For These Men, Basketball is Life
by Ray Floriani
LYNDHURST, N.J. – It is only fitting how it worked out. Jim Boeheim, Hubie Brown and Jim Calhoun were elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame on the same day. Yes, it was only appropriate the three go in together. Their carrer paths are somewhat similar but the constant remains, they are basketball lifers. And pretty good teachers as well.
Boeheim is not only a basketball lifer but a Syracuse one as well. From his undergraduate days when he walked on the squad and teamed with Dave Bing, Syracuse has been Boeheim’s home. He assisted for several years, then took over in 1978 as Roy Danforth headed to Tulane. Under his watch, Syracuse has gone from a strong regional program to a national one. The national championship in 2003 was a milestone on what has been an outstanding resume.
Boeheim strikes a very mild-mannered style on the sidelines, except when “debating” an official’s call. The looks are deceiving. He’s a competitor and simply goes out, competes and most of the time wins. The knock on him is his style is undisciplined. Nothing is further from the truth. He does allow his players some offensive freedom. Boeheim realizes that system is apt to attract some better ballplayers. There is a limit, though, to that offensive self-expression on the floor, as the system is far from “run ‘n gun”. Critics should also be reminded of the trademark 2-3 zone Syracuse employs. On the surface, a 2-3 doesn’t seem that imposing, but year after year, opponents, especially those who do not see it and face Syracuse in the tournament, struggle and often fail to effectively solve it.
The honors and accolades Boeheim has brought to Syracuse basketball are too numerous to mention here. Schools looking for a head coach don’t even bother to dial Boeheim’s number anymore. He’s there for life. Interestingly, two of his assistants as Bernie Fine (29 years) and Mike Hopkins (10 years) have looked at other jobs but remained on the staff for quite some time as well.
Boeheim remarked to the press after being notified about the selection to the Hall that it might be nice to get the honor and be retired. “The reality is,” Boehein said, “we open with Cornell next year.” Spoken as a true “lifer.” The season had recently ended and Boeheim is already pondering the opening of 2005-2006.
It appears Jim Calhoun has been at the University of Connecticut his entire coaching career. That is not the case, and the same goes for the assumption that UConn has always been a national power. Truth is, the school struggled in the Big East for several years. Jim Calhoun was running a successful overachieving program at Northeastern. UConn, a charter member of the Big East Conference was at very best, treading water in the meantime. In the mid-80s, there was serious talk among Connecticut faithful and officials of the school possibly exiting the conference. There were even (UConn) fans who felt the two Husky nicknamed schools should swap – simply, UConn go to the North Atlantic Conference while Northeastern join the Big East. The schools stayed put, but Calhoun made the move.
Following his initial year at Storrs, Calhoun lamented there probably wasn’t one player in the UConn program who could start for another Big East school. That was the 1985-86 season. His statement was not to hint any progress made that season was solely his doing; it was Calhoun’s candid and frank assessment of the scenario. Calhoun didn’t wallow in self pity over his new and extremely challenging situation. Calhoun approached the job the only way he knew: with a strong dose of plain old fashioned hard work. He coached the heck out of the kids he had, hit the recruiting trail with a vengeance and worked feverishly to alter the university’s infrastructure in its relation to the basketball program.
In 1987-88 the Huskies finished just over .500 and received an NIT bid. They got hot in March and wound up cutting the nets at Madison square Garden as champions. Two years later UConn was a possession away from the Final Four. There was no looking back from there, as a succession of Big East titles and two national championships highlight the past decade and a half.
Outspoken and not afraid to share his opinion, Calhoun basically stayed the same as he was during the days spent roaming the Northeastern sidelines. Calhoun has always been a teacher of the game, a thorough, well-prepared mentor who diligently worked and demanded the best of all his players. Again, the nation found out more about Jim Calhoun over the past decade or so. The UConn success coupled with the Nutmeg State’s extensive media coverage has revealed to more people what was basically common knowledge – Jim Calhoun is simply a superlative basketball coach. As noted, Calhoun hasn’t spent his entire career or enjoyed his only success at UConn. Still, when you mention the University of Connecticut’s outstanding success on the court the last fifteen plus years, one can’t help but think of Jim Calhoun.
Hubie Brown has traveled a different route. He’s seen it all, from a high school coach who’s responsible for sweeping the floor and phoning in scores to an NBA sideline, working under the microscope of media scrutiny and dealing with a different level of talent and demands. Through it all Brown has been the consummate teacher. His same, break the game down approach has worked on every level, from Cranford and Fair Lawn, NJ high schools, to his days as a Duke University assistant and later as a head coach in the old ABA and the NBA.
Brown left coaching the NBA the latter part of the 1980s and joined TNT as an analyst. The teaching continued, as Brown broke the game down efficiently and simply. He addressed his audience to reach all, whether it was the upwardly mobile coach or the wife or girlfriend who was watching as captive audience.
The opportunity to return to the sidelines presented itself a little over a year ago. The Memphis Grizzlies were calling, and Brown accepted. Critics said his techniques would not work with today’s pampered, often spoiled and sometimes lackadaisical NBA player mired in a losing situation. The critics were silenced and sold. Brown utilized those same principles from his high school coaching days and let the Grizzlies to the playoffs while earning himself Coach of the Year honors.
In clinics, Hubie Brown is fiery and simply phenomenal. He will give a three-hour clinic non-stop without benefit of one index card or note sheet to reference. He is 180 minutes of boundless energy captivating his audience. It’s the same style and approach he’s used since the Cranford days right through to David Stern’s league. A single play might not be diagrammed, yet notebooks of the attendees are filled.
Brown would discuss a practice from the prep days of breaking down his team stats against the upper half of the league or conference and comparing them with the breakdowns of the lower half. Another idea was having a pre-practice meeting in a different part of the practice site each day, simply to maintain concentration.
Ever the teacher, Brown constantly is open to new ideas. He once pointed out the concepts of a 1-3-1 offense he saw and borrowed while watching his daughter’s middle school basketball game during his Atlanta days.
He stepped down as head coach of the Grizzlies last fall, but rest assured, he is still watching intently – NBA, college, high school, whatever. He is watching as both a teacher prepping for the next lesson and student still learning and thirsting for knowledge of a game he passionately loves.
Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Hubie Brown – the Hall has a virtual “blessed trinity” of mentors to enshrine this September.
