Content provided in partnership with

Can an old dog repeat a new trick?

Sporting News, The, Nov 8, 2004 by Sean Deveney

How's this for a senior moment? Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown was conducting practice last week when he saw rookie Andre Emmett commit an egregious error on a fast break. Brown whistled for the team to stop, and in an attempt to point out to Emmett that he's mature enough not to make boneheaded mistakes, Brown asked, "Andre, how old are you?"

"I'm 22," Emmett said.

The answer made Brown stop in his tracks. Right there, in practice, he busted out laughing as though he had just heard some Jack Benny punch line. When Brendan Brown, an assistant with the Grizzlies and Hubie's son, asked Hubie what was with the laughter, the elder Brown said, "I'm 49 years older than these guys. This is the first time I ever realized that."

Most Popular Articles in Sports: The first family: Archie, Peyton and Eli are incredibly famous, immensely ...; The growing gap: driving distances are skyrocketing on the PGA Tour. So why ...; Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four ...; Drag racing - National Hot Rod Association; The world's most popular .22: the Marlin Model 60 just keeps on ticking; More »

Brown points out that though he is close to becoming the oldest coach in NBA history at 71, "It's a young 71. The one thing I know is, don't ever think about how old you are. It doesn't matter."

Last season, there was some question about how long Brown might stick around--he had said he would contemplate his future over the summer. Apparently, the decision did not require much thought. Brown is the defending Coach of the Year, having led the wayward Grizzlies to the playoffs last season, flushing eight years of franchise futility in the process. To hear him talk, he is energized for this year and perhaps even more beyond. Brown's contract expires after this season, and it long has been assumed that he will head back to broadcasting once the contract is through. Not so fast.

"I feel great," Brown says. "This is a great time for me. The practice, the teaching, the films, watching these guys get better, all of that keeps you going. It keeps you young, so you love it."

He'd better love it because Brown is facing the most difficult coaching job in the NBA. He pulled off a startling feat last year when he harangued his Grizzlies from 28 wins in 2002-03 to 50 without the addition of a star player. Now, Brown must pull an encore.

It's an important season for Memphis, which had the league's fifth-lowest home attendance (15,188) last season but will open the new 18,400-seat FedExForum this season. Team owner Michael Heisley paid the league $29 million to move the Grizzlies to Memphis three years ago, and he lost about $10 million per year while the Grizzlies played at The Pyramid. With the new arena in place--as well as a new logo and new uniforms--now is the time to recoup those losses.

The payoff will come only if the team wins and plays entertaining basketball. That's Brown's domain. There will be pressure on other coaches (Jeff Bzdelik in Denver, Jeff Van Gundy in Houston, Jerry Sloan in Utah, Stan Van Gundy in Miami), but they are running teams that made significant offseason additions. The Grizzlies' only major summer signing was Brian Cardinal, who will be the eighth or ninth man.

To improve, Brown is counting on growing maturity from his young team and a continuation of the good fortune that marked last season's Grizzlies. That team avoided injuries and won close games, which requires a good deal of luck--though that luck was aided by Brown's 10-man rotation. Over the course of the season, reduced minutes reduced the chance of injury, and only two key players (Lorenzen Wright and Mike Miller) missed more than 10 games. Sharing minutes left players with more energy at the end of games and gave Brown more fourth quarter options.

"We had 17 wins in games that were five points or closer" Brown says. "We were 5-0 in overtime. We had no injuries last year, until April. The question is, can we duplicate all that?"

Brown is counting on a big year from 24-year-old power forward Pan Gasol, who signed a maximum-dollar contract extension last summer. Brown also liked what he saw from big man Stromile Swift in the preseason. The coach still has two players at every position, which will allow him to maintain the 10-man rotation that pressures the ball, creates fast breaks and wears out many teams. He is emphasizing cutting 3-point attempts and bumping up free throw attempts by attacking the basket and is pleased with the results so far.

But Brown would be foolish to not acknowledge that he has a tough task, trying to repeat last season's success in a Western Conference that has somehow gotten deeper. "Utah goes and gets Carlos Boozer and (Mehmet Okur)," Brown says. "Denver gets Kenyon Martin. Look, there are 13 teams in the West that are going to be tough, and Number 5 through 13 can change on any night. I know Detroit won the championship, but don't let anyone B.S. you about the East. The West is tough, tough, tough."

His job, too, is tough, tough, tough. But at 49 years older than Andre Emmett, Brown doesn't have time to worry about that.

Catch up on the news and results from the first week of the season at msn.foxsports.com, keyword: NBA.

INSIDE DISH

By SEAN DEVENEY

Can an old dog repeat a new trick?

Sporting News, The, Nov 8, 2004 by Sean Deveney

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Business

Most Popular Articles in Sports

Most Popular Publications in Sports