NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: OKLAHOMA vs. KANSAS : Final Focus Is on Brown, Not Kansas : Coach Puts Aside Bruins, Without Putting Them Off

At a time when Larry Brown should be savoring the exhilaration of coaching his underdog Kansas basketball team into the national championship game, his past is haunting him again.

The Larry Brown on-the-move-again stories are circulating here, and his destination could be back to UCLA, where he had his first college coaching job.

Brown said he’s not looking to leave Kansas. He also didn’t flatly deny that he’ll be coaching the Bruins again as he did in 1980 and 1981.

Sources close to UCLA say that Brown is interested in returning to the school and reportedly has strong alumni support. It’s now a question of whether Chancellor Charles Young, or other administrators are keenly interested in Brown, a proven winner.

Regardless, Brown will be in Los Angeles Wednesday. He’ll be accompanied by his All-American forward Danny Manning, who is a candidate for the John Wooden Award, which goes to the best college basketball player in the country.

That announcement will be made at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The awards luncheon provides Brown with a convenient opportunity to confer with UCLA officials.

North Carolina State Coach Jim Valvano, who met with UCLA officials Friday, has already withdrawn his name from consideration for the coaching job that opened when Walt Hazzard was fired Wednesday.

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski also ended speculation that he might become the next UCLA coach.

“I was contacted by them (UCLA), and I appreciate them expressing interest,” he said, “but I have no interest in them.”

It would seem that Brown’s stock has improved in regard to the UCLA job since Valvano and Krzyzewski are out of the picture.

Asked Sunday at a press conference whether he’s seeking the UCLA job, Brown said:

“I realize my name is going to come up because of the connection (UCLA) that I had. I love the school and I’ve always said that and I care about what happens.

“But this is a time of my life when I haven’t been thinking of anything but Kansas and our team, and I don’t want to focus on anything else.

“It’s uncomfortable when your name is speculated all the time. It’s something I don’t seek. I wish people would focus their energies on our program (Kansas) and these kids and what an opportunity we have.”

Brown has done a remarkable job this season with a 26-11 team that had to overcome injuries and ineligibility problems. Even Brown is surprised that his team has survived five tournament games to confront favored Oklahoma for the championship.

It’s understandable that he doesn’t want to discuss his future on the eve of such an important game.

Nevertheless, he has said many times in the past that he made a big mistake in leaving UCLA. He emphasized it again Sunday.

“I was dumb to leave,” he said. “I say that every year. I made a mistake. That was my first college job. My athletic director (J.D. Morgan) died and there were a lot of factors involved, but I was stupid. If I could change that I would, but I can’t.”

And in response to a question that UCLA hasn’t achieved the status it had since he coached the Bruins into the championship game against Louisville in 1980, Brown said:

“There’s nothing wrong with UCLA. What Coach (John) Wooden did (10 NCAA titles in 12 years) will never be duplicated and they should be proud of that. I was treated fairly. I don’t know what happened with Larry Farmer and Walt Hazzard (his successors). But UCLA has every right to have high expectations out there and want the best because Coach Wooden gave them the best.”

Brown has said that he was struggling financially on a salary of about $40,000 when he left UCLA after the 1980-81 season to become coach of the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Assn. There were other factors involved, but none as important as his financial package.

Brown stayed with the Nets for two seasons before leaving for Kansas, where he has had to refute numerous rumors that he was job hunting again even though he has remained at the school for five years.

It’s believed that he wouldn’t take another job until Manning’s eligibility had expired. Manning is a senior now.

Brown patiently answered questions Sunday about his coaching moves and how he is perceived.

“It matters a great deal what’s written about me,” he said. “I wish as a person I was strong enough not to let it affect me. I care about how people feel about me and what kind of teacher I am and whether I care about the kids.

“I never object to what is written or said about me when people know me. They have every right to say what they want. I wish people would reflect more on my job and coaching ability than where I’ve been and where I’m going.

“I realize I’ve left places and you have to be responsible for your own actions and I’ve done some things I’m not proud about. But it’s done.”

Brown coached Carolina of the American Basketball Assn. and Denver of the ABA and NBA from 1974 through 1979 before he became UCLA’s coach.

As for Valvano, he told a Raleigh, N.C., newspaper that his hiring and the salary he was seeking would have caused dissension in the UCLA athletic department.

“It would have been a departure from what went on there before,” Valvano was quoted as saying. “I was concerned that it could have affected other areas of the athletic program.”

Some papers reported that Valvano had been offered a 5-year, $2.5-million contract to become UCLA’s coach.

However, UCLA Athletic Director Pete Dalis has repeatedly said that no offer was made to Valvano.

Valvano also said that he met two weeks ago in San Diego with Young and Dalis. He said that he met with the UCLA officials out of respect to Wooden.

“Coach Wooden had a lot to do with my going out there,” he said. “He gave me the highest recommendation and I consider that an honor.”

There’s another scenario, from a source close to Valvano, that the personable North Carolina State coach never intended to take the UCLA job even though the Bruins were interested in him.

“It was a way for him to keep his name in the headlines during the weekend of the Final Four,” the source said. “He got all the publicity out of it, and it could only better his situation at North Carolina State.”

Brown had a press conference in 1986 to say that he was not taking a job with the New York Knicks of the NBA as reported and was remaining at Kansas.

Kansas forward Chris Piper said Sunday that Brown hasn’t talked to the team about the possibility of his leaving Kansas.

“I don’t know why I have to have a press conference every year to say I’m coming back,” Brown said. “I don’t know whether you guys want to come to press conferences that I’m calling on whether I’m staying, or going. I’m not looking to leave.”

That doesn’t mean he’s staying, either.