Many are shocked the Detroit Pistons are one victory away from winning an NBA championship.
Not Bill Self, who never underestimates a Larry Brown-coached basketball team.
“I’m not amazed,” Self said Monday after addressing 700 or so youths at his week-long Kansas University basketball camp at Horejsi Center. “They are playing the Lakers, but they’ve got good players.
“The thing about it … coach Brown gets them to play hard. He gets them to guard. He’s got them peaking at the right time. Certainly, I’d think it’s one of his best coaching jobs, and he’s had a ton of them — none better than the run in ’88.”
Brown, 63, who led KU to the NCAA championship in 1988, tonight can become the first coach in history to win both an NCAA and NBA title.
Tipoff for Game 5 of the NBA Finals is 8 p.m. at the Palace of Auburn Hills (Mich.). Detroit leads the best-of-seven series, 3-1.
“I believe he has a knack. There’s something special about him,” said Self, a graduate assistant on Brown’s 1986 Final Four team. “He has a tendency to raise the guys’ level when it counts the most.”
Brown has won more than 1,000 NBA games with seven teams over 21 seasons, but has yet to claim the ultimate pro prize.
That could change tonight.
“I have not talked to him since Game 3 of the Pacers’ series,” said Self, who attended that game of the Eastern Conference finals — a Pistons’ win — May 26 in Detroit.
“He is a very superstitious guy. I will not call him. If I call, and they don’t play well the next game, he’ll think I had something to do with it,” he added, grinning. I’m certainly pulling for coach and the Pistons to go ahead and take care of business.”
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Louisville bound: Self hopes former Jayhawk David Padgett has a stellar career at Louisville.
“I hope he does well, I really do. I hope Louisville can provide for him what he’s looking for,” Self said of the 6-11 Padgett, who chose U of L over UCLA on Sunday. “Certainly we appreciate David’s contributions this year, no doubt about that. Although things at the time (of Padgett’s decision to transfer) didn’t play out the way I thought they should have or the way I wanted to … you know it’s amazing how things have a way of working themselves out if you’re just patient. Certainly, it was the case with us.”
Self was able to fill Padgett’s scholarship with highly regarded recruit C.J. Giles of Seattle.
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Roy’s take: North Carolina coach Roy Williams on Monday commented on the frenzy in the media regarding Padgett getting permission to talk to UNC about a possible transfer late last week.
“I spoke to the kid one time in 14 months, and everybody acted like I was orchestrating this thing. That really ticked me off,” Williams said. “We were in it for information purposes for such a short period of time. It was not a factor, and it will not be a factor (in success of UNC recruiting).”
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Some media members and fans speculated Williams was trying to steal away a player he once recruited for KU.
“It’s freedom of the press. You can write anything that you want, just don’t let the facts confuse you,” Williams said. “I was extremely disappointed with the way I was portrayed in this thing. For somebody to act like I orchestrated something, they are from outer space.”
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Injury updates: Keith Langford (knee) and J.R. Giddens (foot and knee) have been cleared by doctors to do stand-still shooting drills. Giddens will be allowed to play in 10 days to two weeks and Langford on or near July 1. Wayne Simien (groin) has started playing pickup games every other day. Alex Galindo (broken left wrist) will wear a splint for four more weeks.
“We are not a healthy team yet,” Self said, “but we’re gaining on it. We hope to be completely healthy, or somewhere close to it, July 1.”
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Words of wisdom: Seniors Langford and Aaron Miles were guest speakers at the camp, along with KU assistant coach Tim Jankovich, a former Kansas State guard who dazzled the campers with 20 minutes worth of dribbling drills.
“To the older guys, I’d say there’s no substitute for hard work,” Langford told the campers. “Remember, if you are taking a minute off, somebody in New York or the South, or Portland — some other state or country — may be working overtime to take your spot.
“To the real young guys, just have fun playing basketball. Play other sports, watch cartoons. It’s not supposed to be all that serious.”
Miles added to the young players: “Surround yourself with friends who want to accomplish the same goals. I grew up with Mike Lee. I’d wake him up in the morning, and we’d go play basketball because we both had the same dream of playing in Division One.
“I had another friend call me recently. He said he should still be playing basketball, but he didn’t work as hard as Mike and I did, and he regrets it.”