PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- After a disappointing performance in the World Championships this summer, Team USA Tuesday named Hall of Famer Larry Brown as its next coach.
His first assignment will be the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in August 2003. The team is expected to be different than 2002. That squad finished sixth in the World Championships at Indianapolis in September, and was roundly criticized for being lackadaisical. The Americans must place in the top three in qualifying to defend their Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens, Greece. The U.S. is 109-2 all time in the Olympics.
Allen Iverson, Brown's starting point guard on the Philadelphia 76ers, is among several superstars that already have expressed an interest in playing for the national team. Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, and Ray Allen said they would play, but Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal indicated he would not be there if his own coach, Phil Jackson, was not named.
"I look at this as an unbelievable honor, one that I don't take lightly," Brown said. "I understand how many great coaches there are who are deserving of this opportunity, and I feel so honored to be chosen. I will do my very best to represent USA Basketball and the NBA. This is what makes coaching worthwhile."
Brown, enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year, is the only American man to both play and coach in the Olympics. He assisted Rudy Tomjanovich of the Houston Rockets in 2000, when the U.S. went 8-0 and won the gold medal in Sydney, Australia.
"Larry Brown is a terrific choice to lead USA Basketball at next summer's qualification tournament and ultimately to the 2004 Olympic Games," said USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee Chairman Stu Jackson, who chose Brown over Jackson, Pat Riley of Miami, and Jerry Sloan of Utah. "Among the NBA's top coaches, Larry has the most international coaching experience. He has the utmost respect from our players, the selection committee, and his peers in the coaching community. We look forward to working with Larry during the next two years to bring the gold medal for men's basketball back to the USA."
Brown, 62, has posted a winning record in 26 of 30 seasons as a college or professional coach. He has been with the 76ers since the 1997-98 season, leading the team to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2001 NBA Finals.
Brown averaged 4.1 points per game for the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He played five seasons in the ABA, winning a championship in 1969.
Brown began his coaching career in 1972 with the ABA's Carolina Cougars. He coached Kansas to an NCAA championship in 1988, and is 842-654 as an NBA coach, ranking eighth on the all-time wins list.
The U.S. team will consist of 8-9 top NBA players with the remaining three or four spots filled by role players, who could come from other professional leagues or the NCAA. USA Basketball hopes to have the first players selected by the end of December, with perhaps two or three more in early February.
