Quotes from Larry Brown

When you're bad in the NBA, you're in the lottery. When you're great in college, you get multiple lottery picks.

I want to teach. I've got to figure a way to continue doing this in some capacity.

I don't think there's any difference in my passion than when I was a young coach. I hope somebody in some way realizes I could be an asset, but we'll just wait and see.

College kids want to be coached. They want to be taught. They might resist it a little bit early on, but the more you give, the more you get back.

I can't figure out how you can draft players for a coach that you know coaches a certain a style, and was successful doing that style, and get him to play a style that you feel comfortable with.

I've grown up playing for some incredible coaches, and I don't think anybody's ever been as fortunate as I have in terms of the people I've been allowed to play under, coach under, or be involved with.

I've been coaching how many years? A long time.

I don't know why you play a team sport and not be concerned about making your teammates better and helping your team win games. That's the only thing that really matters, and if you're the best player, surely you're going to have some effect on the game's outcome.

You always care about your teammates, and you care about the game.

I want to do anything where people feel I can help make their franchise better and make a contribution.

I think, with every kid I coach, I'm trying to get them to do the right thing all the time. I always feel like you should raise the bar. There needs to be expectations.

I want every kid to go to college and be like a normal student. I want them to be able to go to a movie, go to a concert. I want them to be able to have that opportunity. But if you're paying kids, are you going to pay a lineman less than you're paying a quarterback? I don't know how to explain that stuff.

I can't walk in an airport, walk into a gym, where the kids in the gym don't come to me and ask me about Allen and tell me he's their favorite player of all time. And everywhere I go in airports, people look at me, and they, 'You're Allen's coach.'

The bottom line is, I want us to rebound, defend, share the ball, play hard. That's all. Now if you can't do that, if that's not important enough to you, it's not on me.

You've got to try to guard, make an effort to defend to the best of your ability. You have to rebound the ball, which was an area that was so critical. And they wanted you to play smart and have fun. I've kind of tried to let our people understand those are the most important things that I could possibly tell them.

As long as I feel like I'm helping kids get better, I don't see why I should stop.

I'd rather be involved and somebody say, 'Hey, coach, here's what I need you to do. Go down to the D-League and work with guys'... I want the D-League coach to learn how to be a head coach.

My whole thing is being a coach, a GM, and a president: you all got to be attached at the hip. There's got to be no separation between you. The players got to know it's one voice: we're all in this together; we're going to do this right.

I can't figure out how you can hire a coach and tell him how you want him to play.

Leading the SMU men's basketball program is an honor and a responsibility that I take very seriously.

Look at how many North Carolina kids have played for me or tried out for me or coached with me. I've had Dennis Wuycik, Steve Previs, Billy Chamberlain, Donald Washington, Darrell Elston, Tommy LaGarde, Bobby Jones. You name it, I've had them. Whatever Coach has ever asked me to do, I've done. Because I love the school, and I worship him.

If you see the NBA now, a lot of it is in transition. Most people now try to get an easy shot off in six or eight seconds before the defense gets set.

I would hope the NBA Players Association would say that people like LeBron could come out early because he's so gifted, but if you stay, you stay three years. Your skill level will be greater, and the chances of you going to the NBA are much greater.

I almost took a job in Italy. It was really a great opportunity, but they didn't think I had enough international experience.