The Larry Brown appreciation thread

[ziggy]

There are so many good things in this article (http://www.charlotte.com/508/story/713538.html) that I can hardly stand it.

He demands intensity, players will have to earn their minutes regardless of guaranteed contracts and if you like at his possible starting lineup for the season, it looks like hes in agreement with most of the folks here that Emeka is a Center and not a PF.

“I don't have any preconceived ideas on who will start. I would assume Raymond (Felton), (Gerald) Wallace, (Emeka) Okafor and (Jason) Richardson. And Sean (May), if he's healthy.

[Muttley]

Ziggy, with the up coming season, if the fans are honest with themselves, you may want to go ahead and relocate this thread to the HOF folder.

I for one appreciate the hell out of LB. He's a REAL coach. How awesome is that?

[Grandmama]

I don't know if anyone else has posted this Bonell blog entry, but its pretty good and fits in with this topic (The son of a bitch might just be coming around).

It's a ranking of Charlotte coaches (over both franchises), who's last you wonder?

You guessed it, Frank Stall...I mean Ham Biscuit.

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2008/07/ranking-charlot.html

[Brad]

You know, I have come to appreciate Brown already. I never have been a fan of his, although I did respect him a great deal.

I was a bit dismayed when he was hired as head coach of the Bobcats, after all, his last stint with the Knicks left them worse than he found them.

However, any observer will note his work ethic and teaching skills are exactly what this team needs at this point to get them on the right track.

Although I'm not overly excited about this roster -- yet -- I'm a bit more optimistic than I was even a week ago.

[Mustachio]

I think the New York fiasco was more so on disrespectful players. that was a terrible group of players assembled together without one thought of locker room chemistry.

I believe, if you're gonna coach like Larry does...by teaching, critiquing, molding and pushing then you have to have to right players. The Zen Master himself is a perfect coach for big ego players. He has the ability to mold those guys and manipulate. Larry doesn't, but in this situation with all good kids with solid heads on their shoulders... I think the sky is the limit. If the players get in and buy early, then I think we have a chance to be really good.

also... bringing in a superstar ego like Artest or someone would severely hurt this unit more so than the basketball talent could help i think.

[davcbow]

I found this article on a Larry Brown interview. Good read....:cool:

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/1085883.html

[aznjustice14]

That sacbee article was a pretty good read. I remember giving him crap about his job in NY while he was still coaching, but now that I think about it, it probably was just the bad luck of being with a franchise that was going through so much turmoil (Isiah Thomas era). he didn't have the right type of PG, or the right type of players for his style. he liked okafor during the olympics, he handpicked augustin and ajinca, and he's got nice character guys with jrich and wallace. not to mention a bunch of UNC love from front office, on-court players, and nearby UNC fans. i'm definitely hoping his stay here will at least get us a second round run in the playoffs.

[davcbow]

That sacbee article was a pretty good read. I remember giving him crap about his job in NY while he was still coaching, but now that I think about it, it probably was just the bad luck of being with a franchise that was going through so much turmoil (Isiah Thomas era). he didn't have the right type of PG, or the right type of players for his style. he liked okafor during the olympics, he handpicked augustin and ajinca, and he's got nice character guys with jrich and wallace. not to mention a bunch of UNC love from front office, on-court players, and nearby UNC fans. i'm definitely hoping his stay here will at least get us a second round run in the playoffs.

I think this will be a marriage that will be good for both the Bobcats and for Coach Brown too. I feel like we will at least be a .500 team with last years team. Plus May and Morrison coming back and our draft picks included we should and I think we will be a playoff team this season....:cool:

[spectre]

I will toot my horn and say I DID want Brown...wanted him last year. He's a teacher, and all our guys lack an understanding of the fundamentals. He's the best and I have no doubt all our guys are going to get a lot better just being around him.

Article ranking the NBA coaches...Brown is 2nd:

http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner~y2008m7d18-Ranking-the-NBA-coaches-Phil-Jackson-at-top-Randy-Wittman-at-bottom?cid=exrss-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner



1. Phil Jackson (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/phil_jackson/): Nine titles is it? The problem with not putting Jackson first is you can’t win an argument if you don’t.
2. Larry Brown (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/larry_brown/): A significantly better tactician and strategist than Jackson. But Jackson gets the player-relating edge and title advantage.
3. Gregg Popovich (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/gregg_popovich/): Considered putting him above Brown, and you could make the case he belongs there, but Tim Duncan and David Robinson deserve a lot of credit. Even Popovich might agree, but in any case No. 3 is pretty good.
4. Don Nelson (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/don_nelson/): He’s obviously a great offensive coach, but also upper echelon when it comes to getting stars to play at their best. Clearly one of the game’s forward-thinkers.
5. Rick Adelman (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/rick_adelman/): I respect Adelman because he handled two brutal years in the Bay Area (home games in San Jose; practice at St. Mary’s auxiliary gym) like a grown-up. He’s had good talent, but he’s also let them play.
6. Jerry Sloan (http://www.nba.com/coachfile/jerry_sloan/): For sheer longevity, Sloan has got to be near the top.

[Ghost Kat]

When Larry Brown did his press conference he had on a Eddie Murphy mask from Coming to America.

" I am very happy to be here"

[BIGCatBobcat]

One thing that does worry me when asked in an interview on WFNZ a while back, maybe when the finals were going on, "Larry when you go home at night..." "What home? I have no home." Then they went on to ask about his kids living in the area, his Mom. His response was like "Oh, yeah, that's nice too" We knew it wasn't long term but jeez, get a house.

Other than that, I am psyched for the Larry Brown Era in Charlotte, no matter how short. They talk about a guy coming in and changing the mindset and making a culture of winning. I think he does that right away with a group of moldable young players that want to win, unlike his situation in New York where he had a group of prima-donnas that wouldn't listen. I am so looking forward to this season I can hardly contain myself.