Memphis Basketball: Could Larry Brown join the coaching staff?

Penny Hardaway has landed high-caliber talent at Memphis Basketball. Could he get a quality head coach in Larry Brown as well?

What if I were to tell you that your favorite college basketball team had a chance to add the only coach who has ever won both an NBA title and an NCAA national championship? And what if I added that your program’s biggest selling point to recruits is helping them not only make it to the NBA but also succeed in “the league?” What if this coach had been lauded by many who have deep roots in hoops as one of the best ever teachers in sport? How fast would you jump at the opportunity to hire this person?

However, what if this same coach had a history of NCAA violations that many in college circles view as a rap sheet? What if he had been responsible for multiple institutions incurring sanctions from college basketball’s governing body, including reduction of scholarships and postseason bans? And what if your school was already under scrutiny from the masses because it had just begun signing recruits no one thought they could get? And to boot, what if your program had a bit of a shady past where the NCAA is concerned?

Considering all of this, would you want this coach as part of your program? Because this scenario may well be what University of Memphis president David Rudd and interim athletic director Allie Prescott are facing.

With former assistant coach Sam Mitchell recently having moved on from the Tigers, the U of M now has a vacancy to fill on the bench. The circumstances surrounding Mitchell’s departure are a bit ambiguous at the moment, but it is clear that Memphis Basketball is intent on replacing him with someone who also has NBA experience and the ability to recruit at a high level.

Enter former NBA legend Larry Brown. Brown was fired last December by Italian Serie A team Auxilium TorinoIt and has repeatedly stated he would love to return to the college game, simply because he loves the teaching aspect. It has long been known that Penny Hardaway covets Brown as a member of his staff. He considers him a mentor and respects him probably as much as he does anyone in basketball, and maybe life. He has recounted many times how Brown preaches family in his teams, and Hardaway is currently doing the same thing with his program.

Penny immensely wanted Brown on his initial staff but was rebuked by the university, namely AD Tom Bowen. Recently, however, Bowen has been dismissed from the Memphis administration. So, is it purely coincidence that Mitchell leaving comes on the heels of Bowen’s? That Brown’s primary detractor at the university is no longer in the picture? That may very well be the case, but there is also the strong possibility that this could all lead to a Penny Hardaway/Larry Brown reunion.

No one doubts that Brown is a great mind. He won the NCAA tournament as Kansas head coach and also an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons. He was even able to recruit well at SMU. Yes, that isn’t a typo or a result of dyslexia. It really did happen at SMU! The program has never been known as a basketball juggernaut, but Brown managed to reel in some very good players there. However, that program wound up on probation as a result of Larry Brown’s tenure, the same way Kansas did. And Memphis has been on probation multiple times from the NCAA.

Although most coaches think Hardaway is doing things the right way, fans of other basketball teams have been clamoring that Penny must be cheating in his recent recruiting coup. After all, how could Memphis possibly beat out programs like Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and Kansas? Hiring Brown would no doubt throw more fuel onto the fire for the naysayers.

And yet, Brown is still a tantalizing option. For a program that is not part of college basketball’s elite fraternity, hiring the famous coach would no doubt generate publicity. Memphis would constantly be mentioned on ESPN’s SportsCenter and other major networks for other reasons than just recruiting. Brown, whatever his shortcomings may be as far as disciplinary history, is no doubt respected worldwide as a basketball savant. Whether it might put the U of M under a microscope from the NCAA is another matter. Is that a risk Penny and the administration is willing to take?

The risk versus reward scenario is undoubtedly intriguing – do whatever it takes to become part of the “in-crowd” or play it safe and be content with being an outsider who occasionally finds a way to crash the royal feast. And achieving regal status might well affect more than basketball. What if it could promote the program to Power Five status? The recent success of the Tiger football program combined with Hardaway’s quick ascension make that scenario seem closer than maybe ever before. There are millions of dollars at stake here. We’re talking television contracts, media exposure, a pedestal for recruiting, etc… And if power conference affiliation is indeed even a remote possibility, then the risk could well be worth it.

Again, all of this is purely speculation. No one has officially linked Brown with the job, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how the dominoes have fallen recently. And with the way Hardaway has masterminded what can only be described as a grand plan thus far, Brown could well be the final piece he sees necessary to complete the puzzle. So maybe Larry Brown has no interest in the job; maybe he’s done with the frustration basketball can create. Maybe Hardaway has given up on having Brown in the fold. Perhaps Penny doesn’t have the clout to get his man at this point. But I think if we’ve all learned one thing so far it’s this: Never count out Penny Hardaway.