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| Photo by AISHA-ZAKIYA BOYD |
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- He says people around the NBA think he's a dinosaur.
And to be honest, Larry Brown never
really did fall for the 3-point shot, the biggest weapon in today's
NBA.
Plus, all the years of competition
committee meetings, trying to loosen up zone and illegal defensive
regulations mostly fell on deaf ears. That got old, too.
So as the coach nears his 75th birthday
on Sept. 14, he's down in Dallas, trying to lead the Southern
Methodist University Mustangs through the American Athletic
Conference this winter.
Not exactly the exit you might have
envisioned for one of the greatest coaches ever.
But it's not a second straight SMU trip
to the Big Dance, or another Final Four appearance, or even his
second NCAA championship that seem to be guiding Brown in the winter
of his storied career.
It's living up to the impossible
standard of his mentor in his own way, a tough Brooklyn Jew with a knack
for reaching the unreachable, building a career of fixer-uppers on a
long, winding road.
