Duke assistant coach Al Brown has never met Bill Cosby. And he certainly hasn't borrowed the comedian's colorful sweaters.

But he thanks you for noticing his vast collection of eye-catching pullovers.

"I've got a bunch of them," Brown said.

He wears one to every game, sporting it as a uniform of sorts. Some project like the inside of a kaleidoscope, intricately woven into fanciful patterns eliciting responses from kind to crass.

This week, during the ACC Tournament, expect Brown to unveil more of his favorites.

Duke senior Wanisha Smith said she likes them on Brown.

"I like them because he's an older man, and if you see him on the outside of a basketball court, that's his swagger: He's just G-cool," she said. "They definitely match him. The colors might not match his personality, but just the style."

Years ago, when Brown was the men's head coach at Ball State (1982-87), he wore ties and sport coats. He switched to sweaters after becoming an assistant with the Tennessee women's team in 1992, a post instructor on coach Pat Summitt's staff.

"I never set out to do it for any reason other than just wearing a sweater," he said. "I never did it for any purpose, and I never picked out those sweaters thinking, 'Boy, that will look good on TV.' "

Fashion sense is in the eye of the beholder, Brown acknowledges. He's not even sure where his taste in bold colors comes from.

"My mother, God rest her soul, loved bright colors," he said. "She just loved bright -- just gaudy almost -- colors. Probably, although I don't knowingly do that, probably the brightness and all that comes from her and what she liked."

Others liked them, too. He said he couldn't walk into a gym without hearing a comment.

"Everybody said, 'I like your sweaters,' so I just kept wearing them," he said.

Over time, friends and relatives bought more. People offered suggestions on where to buy them.

Of course, there were those who offered him advice on where to give them away -- and how quickly. After Duke played Maryland on Jan. 14 -- a game televised nationally on ESPN2 -- he received an e-mail message from a woman he did not know, saying, "Lose that sweater."

He laughed.

"I didn't figure anybody paid any attention," he said.

Sure, neither did Bill Cosby.