Larry Brown resigns as head coach at SMU
The Larry Brown era has come to an end at SMU, as the Hall of Fame coach handed in his resignation letter Friday after four seasons at the helm of the Mustangs.
The news was first reported by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Brown later confirmed the move in an interview with ESPN's Andy Katz.
When Katz asked Brown for the reason behind his resignation, Brown kept everything close to the vest.
"I've got nothing else I can say right now," Brown told Katz, stating his first priorities were to discuss the decision with his players and their parents.
The 75-year-old bench boss was reportedly seeking a long-term contract, but the university wasn't interested, leading to Brown handing in his walking papers. Tim Jankovich, who was hired along with Brown in April 2012, agreed to be the coach-in-waiting and will now take over the team.
Under Brown's leadership, SMU finished the 2013-14 campaign as the NIT runner-up and earned a bid in the NCAA tournament the following season, when it was ousted by UCLA, 60-59.
In his four seasons at SMU, Brown led the Mustangs to an overall record of 94-39 (.707). Brown's coaching history is well decorated, including NCAA stops at Kansas and UCLA prior to SMU, capturing an NCAA championship with the Jayhawks in 1988.
Brown also had great success at the NBA level, making stops with the Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Charlotte Bobcats. Brown won an NBA championship in 2004 with the Pistons.