Bobcats hire Larry Brown as coach

Veteran coach is back; Bobcats are his ninth NBA team

CHARLOTTE -- Larry Brown received a long, loud standing ovation from fans, guests and staff members who attended a news conference Tuesday introducing him as the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.

His 23-59 record in 2005-06 with the Knicks, his previous stop before accepting his ninth NBA head-coaching job, was ancient history by the time he arrived in the one place where he would be unquestionably embraced. Brown is a North Carolina man, after all. He took little time after he was introduced to mention the connection and invoke the name that is sacred in these parts: Dean Smith.

"Obviously, I went to school in North Carolina, and played for the greatest coach that ever coached this game, Coach Smith," Brown said as he sat next to Michael Jordan, another North Carolina icon who is part owner and head of basketball operations with the Bobcats. "And I think Michael will say the same thing I do: We learned the game from him."

It is up to Brown to teach the Bobcats to win as Smith did with the Tar Heels. Brown, 67, who agreed to a four-year deal, will be expected to guide the franchise to its first playoff berth since joining the NBA as an expansion franchise in 2004-05.

Brown replaced Sam Vincent, who was fired after one season in which the Bobcats went 32-50.

Jordan said Brown turned him down for the job in 2007. But Jordan, who had little success in a previous stint as head of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards and failed to turn the Bobcats around with Vincent, needed to make a bold move.

So he called Brown again.

"I think you guys know Larry Brown, you know his history as a coach," Jordan said. "He's from North Carolina. He went to the University of North Carolina, has family here. He's looking forward to coming back, and I'm very happy I could bring him back."

Brown, who played at North Carolina from 1959 to 1963 and coached under Smith as well, will be an easier sell to fans who have not embraced this franchise.

The move will also allow Brown, who has 1,010 NBA coaching victories, a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and an NCAA title with Kansas in 1988, to restore his reputation after his brief and tumultuous tenure with the Knicks.

"How can you be 23-59 and sour on coaching?" Brown said jokingly when asked about his time in New York. "I did a bad job."

But after two years of watching others coach, Brown decided he wanted another shot. He resigned last week as executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers to pursue a coaching job.

"I realized I love this game," Brown said. "I can't be away from it. I have to be involved. I miss the smell of the gym. I miss being around the assistant coaches, I miss being around the players. It didn't sour me. It disappointed me because of the job I did. Now I'm fortunate enough to have another opportunity, and I want to do better."