Vicky Graff Photo
Former LSU coach Dale Brown first met John Calipari when he was coaching at UMass and asked if he could come watch LSU practice when he brought his team to Louisiana to play.
“I was friends with him before he got to Kentucky. I hit it off immediately with him the first time I met him,” said Brown. “I also really think he’s in the game because he loves the game and wants to help young people.”
Brown, 88, took LSU to the Final Four in 1981 and 1986 and had a 448-301 record, including 18-13 in NCAA Tournament play, during his 25 years at LSU from 1972-1997.
“I think he conducts himself as a winner. He is a nice man and he is the best recruiter in the country,” Brown said. “He doesn’t use his kids. Sometimes you can have too much talent but I don’t think that is the case this year. However, I still think they will be a big danger for everybody in the tournament even though they are having a little trouble right now.”
Brown understands Kentucky fans have been disappointed with UK’s recent play.
“Kentucky, I thought, had the most informed fans of any team in the country. The knowledge of the game the Kentucky fans had was unmatched by any other fans,” Brown said. “The fans are unbelievable but they also think they are supposed to win every game and that’s what keeps the program special.”
4 Responses
I like Dale Brown, but still remember the 1986 regional finals loss that he gave us. That one stung for a while.
Liked Dale Brown the player much more.
I liked Dale Brown and all those junk defenses he would come up with.
We need to hire Mark Few. I’m sorry but there is no other coach I would want and he’s exactly what kentucky needs. Gonzaga actually runs plays he recruits very well for coaching a team that plays in a horrible conference. He would recruit better at Kentucky and we would go to the final 4 or better 3 out of every 5 years. I’ve said this for the last 7 years. We need mark few while he still is young enough to be motivated.