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ShareBetson: I'll Miss Larry
by CHUCK BETSON
For the 2002-03 season, Sixers.com offered fans a weekly column with local sportswriters Chuck Betson, John DiCarlo and Anthony Gargano. They offer Sixers.com a fresh and engaging look at your Philadelphia 76ers.
Betson, DiCarlo and Gargano Archives
posted May 29, 2003
None of us should be surprised by the exit of the nomadic Larry Brown, who isn't really happy unless he is unhappy. But now that we all have had time to digest what happened on the most depressing Memorial Day on record, maybe we should be surprised by the reaction of some in this community who are actually reveling in Brown's departure.
Yes, the coach had his faults, and yes, he was high maintenance, and yes, he didn't develop young talent, but does anyone out there remember what it was like around Philadelphia professional basketball before Larry Brown arrived?
Need we refresh your memory about the basketball futility that didn't even end when they opened the state of the art of First Union Center? The 90s were a lost decade in Philadelphia, full of John Lucas' and Brad Greenbergs and Johnny Davis' and trips to the lottery.
Close your eyes and think about the 90s in Philly and you can almost see the LA Clippers.....well almost.
So before we pick up our quick fix cell phones to bash Brown again on sports talk radio, shouldn't we pause for a moment to reflect what Brown did with this franchise?
Was there any place better place to be than in this city in 2001 when the Sixers made that wonderful run to the NBA Finals? Pat Croce jumping from bridges; Allen Iverson jumping over the Bucks and the Raptors; the Delaware Valley jumping for joy.
It isn't the Sixers fault that Philadelphia hasn't won a championship since 1983. Hell, they won the last one.
Getting to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is not exactly a failure especially when you consider that by Game 6 of some seasons in the 90s the Sixers out of the playoffs.
I, for one, will miss covering Brown. This is a coach who will say what he feels and not what the organization wants him to say. You can do that when you're in the Hall of Fame. But Larry was high maintenance. Some day Pat Croce will write a book about what it was like dealing with Larry and Allen.
Which brings us to Allen and the perception that Brown quit because he grew tired of dealing with the enigmatic superstar. Maybe I was on island, but from observing Iverson and the Sixers on regular basis this season it appeared that Iverson had his best season on and off the court. And Brown, in his own wear his feelings on his chic sleeve style, said as much more than once, although the late arrival before Game 6 against Detroit inevitably opened some old wounds.
Brown needs to feel loved, and the first time he doesn't feel that need for Larry he leaves; perhaps that's the best way to describe his exit. This time the Comcast-Spectacor organization wasn't going to beg him to stay.
And now that the coaching merry-go-round is spinning, here's name for Billy King we haven't seen or heard anywhere else: Michigan State's Tom Izzo.
He may not be Mike Krzyzewski or Tubby Smith, but he may just be the best coach in college basketball right now. His coaching style could be a good fit for the Sixers, a team that contrary to public perception, still has some talent returning.
For the 2002-03 season, Sixers.com offered fans a weekly column with local sportswriters Chuck Betson, John DiCarlo and Anthony Gargano. They offer Sixers.com a fresh and engaging look at your Philadelphia 76ers.
Betson, DiCarlo and Gargano Archives
posted May 29, 2003
 E-mail him at chuckbetman@aol.com. |
Yes, the coach had his faults, and yes, he was high maintenance, and yes, he didn't develop young talent, but does anyone out there remember what it was like around Philadelphia professional basketball before Larry Brown arrived?
Need we refresh your memory about the basketball futility that didn't even end when they opened the state of the art of First Union Center? The 90s were a lost decade in Philadelphia, full of John Lucas' and Brad Greenbergs and Johnny Davis' and trips to the lottery.
Close your eyes and think about the 90s in Philly and you can almost see the LA Clippers.....well almost.
So before we pick up our quick fix cell phones to bash Brown again on sports talk radio, shouldn't we pause for a moment to reflect what Brown did with this franchise?
Was there any place better place to be than in this city in 2001 when the Sixers made that wonderful run to the NBA Finals? Pat Croce jumping from bridges; Allen Iverson jumping over the Bucks and the Raptors; the Delaware Valley jumping for joy.
It isn't the Sixers fault that Philadelphia hasn't won a championship since 1983. Hell, they won the last one.
Getting to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is not exactly a failure especially when you consider that by Game 6 of some seasons in the 90s the Sixers out of the playoffs.
I, for one, will miss covering Brown. This is a coach who will say what he feels and not what the organization wants him to say. You can do that when you're in the Hall of Fame. But Larry was high maintenance. Some day Pat Croce will write a book about what it was like dealing with Larry and Allen.
Which brings us to Allen and the perception that Brown quit because he grew tired of dealing with the enigmatic superstar. Maybe I was on island, but from observing Iverson and the Sixers on regular basis this season it appeared that Iverson had his best season on and off the court. And Brown, in his own wear his feelings on his chic sleeve style, said as much more than once, although the late arrival before Game 6 against Detroit inevitably opened some old wounds.
Brown needs to feel loved, and the first time he doesn't feel that need for Larry he leaves; perhaps that's the best way to describe his exit. This time the Comcast-Spectacor organization wasn't going to beg him to stay.
And now that the coaching merry-go-round is spinning, here's name for Billy King we haven't seen or heard anywhere else: Michigan State's Tom Izzo.
He may not be Mike Krzyzewski or Tubby Smith, but he may just be the best coach in college basketball right now. His coaching style could be a good fit for the Sixers, a team that contrary to public perception, still has some talent returning.
