Is Brown the right hire for Memphis?
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway’s staff is beginning to take shape, but he’s still looking for a former head coach to join him as an assistant with the Tigers next season.
The possibility that Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown could fill that role has been mentioned ever since Hardaway became a candidate for the job at Memphis last month.
Hardaway, meanwhile, has done nothing to tamp that down in recent weeks, noting publicly he wants Brown to be part of his staff if athletic
Memphis should hire Brown because he’s an awesome basketball coach.
Memphis shouldn’t hire Brown because it would damage the reputation of an institution that already has some challenges in that department.
Memphis should hire Brown because he’s an awesome basketball coach.
Memphis shouldn’t hire Brown because it would bring that much more scrutiny from the NCAA.
Memphis should hire Brown because he’s an awesome basketball coach.
This is the central argument. This is what it boils down to in the end.
Memphis shouldn’t hire Brown because it’s an unnecessary risk for a program that has already had two Final Fours vacated.
Memphis should hire Brown because he might help the program get to the Final Four once again.
Oh, and Penny Hardaway wants to hire Brown. That’s the other reason to do it. Because Hardaway would like to add the legendary/infamous coach to his staff. So what’s the holdup? Well, when I asked Hardaway about Brown on my radio show, he pointedly said, “I have to talk to Tom Bowen.”
That would be Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen. Who is about as enthusiastic about the idea of hiring Brown as he is about the idea of tying rocks to his shoes and jumping off the M Bridge. Bowen already has his hands full. Memphis has hired a new basketball coach who is generating unprecedented amounts of publicity, money and good will.
Bowen is just doing his job to consider the cons as well as the pros. Brown has such a tarnished reputation, even noted coaching suck-up Dick Vitale asked “how in the world” Brown was allowed to stay on as coach at SMU.
Pat Forde of Yahoo! has already written that hiring Brown would be “brazen even by bandit standards.” Nancy Armour of USA Today has written that Brown “has no place in the college game.”
But did I mention that the guy is an awesome basketball coach?
He is the only coach in history to win both an NCAA and an NBA title. He is already in the Hall of Fame. If Hardaway is as successful at bringing in talented players as he believes he will be, why not make certain those players are brilliantly coached?
Everyone agrees Hardaway needs an experienced head coach on staff. Hardaway trusts and respects Brown. It’s why he hasn’t moved on to another candidate.
Bowen can try and kill the hiring of Brown, in which case he’ll be blamed for standing in the way of what his wildly popular basketball coach believes he needs to succeed. Or he can sign off on the hiring of Brown, in which case he’ll be held responsible if Brown gets in trouble with the NCAA yet again.
My own sense is that's unlikely to happen. If the NCAA winds up busting the Hardaway staff for infractions in the future, it probably won’t be the work of Brown. Hardaway would rely on Brown to teach and coach basketball, not to recruit players.
So then it’s just a matter of the perception. Memphis shouldn't hire Brown because of optics?
Memphis should hire Brown because he's the best basketball mind available.