Basketball’s Amblin’ Man Back in News

Larry Brown is only 45, but he’s been around. He coached the Carolina Cougars in the American Basketball Assn. and the Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball Assn. He also put in a couple of years at UCLA.

He’s now in his third year at Kansas, and the rumors are flying again. His wife, a recent graduate at Kansas, has taken a job with an advertising agency in New York, where the coach of the Knicks, Hubie Brown, reportedly is in trouble.

“It’s a natural,” Larry Brown said of the speculation. “I’m a New York kid. I have NBA experience. I have a good relationship with Scotty Stirling, the Knicks’ new general manager. My wife is working in New York. But I think anybody who knows me would attest to the fact that I’m very happy here. I’ll always be somebody rumored to be going after another job somewhere.”

He said the rumors have been particularly disquieting to his mother, Ann Alpern, who lives in Florida.

“She doesn’t understand,” Brown said. “She thinks people change jobs because they’ve got problems, because people aren’t happy with the job you’re doing. When people say they’ve got inside information, she believes them. She’s a typical Jewish mom.”

Add Brown: Asked once about his wife, Barbara, he said: “She’s an amateur tennis player and a professional shopper.”

Add Rumors: Said Eldon Miller, lame duck Ohio State basketball coach, when asked if he had applied for the job at Northern Iowa: “Sure, I’ve talked to them. I’m out of a job. I’ll talk to anybody.”

Practice-makes-perfect dept.: Says Larry Bird, the NBA leader in free-throw percentage: “I was only 60% in high school, so I practiced an hour before school every day. In college I was 75%. Now, because I’ve continued to work on it, I’m at 90%. I’m convinced anyone can be good at it if they’re willing to pay the price.”

Note: In one workout last season, Bird made 361 free throws in succession.

Trivia Time: Name three players who have played for the Boston Celtics and also played major league baseball. (Answer below.)

For the Record: Pete Arbogast, a spokesman for the Marshall High School basketball Hall of Fame, called to respond to a complaint that Bob Kloppenburg wasn’t among the first five inductees.

“Kloppenburg was selected,” said Arbogast, “but he was unable to attend because of a schedule conflict. He’s an assistant coach with the Seattle SuperSonics. He will be inducted next year.”

From Buddy Martin of the Denver Post: “My neighbor Harry says: ‘The greatest athlete in the world submitted to a urine test every time he competed. Secretariat.’ ”

Trivia Answer: Danny Ainge, 3b, Toronto; Gene Conley, p, Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox; Chuck Connors, 1b, Brooklyn, Chicago Cubs.

Note: Bill Sharman was called up by Brooklyn in 1951 after he batted .286 as an outfielder at Fort Worth in the Texas League.

During a game between Brooklyn and Boston on Sept. 27, he was riding the bench when an argument broke out. Umpire Frank Dascoli wound up throwing out pitcher Preacher Roe, catcher Roy Campanella and the entire Dodger bench.

Sharman thus became the answer to this trivia question: “What player got thrown out of a major league game without ever playing in one?”

Quotebook

Skip Bayless of the Dallas Times Herald, on Sunday’s win by the Boston Celtics: “They left the Lakers down and out in Beverly Hills.”