little bit, because he has that ability.
Athens GA: I am Rashad Wright's #1 fan! Just wondering how well he is competing at getting a spot with the Pacers? Let him know that his GA (Screven) fans really miss him.
Mike Brown: I will definitely let him know. He's competing extremely well, but he's in tough spot like the other free agents, in that we have three point guards already. But he is doing well and his chance is as good as anybody elses. P.S. I didn't know that they thought about basketball during football season in Dawg Country.
Paul (Indiana): We've heard that Croshere could be in for a big year? How do you see his game maturing this season?
Mike Brown: His game was mature beyond belief when we got here as a coaching staff, so I don't kmow if it could get more mature. But he is about as good a trump card as I've ever had in having a guy who can produce in many different roles in many different situations.
Jay (Denver): Where do you see newly acquired Eddie Gill fitting in with the team? I've seen Eddie play, and think that it's a great pickup.
Mike Brown: Eddie is gonna be an insurance piece for us. We have Jamal and Anthony Johnson from last year's 61-win team. Eddie is here when they need a rest or get hurt. Then as the year goes on, if Eddie can prove he is playing better than one of those two guys...then he will get his shot.
Jim, Indianapolis: Mike, Great to see you back with the team again this year. I have been following the team closer this year and it seems that we have an outstanding amount of talent that are not under contract. How difficult will it be to narrow the roster this year and is it a possibility that some trades may be made to free up some roster space for someone like Randy Holcomb?
Mike Brown: We have one spot right now, and we have four guys without guaranteed contracts, so one of those guys may get that slot. We don't feel like we need to make a trade or move somebody.
Josh, Atlanta : What was it like to work with the bobcats head coach Bernie Bickerstaff?
Mike Brown: It was great. He gave me my start, my first opportunity. Without him I wouldn't be where I am. He is an excellent choice to lead that franchise through it's early years.
Mike Brown: He is one of two guys I am still intimidated by. The other is Gregg Popovich. (Laughing) But they are both great guys.
Krish Vatsan, San Jose, CA: Where do you think we will end up at the end of the regular season?
Mike Brown: I don't know, I just hope we get better game by game and month by month. If that happens, the sky is the limit.
Mike Brown: Thanks everybody for logging on, it was my pleasure to spend time with Pacers fans. If you see me in the future, maybe in an arena around the country, be sure to come up to me and say, 'Hi, I chatted with you on the web site," and we can continue our talk about Pacers basketball.