AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Larry Brown didn't have much time to
enjoy his first NBA title.
After coaching the Detroit Pistons to a surprising victory over
the Los Angeles Lakers, Brown focused all his energy on getting the
U.S. basketball team ready for the Olympics.
Much to his dismay, the Americans came home with just a bronze
medal.
"As much fun as I had winning the championship, I feel just as
terrible that we didn't win gold," Brown said in an interview with
The Associated Press. "I feel miserable about it. I still haven't
gotten over Athens -- and I don't think I ever will."
But the Pistons might help their Hall of Fame coach get over his
misery.
After leading nine teams over 31 seasons, Brown found basketball
heaven last year in his first season with the Pistons -- a
collection of talented players willing to listen, learn and play
hard.
"We talked every day on the phone during the Olympics and
toward the end, Larry said he had a much fuller appreciation for
our team and the way we played the game last season," said Joe
Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. "When he got
back, he spoke to each guy and told them how much he appreciated
them."
As a member of the Pistons and a member of America's sixth-place
team at the 2002 world championships, Ben Wallace understands why
Brown was so thankful to come back to Detroit.
"When you see the game played in a certain way like we did for
him last year, it's tough to go through what he had to in the
Olympics," Wallace said. "By the end of last season, we were
doing exactly what he wanted us to do as a true team. Then, he had
to start all over and do it without a lot of practice with a bunch
of guys that are used to being stars, not role players."
Complicating matters, many of the best players in the NBA
decided they didn't want to play in Athens, and that left the U.S.
scrambling to put a group together.
LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, coming off spectacular rookie
seasons, clashed with Brown because they came off the bench --
barely sometimes. The U.S. squad lacked a true point guard and pure
outside shooters, and was unable to effectively use center Tim
Duncan.
"I was seriously thinking about retiring after we won the
championship -- if we won the gold -- because I couldn't think of a
better way to go out," said Brown, who turned 64 in September.
"But when I thought about that dressing room and what winning the
championship meant to all those guys, I wanted to be with them some
more."
The Pistons are glad to have Brown back, even if it means going
through his tedious three-hour practices.
Brown has been tough on the Pistons during training camp -- just
as he was last year, when he was breaking them in on his "play the
right way" system. If a play or drill is not run his way, it's
done again. And again.
If a point guard, such as NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, is
shooting when Brown thinks he should be passing, he'll hear about
it.
"You've got to accept that if you accept Larry," Billups said.
"He's a perfectionist and he demands a lot, but there's a method
to the madness. It's always for a good reason. Every time, it's for
the benefit of the team.
"You can't even question it. You can't even look twice at him
because you know what he says carries a lot of weight. If it wasn't
for us buying into that, we're not the champions."
That's just what Dumars wanted to hear when he made the bold
move of firing Rick Carlisle, following two successful seasons, and
hiring Brown last year.
"We absolutely have the right kind of coach as a championship
team because Larry Brown will not allow his team to become
complacent," Dumars said. "The fact that he's a hard-driving
stickler for details will give us a chance."
The Pistons said it took them a few months to figure out what
Brown wanted last season. As time went on, they didn't hear him
rant and rave or see him roll his eyes -- as much.
"It's going to help us a lot to have that learning curve out of
the way," Wallace said. "The starters went through all of that
last year, so the new guys can learn not just from the coaches, but
the players, too."
Detroit's starting lineup returns this season, but for the first
time in Brown's storied career he will be coaching the defending
NBA champions. He knows it will be a challenge.
"I like this feeling," Brown said. "I'm looking forward to
validating what we did."
He's also looking forward to having his wife, Shelly, and their
two young children with him in suburban Detroit after they stayed
back in Philadelphia last season.
"After practice last year, I'd go home and watch a movie, or
I'd work out and that was tough," Brown said. "Now, I can pick my
kids up from school and hang out with them and Shelly. It's pretty
cool."