Brown believes his

Larry Brown, like so many other prominent figures in basketball, got to know William Wesley. He trusted Wesley. He helped Wesley. He became a part of Wesley's network.

“I hired guys that he's asked me to hire in college,” Brown told the Daily News, “and I've hit a home run with everybody he recommended.”

Brown, the Hall of Fame coach, developed this relationship while coaching the Philadelphia 76ers in the late '90s, when Wesley's mythical status as an NBA power broker, or his nickname “World Wide Wes,” had not yet reached the public's consciousness. One of Brown's assistant coaches — John Calipari — also got to know Wesley during this time, and that grew to a long partnership beneficial to, among other people and places, the University of Kentucky.

After Philadelphia, Brown said his next career choice — which resulted in the 2004 NBA championship — was influenced by Wesley, who was managing Pistons guard Rip Hamilton.

“Wes was really one of the main reasons I went to Detroit, to be honest with you,” Brown says. “He was a big part of that.”

For nearly two decades, Wesley served as an influential figure to NCAA and NBA basketball but largely behindthe-scenes. Officially, he represented coaches for CAA. Unofficially, he served as a liaison, maneuverer and advocate for his people, many of them rooted in Wesley's hometown of Camden, NJ.

“If you look around the league, anybody who was having difficulty with somebody you could probably call Wes and he can probably help you get through it,” Brown, 79, says. “And make everybody feel like he cared about you.

“I can't tell you how many people that I've been fortunate enough to have a relationship with because of Wes.”

On Wednesday, Wesley, 55, was given a new title with the Knicks: executive VP of basket