Larry should have turned his attention to younger players. I'm sure there are some High School or small colleges that would have entertained him. Imagine being 17 or 20 and being Coached by a Hall of famer?
I started kindergarten and went through high school (in Long Beach, NY) with Larry. Though short for basketball, he was a truly great player in high school. He had a drive for the basket that was like Moses parting the waters. Andrew Keh mentions that "every morning, he luxuriates in the smell of fresh bread drifting from the traditional bakery beneath his apartment. It is an evocative scent, he said; when he was a young child, sometime after his father died, his family moved into an apartment above a bakery where his mother worked." That bakery was Hittleman's.
We had a really great class. Another student (and close friend), Louis Ignarro, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
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Living the American Dream. Abroad! Great story, great article.
Makes me feel 80 years younger just reading it!
Grazie Mille!
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One has to admire his love of coaching which still runs strong even though he is closing in on 80.
Larry Brown is special. He has so much to offer his new team - not so much in winning, but as a teacher. If he has any young players who aspire to the NBA, Larry can be invaluable to them. Is he a victim of ageism? Sure. Anyone in his age bracket - no matter who they are - has to face that. Is that all that's keeping him from the NBA? No way. He has a black mark against him that he has to deal with. Maybe if he saw himself in a new role at this point in his life - as a mentor to younger players, rather than as a "winning coach" - he might yet derive more satisfaction from what he's doing.
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Please write the next Larry Brown story in 2028 when he is coaching in Mongolia and telling stories about the golden days in Turin. You gotta love this guy.
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Hang up your ties, Larry. Go home and enjoy being with your children and grandchildren. Check in with your many acolytes who are coaching and share your wisdom. There are other ways to stay active and contribute to the sport that you so clearly can’t live without.
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Enjoy it to the max, Larry. Philly sends a huge thanks and love.
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"Wanderlust?"--The guy has always been the ultimate opportunist, jumping from one team to another if he thought it would benefit him.
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“...from team to team...”. Yeah, unlike anyone else in any league.
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@Max Greenberg nobody quite like Larry. Moves got so frequent that you would say, "Not again?!"
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I saw Larry Brown play professional basketball for the Goodyear Wingfoots, before the ABA.
He's a long way from Akron.
Brown is a different sort of guy. Tar Heel eccentrics Larry Brown and Doug Moe helped to make the ABA, and imprint the game of basketball.
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An interesting story for this non-sports-fan. But I had hoped there would be some insight into his culinary explorations in Italy. But maybe Torino/Turin is not a culinary hot spot, or maybe Brown has no interest in food.
@Bob Rossi Well to be honest Torino is one of the best food spot in world as we have 7 stars restaurants Just in the city and 52 in Piemonte region...
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Would be nice to hear about Brown's theories of the game and how they apply in European basketball, and whether he plans to adpat to their style of play if that is required in order to be successful.
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1988 National Champion University of Kansas Jayhawks. Thank you, Larry!
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C'mon Larry ...
At ANY age your vitae is a cautionary tale.
Thanks for the interesting story and update on Larry Brown. The story mentioned he recruited a bunch of American players there and was hoping for an update on them as well. Maybe a follow up story?
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Good story. I'm glad he is still coaching. I'd love to see him in the NBA again.
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