Brown, Apologizing for Put-Down, Gets Warm San Antonio Welcome

Larry Brown, who once put down the city, Tuesday received a resounding welcome from fans as the new coach of the San Antonio Spurs.

Brown quit at the University of Kansas Monday to accept a $3.5-million, 5-year contract with the Spurs, who are attempting to rebuild after a 59-105 record in two seasons under Bob Weiss, the coach who was fired last week.

Brown, who coached Carolina and Denver in the old American Basketball Assn. and coached against the Spurs in the mid-1970s, once angered San Antonio fans by saying the city was only good for its guacamole.

Such statements were food for thought Tuesday when Brown apologized for his past remarks, saying, “I really didn’t mean it.”

Brown, who coached Kansas to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship last March, said he hopes to field an exciting team.

San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros thinks said the Spurs and the city would prosper after the National Basketball Assn. franchise was purchased by B.J. (Red) McCombs, who paid $47 million for the team last month.

McCombs, a veteran San Antonio businessman and former owner of the Denver Nuggets, said he didn’t really think Brown would take the San Antonio job.

“I knew he was the best coach in the United States, and I knew we were going to make every shot at it, but I never really dreamed that he would be here,” McCombs said.

Brown, who also coached at UCLA and the New Jersey Nets before going to Kansas five years ago, will bring assistants Ed Manning, Alvin Gentry and R.C. Buford with him.