Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 21, 1993 TAG: 9305210313
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Brown, who carries one of the most extensive resumes in all of basketball, was mentioned earlier in the day as a candidate for the vacant coaching job with the Indiana Pacers. Bob Hill was fired Tuesday.
"Larry has resigned and expressed a desire to explore other opportunities," Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor said in a statement. "We appreciate Larry's efforts and hard work on behalf of the Clippers' organization and wish him success in his future endeavors.
"No one anticipated this move. We talked on Tuesday. No one had any indication."
The 52-year-old coach left for a trip to Hawaii without so much as a phone call to a representative of the team, instead having his agent inform the club of his decision.
Baylor said had he spoken with Brown, he would have tried to talk him out of leaving.
"I learned about it late yesterday, it was confirmed today," Baylor said. "We wanted him to stay. We're unhappy he's not our coach next season. We had made a commitment to Larry, we wanted him to be here."
Baylor said when he first heard about Brown's decision, he thought he might change his mind, something Brown has done so often over the years.
"In this business, nothing surprises me," Baylor said.
Brown was hired by the Clippers on Feb. 5, 1992, shortly after the team had fired Mike Shuler and shortly after Brown had been fired by the San Antonio Spurs.
This season the Clippers were 41-41 and made the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. They took the heavily favored Houston Rockets to the maximum five games before being eliminated.
Brown has coached six professional teams (two ABA, four NBA) and two college teams. His record in the pros is 663-449. In his seven years as a college coach no team won fewer than 20 games in a season.
by CNB