Larry Brown is steamed.
The Kansas basketball coach, in fact, is downright miffed at fellow college coaches who, he says, aren’t playing fair in the recruitment of high school basketball players.
“I don’t know if we will sign anybody period,” said Brown, referring to the current early signing period that runs through next Wednesday.
“We’ve just had a terrible time. Every kid we’re involved with hears I’m leaving. It’s been awful, more pronounced this year. More people have hit the kids with that.”
People – meaning rival coaches – shouldn’t be so preoccupied with somebody else’s track record, Brown says.
“It’s ironic more than half the kids who say they are being recruited by coaches who haven’t been at their institutions as half as long as I’ve been here,” said Brown, starting his fifth year at Kansas. “I don’t like it. I think as a coach you’ve got a responsibility to sell your program and that’s it.
“Surely you can make comparisons between your program and others. You can compare styles of play, who is comming back and the size of the school and town. But to talk negatively like this, I’m surprised and disappointed.
“I’m not saying we do everything exactly right here, but we never ever talk about other people’s programs. It’s common this year and troubles all of us.
“It’s come down to similar schools. One kid we recruited narrowed it down to five schools. He said, ‘Coach I can’t come. You won’t be there.’ Three of the schools, the coaches worked there one year. One had been there three years. I was the senior member of the groub. It’s amazing.
“I know Alvin (Gentry), Ed (Manning) and myself have never gotten to that level. it’s a small percentage of schools but this year it’s really been bad.”
The Kansas coach also expressed dissatisfaction with the Big Eight over its reluctance to revise the Jayhawks’ schedule. KU has four straight league road games near the end of its slate, and originally had five until the Nebraska dates were shifted.
“It wasn’t a coach’s decision to give us five straight road games,” said Brown. “For them (Big Eight) to say it won’t happen again makes me understand they think it’s not fair. It’s a big joke.
“Hopefully by that time of year we’ll be playing our best basketball. We have time to get kids prepared for that opportunity. It’s ironic the conference gives you a schedule, initiates changes for TV, then finds out Kansas has five straight road games and say it’s up to the institution (to get it switched).”
KU officials say they are still exploring ways to obtain relief, hence the schedule is still officially in limbo.
