T ake

Anything of a skill nature
takes time.
"We're not trying for a
quick fix. We're trying to
build a program that will be
long-lasting, and that takes
continuity, both in coaches
and players. The really fine
teams that win year after
year have that."
Levy says he'd like to join
Mary Levy and Sid Gillman
in the rarified atmosphere of
Jewish' head coaches in the

Brown Hopes To Avoid
`Penthouse To Outhouse'

HARLAN ABBEY

Special to The Jewish News

N

othing is permanent
in sports. Today's
hero is tomorrow's
goat who gave up the game-
winning hit or committed the
key error or missed the tackle
on a touchdown.
In fact, there's a saying that
expresses the situation
almost perfectly: going "From
the penthouse to the
outhouse?'
Larry Brown, one of the
best college or professional
basketball coaches in
America, lived through that
feeling during the 1988-89
National Basketball Associa-
tion season with the San An-
tonio Spurs.
In 1987-88, he had won the
National Collegiate Athletic
Association championship
with a Kansas University
team led by Danny Manning.
But a year later, he was the
man in charge as the Spurs

Brown gets what is
believed to be the
highest coaching
salary in the NBA.

posted the worst record in
their 15-year history as a pro-
fessional franchise — only 21
wins and 61 defeats.
It was galling to Brown, too:
the first time in a 17-year
coaching career — except
when he was fired at Denver
partway through the 1978-79
season — that one of his
teams failed to make the
playoffs.
And if that weren't enough,
it was the first time a Brown-
coached team ever finished
below .500!
Undoubtedly, Brown was
hoping that 7-footer David
Robinson would find an ear-
ly exit from the U.S. Navy
when Brown signed as the
13th coach in the Dallas/San
Antonio team's history. His
signing was announced on
Friday, June 13 — and his

your
kids
to court.

NFL. "The odds at my age
are slim, but you never
know."
In the meantime, Dave
and wife Barrie are enjoying
the change of seasons from
their home in Southfield and
Levy draws satisfaction from
the friendships he's made in
football.
"I've made some great
friendships," he says, "and
that really does make the
profession worthwhile." ❑

luck ran out when Robinson
remained in the Navy and
starters Johnny Dawkins and
Alvin Robertson were hurt for
most of the season.
But, for 1989-90, Robinson
will be available, along with
No. 1 draft pick Sean Elliott,
and Brown is expected to have
the Spurs threatening for a
playoff berth in the Midwest
Division.
Prior to last season, Brown,
47, had a 446-225 record in
the pros and was 177-61 at
Kansas and UCLA, reaching
the NCAA final three times
in seven years. Brown's col-
lege coaching victory percen-
tage of .744 is the sixth-best'
in NCAA history.
In addition to his coaching
triumphs, Brown has more
feats as a player than any
Jewish basketball star in
modern times: a Maccabi
Games gold medal in Tokyo in
1964; and "most valuable"
honors in the American
Basketball Association All-
Star Game in 1968. He once
set an ABA mark of 23 assists
in a gathe and led the league
in assists three times.
Larry has suffered other
setbacks, such as the NCAA
investigating Kansas, an ear
infection and personal pro-
blems — he has been married
three times and is noted for
changing jobs on a `•`spur-of-
the-moment" notice. But
basketball experts believe
that every time Brown takes
a job, he's convinced it's the
perfect situation.
But it's never perfect for too
long — unless David Robinson
becomes the "center of the
90s" and Brown is able to put
together a supporting cast
that can make the Spurs the
Celtics of the 1990s.
Brown, who at 5-foot-9 was
at one time the shortest
player in pro basketball, gets
what is believed to be the
highest coaching salary in
the NBA. At $3.5-million-plus
for five years, it is reportedly
twice that of the next-highest-
paid NBA coach, so that could

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•

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September 8

To register, or for more information, call:

Ext. 38.

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

45

