- got the most out of his team?
- great coach but not the right one for the Spurs?
- was he right to call out Robinson and Sean's defensive efforts (or lack thereof) after the Spurs got ousted by GSW in the 1st round ?
Every Spurs team to me is BT or AT. Meaning BEFORE TIM and AFTER TIMMAY! Coach blah blah blah before Tim, after Tim it's all gravy! I remember some of the Brown years, he was a good coach I guess but that was before the Spurs got a single le and they were just the playoff team and not nearly a le contender IMO. So to answer your question just another coach to come and go, good coach but thats about it.
A big "meh". The best we ever had before Pop was Albeck and then maybe Moe.
Brown must be a great coach because everybody says so. After all he coached from age 32-70. Unfortunately his career stats are .476 for the ABA and .518 for the NBA.
If you look at his career, he's only good for about 3 years at any one stop. I bet he's coached more professional teams than any other coach. Successful coaches usually manage to keep their jobs and build on success. Doesn't happen with Brown. He is a perfectionist, asking humans to be perfect and eventually he gets crosswise with his players and is either fired or quits.
I'd say that the aspect of coaching that deals with measuring your players' skills and temperments and then attempting to build a team are simply beyond his ability because of his own psychology.
But he must be a great coach cause everybody says so.
He's a winner on ALL levels. Sit your five dollar ass down.
There's a lot to dislike about Larry and I don't know that he was particularly well-suited for the Spurs after 1989, when there were so many young players in crucial roles for his team. But with that said, if Rod Strickland doesn't throw a horrendous pass in Portland in May of 1990, Larry would be a beloved Spurs coach, even if he had still chosen to exert his usual petulance and wear out his welcome a couple of seasons later. It's very likely that if Strickland makes a smarter pass and the Spurs hold that single possession (or at least don't have a turnover that leads to a basket and a breakaway foul that put Game 7 out of reach) they win that game. If the Spurs had beaten the Blazers in that series, I think they likely would have won the West (I thought then that the Spurs would have been able to deal with Phoenix in the West Finals). Had Larry gotten that team to the Finals, he'd be absolutely legendary in San Antonio.
Ultimately, too, Larry's legacy as coach of the Spurs lies in his decision to hire Popovich and make him a known name in both the NBA and, more particularly, in San Antonio. Larry didn't bring Pop here to stay (since Pop had his time with the Warriors after being Larry's assistant) but I don't think it's as likely that the Spurs front office in the summer of 1994 would have gravitated to Popovich as its general manager choice (or that local media would have supported that choice) if Pop hadn't been part of the organization already; and I doubt he would have been part of the organization without Larry having coached the Spurs.
Last edited by FromWayDowntown; 01-09-2014 at 11:08 AM. Reason: grammar
Coach Brown gave a childhood friend of mine (a Ticket Sales Rep for the Spurs in the late 80s early 90s) some of his suits. He was helping a young guy out.
I even got to meet Sean Elliott at this friends wedding (Sean was a groomsman or usher). Unfortunately, the marriage didn't work out but that's another story.
Coach Brown's connections with RC and Pop and bringing them to San Antonio was so key in the way the franchise was eventually run when Mr. Holt took control of the team.
His vagabond nature simply does not allow him to stay anywhere very long, but he almost always improves the product. At 73 years old he is doing pretty well at SMU right now.
Brown was a big part of the success of the Spurs franchise. Even if he wasn't directly in control spurs winning championships years he had a hand in many of the things that set in motion of many things in the Spurs today.
I think he's a great basketball mind and great coach...but probably much better suited for college (where he can really teach and mold young players who'll listen to him) than for pros...I think Pop is an interesting mix of Don Nelson and Larry Brown, actually...but with a much better emotional intelligence and ability to work with people...
Oh, that pass (still hurts)...and Strickland...he was fun to watch and maddening at the same time...if only he had a reliable jumpshot...and better judgment...
Larry and his e'n about David. It was said the the team tuned Larry out because of
the constant ing.
The fact that Larry Brown brought Pop into the fold is a key turning point for the franchise. I can't really speak to Brown's coaching (wasn't a fan at that time) but given the trajectory of Larry's career, he seems like an idiosyncratic and kind of curmudgeonly coach that's always finding new and exciting ways to get on players' and executives' nerves and wear out his welcome. Dude won a le with the Pistons, but I always thought it was incredible that he was released right after making a second straight finals and losing to the spurs. Like, damn. You really have to accrue some bad will to be fired after two straight finals appearances and one le.
He's neurotic but honest. He did the best with what he had but it was obvious that he and #50 did not really get along too well. David was not the player that Brown thought he was. I think Brown grew frustrated with David's lack of commitment and interest while being supremely gifted physically. Robinson on the other hand, wasn't very inspired by Brown's at ude and lack of tact. He felt Brown cursed too much. You read that right.
Pop>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Brown
Quit on the team in 1992.
He probably realized he was screwed within the Red McCombs and Bob Bass business model for the Spurs. But whatever. He still quit.
Consider this, the guy he passed the ball to ended up getting a ring with..........the San Antonio Spurs.
Jerome Kersey...good recall. BTW, this thread is making me feel really old.
I was pretty young for his time with the Spurs. I probably remember him as better than he was thanks to the succession of coaches through the rest of the 90s. Lucas, Tark, Bob Hill. Hill had a good season with the Sonics in 2005, but otherwise the collective post Spurs career of those three doesn't add to much, while Larry always seemed to be coaching somewhere with some level of success at any time.
In retrospect probably not a great fit. However, I'm not certain anyone would have worked out.
The team in 89-90 was loaded with young talent. However, it didn't work out. Strickland had issues off the court as did Willie Anderson. Injuries also hampered Willie Andersons career starting the next year. Finally, Brown and Robinson did not click. They didn't click on a personality level and Brown was insistent that David be a low block traditional center on offense. Offensively, he really took off when Lucas had him face up more. DRob was just too thin in the waist and legs too be great in the post. Also made a few bonehead maneuvers- Trading for Pressey whose career was headed downward- giving up a productive Brickowski.
Great basketball X's and O's guy, but he seemed to throw players under the bus and air things out in the media like Phil Jackson.
He always seemed to be whining about something. I'd rank my coaches for the Spurs in this order Pop, Doug Moe, then Stan Albeck.
Off topic, but Pop and Moe may share some fashion sensibilities as well...that sport coat Pop wore against the Kings the other night...wow.
Brown is one of the most brilliant Xs and Os coaches in history. How many guys have ever won the NCAA tourney AND the LoB?
He whines a lot and loses every team he has faster than most coaches do, which is why he moves around so much. If I had to sum it up, I'd say he was brilliant, but fussy. He doesn't relate well to players and they eventually tune him out.
As an opposing coach we doused him with Guacamole.
Good times.
Not to be picky, but that Sonics team was coached by Nate McMillan.
Your point holds; Hill took over the Sonics in the middle of the 2005-06 season and led that team to a 22-30 record for the remainder of that season and while he kept the job into the next season, that team went 31-51. If you take away his two full seasons with the Spurs, Hill is 189-250 (.431) as an NBA head coach.
i'm actually a huge fan of the guy. He was coach of Spurs when I became aware and fan of the team. Granted I was a lot younger so I didn't appreciate Brown or know much about him, it's not like we had the internet around to know every aspect of the coach, his likes/dislikes, stool size etc....
But I really appreciated him more with his overall body of work and taking down that Lakers team in '04. I think he is one of the greatest BBall minds of all time, but unfortunately he's about as nomadic as they come. He simply can't settle anywhere. But he's like the anti-Phil Jackson, he seems more happy if the situation is tough and a challenge.
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