I've started reading FreeDarko's "The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History." In the first chapter Darko explains how "basket ball" was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, MA. I'd always known that, especially coming out of Kansas; but never knew how it happened. I always figured some guy out on a farm with a basket nailed to a tree. Turns out its some PE teacher in a YMCA gym trying to give a group of rowdy boys some excercise in the winter.
So Naismith winds up at Kansas - where he coaches the men's basketball team, including a guy named Phog Allen. Allen later became coach at Kansas and had players named Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp.
Rupp later begat Pat Riley.
Smith as we know, begat Larry Brown.
And so - our Larry Brown has a legacy back to James Naismith. Pretty cool.
Of course, its not just Brown and Riley. There's many coaches "offsprung" from this tree. But LB and Riley, being NBA legends, seem to be at the top of it. I think its cool that LB went back to coach at Kansas as well; along with Roy Williams. So much linkage.
