Ratliff, Dalembert recall good times when Brown was Sixers' coach
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Theo Ratliff remembers Larry Brown as the coach who could see what no one else could.
"I've never seen a guy that has the eye he has for the game, where he can tell all 10 guys what they did wrong on one single play," the 76ers backup center said before last night's game against Brown's latest NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats. "When you can see that much as a coach, it's invaluable."
Brown has been gone from the Sixers long enough that only two players remain who played for him: Ratliff and Samuel Dalembert. Coach Maurice Cheeks worked for him as an assistant, and assistant Aaron McKie won the league's Sixth Man award under him in 2000-01.
"He's a constant teacher," said Ratliff, who had his best seasons playing for Brown after coming to the Sixers with McKie from Detroit in 1997-98. "Me, being a young guy [at the time] trying to learn the NBA game, trying to learn how to do everything the right way, that was great for me. That goes for most of the guys that played for him. That team we had, he elevated pretty much everybody's career.
"He definitely elevated my game, motivated me to do more, to be a threat offensively, not just defensively, and also to learn the nuances of the game, how to play the game, to recognize situations. That's why he's known as such a great teacher for young guys. He always said he won't stop. He has such a passion for it, loves it so much; I don't see him stopping."
If there's a generation gap between the Hall of Fame coach and his current group of players, it's only off the court.
Case in point: When the Detroit Pistons traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson, Brown said it was "like trading Marilyn Monroe for Jane Russell." That was greeted by blank, young faces in the Bobcats' locker room.
When he told the players they were playing "like Laverne and Shirley," there was no recognition factor.
"I was told I should have said 'like Jay-Z and Fifty Cent,' " Brown said.
(When Brown made his "Laverne and Shirley" reference, the Charlotte Observer did a quick Internet search and discovered that nine of the Bobcats had yet to be born when the classic TV show was canceled in 1983.)
"When I go into an arena, I look at the numbers and names hanging up," Brown said. "For our guys, that could be anybody. Very few of them have any idea who those players are."
On the court, Brown has been searching for more offense from the NBA's lowest-scoring team. But the Bobcats also came into last night's game 3-9, so when he was asked whether he was happy in his newest setting, he said, "You're asking me at this moment?"
But he paused, then explained how he really felt.
"I'm thrilled," he said. "The last 2 years [out of coaching] were good, because I got to watch a lot of people coach that I care about, and I got to learn a lot. Last year [when he was still an executive vice president in Philadelphia] was really fun watching the Sixers grow and hanging with Jay [Wright, Villanova's coach] a lot; I probably drove him crazy."
Without going through the litany of his former employers, let the record show last night's game was the fourth of 25 Bobcats games this season against teams previously coached by Brown.
"Playing for him was good, and it was frustrating," Dalembert said. "I was fortunate to have a coach like him, because, as a defender, I wanted to learn the things I needed to stay in the league. It was frustrating, because he doesn't like to play rookies, but I found out that, if you stay with him, stay patient, he can give you a career in the league."
Welcome back
Dwayne Jones, the former Saint Joseph's University star, signed a free-agent contract with the Bobcats yesterday, passed his physical and was expected to practice with them today. The 6-10 Jones, cut by the Orlando Magic before the season, had appeared in two games with Efes Pilsen in Istanbul, Turkey, when the call came.
"That was the whole goal, to go over, get better and come back," he said. "It happened sooner than I thought it would."
Jones was a key member of the 2004 St. Joe's team that had an undefeated regular season and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He was an Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time member of the league's All-Defensive team. He previously has been employed in the NBA by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"Coach Brown wants me to rebound and defend," Jones said. "That's pretty easy for me to do." *
