Brown wins his first NBA coach-of-the-year honor
This article was originally published in the Inquirer on May 23, 2001.
Larry Brown will be named the NBA's coach of the year today, according to a source in the 76ers organization, but before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brown did not want to talk about clearing space off his mantel for the trophy.
"No, no, no. The only thing I'm concerned about was that my kids got to bed, my wife got here on time, the Phillies get a game-winner, and we win," he said before tip-off - and the Phillies' rainout.
This will be the first time in his 18-year NBA career that Brown will receive the honor. A news conference was expected to be held this afternoon.
Center Dikembe Mutombo was visibly pleased when he learned that Brown would win the award.
"It's a great accomplishment for Coach Brown," Mutombo said. "Myself, I have so much respect for him. . . . Everywhere he's been, any program, any institution, he has done an extremely great job. "
Mutombo raised his eyebrows when told that this would be Brown's first NBA coach-of-the-year honor.
"Sometimes patience is very important," he said. "He never talked that much about it. . . . He's a great coach, and I enjoy getting to be one of his students. "
Mutombo said Brown is different from many other coaches because he has continued to put in new plays throughout the season and playoffs, including "three or four" for the Bucks series.
"So if you don't have the brains enough to remember [the plays], then you're going to have trouble playing for him," Mutombo said.
Geiger in. You may have noticed Sixers reserve Matt Geiger out on the court last night.
Yesterday, Geiger, out for the previous six games with tendinitis in his right thigh, walked into the coach's office and told Brown he wanted to play.
Remember that after playing four minutes in the first game of the Toronto series, Geiger dressed but did not play for the next three games.
His status was unclear, until Sixers general manager Billy King announced before Game 5 that Geiger wouldn't be dressing, so his status wouldn't be a distraction.
"I'm proud that he would want to play," Brown said before last night's game, pointing out that with so many people banged up, Jumaine Jones had to play power forward when Tyrone Hill got into foul trouble against the Raptors.
Geiger went in for Hill with 3 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter. When Hill returned for the second quarter, Geiger stayed on the court, replacing Mutombo.
When Geiger got an offensive rebound, the crowdapplauded. When he hit a jumper a couple of minutes later, some fans stood.
The seven-minute stretch was Geiger's longest of the playoffs, and helpful to the Sixers' cause. He ended up playing 12 minutes, scoring the one basket, and grabbing three rebounds.
"I told him I was really proud of him," Brown said after the game. "He said he was really sore at halftime, so I got him in real early, which made Tyrone [Hill] mad. If he can give us 12 or 15 minutes for a while, it's needed. "
Sixers president Pat Croce called down from his box during the game to check on Geiger. A security guard relayed the player's response to Croce.
