Larry Brown has agreed to become the head men’s basketball coach at SMU, sources told ESPN Tuesday.
The hire ends months of speculation following the firing of Matt Doherty. As open coaching positions nationwide began filling up, SMU’s remained open, but not for lack of trying. The Mustangs shot for the stars — Marquette’s Buzz Williams, Harvard’s Tommy Amaker — and landed a fading one.
The 71-year-old’s penchant for bouncing from job to job apparently wasn’t an issue for SMU brass, nor was the fact that Brown hasn’t coached a college team since 1988. That team — Kansas University — was later banned from the 1988-89 NCAA tournament due to recruiting violations under Brown.
Whether 22 years in the NBA — with seven different teams — will be a benefit to Brown is what those on the Hilltop will have this season to determine.
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