HBO's Real Sports Profiles SMU's Larry Brown Tonight

[Pony_Law]

Wooden is the best college coach ever. No doubt and his record is untouchable.

I think LB- if he wins a National Championship at SMU will be considered in the top 3. Not the best but certainly in the top of the top.

If he doesn't then he will still be a HOF coach - which isn't too bad - but not considered in the elite of the elite.

If he even gets them to a Final Four, he's a top 5 coach and they're all interchangeable depending on preference at that point. I think it's very hard to argue who the best coach in college basketball even today is without a doubt. Some are good recruiters, some are good PR reps, some are good in-game with X's and O's, others are great leaders...I think a legit argument could be made for Brown, K, Boeheim, Izzo, Donovan, Williams, Self, Cal, Pitino...I don't think I could really rank those guys even if I tried other than looking at championships which is a lot of luck anyways so I don't know how reliable that is as a metric for measure.

i don't think it's fair to put Calipari up there with the other guys. Sure he has won the games but so far at every institution he has been at before Kentucky the school had to take down the banners of his best team (and I think that could probably happen at Kentucky if the NCAA ever wanted to whack a blue chip program). Integrity counts for something.

If Larry Brown wins a national championship I think he becomes the undisputed best turnaround coach ever and possibly in any sport and is probably top 3 college coaches. When you get to that level any of the coaches deserves to be and will be considered the best all time.

[OhioBrownFan]

Wooden is the best college coach ever. No doubt and his record is untouchable.

I think LB- if he wins a National Championship at SMU will be considered in the top 3. Not the best but certainly in the top of the top.

If he doesn't then he will still be a HOF coach - which isn't too bad - but not considered in the elite of the elite.

If he even gets them to a Final Four, he's a top 5 coach and they're all interchangeable depending on preference at that point. I think it's very hard to argue who the best coach in college basketball even today is without a doubt. Some are good recruiters, some are good PR reps, some are good in-game with X's and O's, others are great leaders...I think a legit argument could be made for Brown, K, Boeheim, Izzo, Donovan, Williams, Self, Cal, Pitino...I don't think I could really rank those guys even if I tried other than looking at championships which is a lot of luck anyways so I don't know how reliable that is as a metric for measure.

i don't think it's fair to put Calipari up there with the other guys. Sure he has won the games but so far at every institution he has been at before Kentucky the school had to take down the banners of his best team (and I think that could probably happen at Kentucky if the NCAA ever wanted to whack a blue chip program). Integrity counts for something.

If Larry Brown wins a national championship I think he becomes the undisputed best turnaround coach ever and possibly in any sport and is probably top 3 college coaches. When you get to that level any of the coaches deserves to be and will be considered the best all time.

Cal probably isn't fair to have on that list, just looking at his pure ability to recruit. The guy is magic, kids love him.

And turnaround coaches, look up Tim Miles.

[Nacho]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wooden#UCLA

if lb stays 9 more years and wins a nc each year he will tie wooden.

wooden's record will probably never be broken or even approached. great coach and great players. by great i mean great. to have kareem (alcindor) and them walton each for 3 years is not possible in this era of one and done.

[East Coast Mustang]

Larry also won an NBA title, though, which is a lot harder than NCAA in my opinion. Calipari and Pitino for example are both great college coaches who couldn't cut it in the NBA

[OhioBrownFan]

Larry also won an NBA title, though, which is a lot harder than NCAA in my opinion. Calipari and Pitino for example are both great college coaches who couldn't cut it in the NBA

He won a championship probably without one HOFer on it, that's unbelievable. Maybe Rip or Billups sneaks in, but not very likely. Anybody can win with last year's Heat team or the '96 Bulls, or the '68 Celtics. But very few could win with that '04 Pistons team especially in the middle of that Spurs dynasty there.

[East Coast Mustang]

Don't forget that Lakers dynasty that he beat in the Finals

[mustangxc]

In terms of college basketball, Wooden is untouchable. He will never be equalled. In terms of pro basketball, Auerbach is untouchable. However, overall, I do think that Larry Brown is one of the top 5 basketball coahces of all time and is in the discussion for greatest of all time. However, to say that winning a national championship at SMU would surpass Wooden's record at UCLA is just ridiculous. A single season achievenment will never trump sustained success throughout a career. I am as big of a Larry Brown fan as there is (I was a huge Pacers fan in the 90's with Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson) but let's be reasonable and give Wooden his due.

[Rebel10]

Overall I think Larry Brown might be the best of all time. Wooden may not have been success in the NBA and Auerbach may not have been successful in college. Name another coach that was highly successful at both?

[SMU Section F]

Overall I think Larry Brown might be the best of all time. Wooden may not have been success in the NBA and Auerbach may not have been successful in college. Name another coach that was highly successful at both?

I think he has an argument overall, but no real shot at either specifically.

[OhioBrownFan]

Overall I think Larry Brown might be the best of all time. Wooden may not have been success in the NBA and Auerbach may not have been successful in college. Name another coach that was highly successful at both?

Nobody I could come up with. He truly is one of the best of all-time. The best part about him is he's done it with multiple orgs at each level. Indy, Detroit, Philly all won, Kansas and SMU are both winning.

[Harry0569]

Larry also won an NBA title, though, which is a lot harder than NCAA in my opinion. Calipari and Pitino for example are both great college coaches who couldn't cut it in the NBA

He won a championship probably without one HOFer on it, that's unbelievable. Maybe Rip or Billups sneaks in, but not very likely. Anybody can win with last year's Heat team or the '96 Bulls, or the '68 Celtics. But very few could win with that '04 Pistons team especially in the middle of that Spurs dynasty there.

The only such team without a true Superstar since...? Maybe the 1979 Sonics?

[Oliver]

Larry also won an NBA title, though, which is a lot harder than NCAA in my opinion. Calipari and Pitino for example are both great college coaches who couldn't cut it in the NBA

He won a championship probably without one HOFer on it, that's unbelievable. Maybe Rip or Billups sneaks in, but not very likely. Anybody can win with last year's Heat team or the '96 Bulls, or the '68 Celtics. But very few could win with that '04 Pistons team especially in the middle of that Spurs dynasty there.

The only such team without a true Superstar since...? Maybe the 1979 Sonics?

On top of that, the Pistons beat a Lakers team with 4 HOF players and a HOF coach..

[mustangxc]

One huge blemish on his record is that bronze medal in Athens 2004.

[Rebel10]

Graham Bensinger ‏@GrahamBensinger 28m

During #InDepth episode taping with #SMU #Mustangs #NBA Hall of Fame Coach @LarryBrownSMU at his #Dallas office.

http://instagram.com/p/k5IASSu69m/#

[OhioBrownFan]

Larry also won an NBA title, though, which is a lot harder than NCAA in my opinion. Calipari and Pitino for example are both great college coaches who couldn't cut it in the NBA

He won a championship probably without one HOFer on it, that's unbelievable. Maybe Rip or Billups sneaks in, but not very likely. Anybody can win with last year's Heat team or the '96 Bulls, or the '68 Celtics. But very few could win with that '04 Pistons team especially in the middle of that Spurs dynasty there.

The only such team without a true Superstar since...? Maybe the 1979 Sonics?

Hard-pressed to come up with a team with less talent since '79. Really a heck of a coaching job that year, was fun to watch.