Fox Sports: Larry Brown's passion for basketball runs deep

[PonyPride]

Larry Brown's passion for basketball runs deep

By Jen Floyd Engel

FORT WORTH, Texas — There was little of interest in the basketball game between TCU and SMU last week, a theory of mine confirmed within minutes of arrival.

The national anthem was playing when I walked in; a danger of traveling with a 3-year-old is you are just barely on time for everything, no matter how early you leave. It turned out not to matter. Hardly anybody was there. Half empty is a generous description of the crowd. Quiet was accurate. And then 12 seconds into the game, a kid from TCU went down with what was obviously a season-ending knee injury and the atmosphere became somber, so freaking depressing even my kid noticed and said, "What happened?"

Afterward, the Horned Frog players were leaving the press conference room and the SMU coach was walking in and he stopped to say, "I'm sorry about your teammate, guys." It was just the right thing to say, and nothing about it was forced or insincere.

The coach expounded on the thought after sitting down: "It made me sick to my stomach seeing that, a great player like that, a big part of this program … Look at what they lost tonight. It's a killer."

This is why I am here, the thing that makes this game interesting. The 72-year-old basketball coach for SMU is Larry Brown. Yes, that Larry Brown of Kansas national championship, Pacers, Sixers and Pistons fame. There also was that year with the Knicks and the time with the Bobcats. And now he is coaching Southern Methodist, a basketball team in a football state. The Mustangs are 5-0, off to their best start since 1997-98, when they won their first 10 games.

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