Larry Brown & Dean Smith: UNC Basketball Legacy | Seth Davis Analysis

Former University of North Carolina basketball player and coach Larry Brown urged patience with current Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis following the team’s loss in the NCAA Tournament, CBS Sports’ Seth Davis reported Monday. Brown, who played for and later served as an assistant under legendary UNC coach Dean Smith, believes Davis needs time to build the program, according to the report.

Brown’s connection to the UNC program runs deep. He played for Smith from 1960 to 1963, earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 1963, according to Wikipedia. Following a brief professional playing career, Brown returned to Chapel Hill as an assistant coach under Smith, according to Britannica. He managed the freshman team, tasked with narrowing down a field of nearly 100 hopefuls, as detailed in a University of North Carolina media hub article.

The advice from Brown comes after UNC’s disappointing showing in March Madness. While the specific details of Brown’s comments were not released by CBS Sports, the sentiment suggests a belief in Davis’s potential, despite recent setbacks. Brown’s own decorated coaching career – including an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and an NCAA title with Kansas in 1988 – lends weight to his perspective. He has coached at the collegiate and professional levels, including stints at UCLA, Indiana, and SMU.

Brown’s early experiences at UNC shaped his understanding of the game, playing during a time when freshmen were ineligible for varsity play and the team competed in the smaller Woollen Gym, as noted by the UNC media hub. This historical context underscores his long-standing relationship with the university and its basketball program. He has remained engaged with the sport, even after retiring from coaching, continuing to attend practices and offer guidance, according to the Kansas City Star.

As of Monday, neither Davis nor the University of North Carolina had publicly responded to Brown’s comments. The university’s athletic department has not issued a statement regarding the situation, and Davis’s future plans remain unconfirmed.