How’s this for a senior moment?
Memphis Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown was conducting practice when he saw rookie Andre Emmett commit an egregious error on a fast break. Brown whistled for the team to stop, and in an attempt to point out to Emmett that he’s mature enough not to make silly mistakes, Brown asked, “Andre, how old are you?”
“I’m 22,” Emmett said.
The answer made Brown stop in his tracks and burst out laughing. When Brendan Brown, an assistant with the Grizzlies and Hubie’s son, asked his father about the laughter, the elder Brown said: “I’m 49 years older than these guys. This is the first time I ever realized that.”
Although Brown is close to becoming the oldest coach in NBA history at 71, he said: “It’s a young 71. Don’t ever think about how old you are..”
Last season there was some question about how long Brown might stick around. He had said he would contemplate his future over the summer.
Apparently, the decision did not require much thought. Brown is the defending NBA coach of the year, having led the Grizzlies to the playoffs last season, flushing eight years of franchise futility. He says he is energized for this season and perhaps even beyond.
Brown’s contract expires after this season, and it long has been assumed that he will head back to broadcasting once the contract is through. Not so fast.
“I feel great,” Brown said. “This is a great time for me. The practice, the teaching, the films, watching these guys get better, all of that keeps you going. It keeps you young, so you love it.”
He’d better love it because Brown is facing the most difficult coaching job in the NBA. He pulled off a startling feat last year when he harangued his Grizzlies from 28 wins in 2002-03 to 50 without the addition of a star player. Now Brown must pull an encore.
The Grizzlies’ only major summer signing was Brian Cardinal, a reserve. To improve, Brown is counting on growing maturity from his young team and a continuation of the good fortune that marked last season’s Grizzlies. That team avoided injuries and won close games, aided by Brown’s 10-man rotation.
Over the course of the season, reduced minutes lessened the chance of injury, and only two key players, Lorenzen Wright and Mike Miller, missed more than 10 games. Sharing time left players with more energy at the end of games and gave Brown more fourth-quarter options.
“We had 17 wins in games that were five points or closer,” Brown said. “We were 5-0 in overtime. We had no injuries until April. The question is, can we duplicate all that?”
Brown is counting on a big year from 24-year-old power forward Pau Gasol, who signed a maximum-dollar contract extension. Brown also liked what he saw from big man Stromile Swift in the preseason.
“Utah goes and gets Carlos Boozer and [Mehmet Okur],” Brown said. “Denver gets Kenyon Martin. Look, there are 13 teams in the West that are going to be tough, and Nos. 5 through 13 can change on any night. I know Detroit won the championship, but don’t let anyone fool you about the East. The West is tough, tough, tough.”
