Report: Brown to SMU
LARRY BROWN has agreed to become the head coach at SMU, sources told ESPN.com. An official announcement could come as early as Tuesday.
LARRY BROWN has agreed to become the head coach at SMU, sources told ESPN.com. An official announcement could come as early as Tuesday.
Landing Larry Brown would be a coup for SMU as it prepares to step up to the Big East. But Brown isn't known for staying in one place too long, and that could be a negative, writes ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan.
The only holdup involves Brown's assistants. Sources said Brown has offered Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich a "coach-in-waiting position." Jankovich is leaning toward accepting the job, but he's also conflicted about leaving a Redbirds squad that returns every key player from last season's 21-14 team.
Jankovich did not answer calls to his cellphone Tuesday afternoon. Kansas coach Bill Self, who worked with Jankovich at Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas, said he hadn't talked to Jankovich in "two or three days."
"One thing I do know," Self said, "is that he loves Larry."
Jankovich has been around Brown a lot over the years because of his relationship with Self, who considers Brown a mentor.
Former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard also is expected to join Brown's staff along with former Kentucky assistant Rod Strickland. Howard is regarded as one of the country's top recruiters. Strickland has spent the past two years on John Calipari's staff in an administrative role. Strickland was a first-round pick out of DePaul in 1998 and played in the NBA until 2005.
Brown, 71, is the only coach in history to win an NCAA title and an NBA championship. He has not coached since 2010, when he resigned from the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.
Noteworthy *
Kentucky freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, and sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb declared for the draft in a nationally televised news conference. The group came into the season largely untested before ascending to No. 1, winning the Southeastern Conference in dominating fashion and capping an NCAA Tournament run with a 67-59 victory over Kansas in the title game.
The departures mean only freshman Kyle Wiltjer remains from the rotation, with a new class of highly touted recruits joining coach John Calipari next season.
* Sophomores J.D. Weatherspoon and Jordan Sibert have notified Ohio State that they will seek transfers and leave the Buckeyes.