The Battalion Sports
Tuesday, March 29, 1983/The Battalion/Page 11
Brown key ingredient
in Vikes’ title season
Bryan High basketball coach Larry Brown blows a
bubble while watching a Viking game during the past
season. Brown, in his fourth year at Bryan, coached
the Vikes to their first state crown since the school
opened its doors in 1971. Bryan compiled a record
of 34-5, defeating Fort Worth Paschal for the title.
When Micheaux speaks,
the UH Cougars listen
by Frank L. Christlieb
Battalion Staff
I Larry Brown’s a pretty popu-
Ilar figure in the Bryan-College
I Station area these days.
I While names like Jackie Sher-
II[ill, Shelby Metcalf, Tom
IChandler and Merrill Green
Iiavedominated area sports talk
sljuring the past year, Brown’s
|same and his short, thickset
| mild have become courthold
.■ I regulars.
| You know Larry Brown, don’t
l[0U? He’s the fellow who led the
Bryan High School Vikings to
■heir first-ever state basketball
Ihampionship a couple of weeks
l|g°' . „
I With a community of support
jehind them, Bryan’s no-name
:oach and no-name players
aved their best show for the
Kate final in Austin against Fort
Worth Paschal. What could Pas
cal, the District 6-5A runner-
ipduringthe regular season, do
igainst Brown’s Boys from
kyan, who had played both
;reat and just good enough to
vin at various times before en-
ering the state playoffs?
Nothing. It’s plain, simple
mdquite obvious from the looks
if the 71-54 pail of whitewash
he Vikings threw on Paschal.
But it’s doubtful that Brown,
vho was honored when Bryan
ilayor Richard Smith proc-
aimed Monday “Larry Brown
)ay”in Bryan, could have fore-
asted a state title earlier in the
eason. The 35-year-old Viking
oach, who just finished his
burth season at Bryan, says it
ookawhile for the pieces to fall
nto place.
“Wejust had the right chemis-
ryand everybody played their
oles,” he said in an interview
luring a recent practice session
irhich featured tryouts for next
ear’s Viking squad. “Like our
icint guard (Billy Chambers) —
lis role was to handle the ball
ndget the ball to the other peo-
le. Rod Bernstine, our big re-
ounder, had to hit the boards
and be the muscle man inside.
He did a great job.
“When you have people play
their roles and do it well, there’s
no jealousy and selfishness
among the other players.”
Brown, who considers him
self a follower of the ways of
John Wooden, Bobby Knight
and Dean Smith, heard all kinds
of talk about his squad during
the season. No major-college
basketball talent. With an aver
age height of 5-10 among the
starters, how could the Vikings
win the district crown, much less
the state championship? In
juries, injuries, injuries. What
could Brown do to light back
against the adversity and the
negative attitudes?
“Before the season started,”
he said, “we thought we had an
excellent amount of depth. But
then we had James Flowers, who
had knee surgery after a football
injury, and another starter, Sean
Snedeker, broke his ankle in the
first game of the year. Greg
Dunn was another player who
hurt himself during football sea
son. So that’s three key players
who were out for the better part
of the year.”
In addition, Steve Reddell,
the starting post during the
1981-82 season, quit the team in
December to concentrate his
efforts on Bryan baseball.
“We had to regroup when we
had those injuries,” Brown said.
“Some of our younger players
didn’t really come through like
we thought they would. We sear
ched early in the year by playing
a lot of people — about 14 peo-
le on varsity at the same time,
ut we never could find the right
combination of people until
midway through the district
schedule.”
But then Brown received
some advice from an unlikely
source. He took it, and it paid off
for him and the Vikings.
“My wife gave me some
advice,” Brown said. “She said I
needed to play (wingman) Wil
liam Dickson. I’ve always had a
lot of confidence in William, but
she’s had a lot more confidence
in him than I have. She said I
needed to stay with him.
“Then after one of the games
when we’d played bad, she told
me we needed to play less people
in order to let them get into the
flow of the game. I had been
taking them out and putting
others in, so we never really got
anything going.”
And after all the shuffling
had been done, Brown emerged
with a full deck that included
6-foot forward Dickson, 5-8
point guard Chambers, 6-foot
guard Kevin Bradsher, 6-3 post
Bernstine and 6-1 forward Dar
rell Mitchell. Add to that sixth
man Kenny Keller, and you’ve
got the stars of Brown’s 34-5
state championship show.
Brown described his team as
“a little bit immature in some
areas.” However, he said, the
team’s play and maturity im
proved as the season progre
ssed.
“We started out the year win
ning a lot of games,” Brown said,
“but we weren’t overpowering
anybody. By the time our play
ers started blending together,
we started getting some leader
ship, especially from Rod Bern
stine. When his leadership
started coming through, the
other kids responded.
“Rod would beat up on (Ken
ny) Keller all day in practice and
Keller got better and better ev
ery day. Keller got the respect,
too. He didn’t quit or cry about
it. So overall, we did mature
quite a bit as the season progre
ssed.”
Brown said two games during
the regular season could be clas
sified as “turning points” for the
See BROWN page 13
United Press International
HOUSTON — Larry
Micheaux, the only senior in the
Houston Cougars’ starting
lineup, has gained quite a repu
tation as the team’s top lecturer.
At each stop along the way in
the NCAA tournament,
Micheaux has had a last-minute
reminder for his teammates that
it’s a serious time of year.
“I had my usual talk with the
guys before the game,”
Micheaux said. “This is my last
year and 1 try to pep up the guys.
Micheaux gave his usual pre
game talk Sunday in Kansas City
and whatever he said should
have been put on tape and used
Saturday when the Cougars take
on the Louisville Cardinals in
the NCAA semifinals.
The team that has won 25
games in a row, earned the top
ranking at the end of the regular
season and reached the Final
Four for the second straight
year has only one senior in the
starting lineup.
And that’s Micheaux, the 6-9
Houston product who turned 23
two days before the Cougars
destroyed Villanova in the Mid-
w’est Regional finals, 89-71.
“I always tell them they’ll be
back next year,” he said. “I
won’t. This is it for me. I want to
go out a winner. I guess they
took my speech to heart against
Villanova.”
Micheaux scored .30 points,
combining with the seven-foot
Akeem Abdul Olajuwon and
steady guard Michael Young for
70 points — one less than the
entire Villanova squad.
In their three tournament
games thus far, the Cougars
have had to display patience
against the stall tactics of Mary
land, have had to thwart a super
star in Memphis State’s Keith
Lee and had to play a physical
brand of ball against the rugged
Wildcats from the Big East Con
ference.
And being physical is what
Houston does best.
“Villanova said they wanted
to play a physical game,”
Micheaux said. “I hope they got
what they wanted. I like to play
physical and that is the way we
all played in that game.”
Tuesday
March 29
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