Brown retires, citing lost spirit, medical issues

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Brown retires, citing lost spirit, medical issues By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer Nov 27, 2004 - 2:23:00 AM	Email this article Printer friendly page
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Hubie Brown knew the time was right to retire as coach of Memphis Grizzlies. He also knew his timing could have been better. ``My biggest regret is that I didn't meet them when I was in my 40s and 50s because I had more to give than I do now because I was more alert, more astute, more observant and I saw more,'' the 71-year-old coach said. ``I apologized to them because I met them too late in my life.'' After proving he was good enough to win his second Coach of the Year award in his only full season, Brown stepped down Thursday when he found he lacked the drive and good health to do the job up to his standards. ``I need on a daily basis an energy and a stamina, and then with me it's a spirit. But the key is spirit. See, the spirit is what gives you the passion on a daily basis,'' Brown said Friday. ``One day you wake up, you don't have that, and that's when you've got to understand that it's a time you've got to walk.'' Lionel Hollins took over as interim coach, and directed the team Friday night in a loss in Minnesota. Team president Jerry West was vague as to how long Hollins might remain in the post, while ESPN reported that Mike Fratello would accept the job. A team spokeswoman said she had no information on the possible hiring of Fratello. ESPN said Fratello must still work out a departure settlement with Turner Sports, where he is a television analyst. Brown led the Grizzlies to a franchise-best 50-32 record last season and the franchise's first playoff appearance. ``It's an education thing I told them because it was an education for them, but more important for me myself at this age of what you can accomplish,'' Brown said. But he also pointed out that he had coached 188 games with the Grizzlies since being hired in November 2002, which he equated to six years for a high school or college team. The grind of seven-day workweeks and endless travel became more than he wanted to endure. Brown said his medical condition, which he did not detail, was something that developed three weeks ago. He had an extensive physical prior to this season before deciding to return. ``I've had things come up that your body gives you a warning sign, and you'll see. Until you get up there, you aren't going to understand it,'' Brown said. Brown retired with the Grizzlies at 5-7 after starting the season with four straight losses and injuries to James Posey, Pau Gasol and most recently, Stromile Swift. Brown's career coaching record is 424-495, or 528-559 including ABA games. West had hoped Brown would stick around for another year with a team that just moved into a new arena and he didn't want to talk about his own future. ``My future will be decided when I feel like he feels now,'' said West, who came out of retirement himself in 2002 to take over the Grizzlies after 18 years as general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers. Hearing that Brown had lost his spirit surprised New York Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens, who called him the embodiment of the sport. ``He'd rather talk basketball than eat,'' Wilkens said. ``Every conversation I've had with him, it's about the game.'' Brown returned to coaching in 2002 after a 16-year break during which he became a highly regarded television analyst. He also coached the Atlanta Hawks from 1976-81 and the Knicks from 1982-86. At every stop, Brown's teams won more games in his first full season than in the previous year. He leaves as the winningest coach in Memphis history at 83-85. The news shocked the Grizzlies. Bonzi Wells, who had a troubled career before Memphis picked him up last December in a trade with Portland, credited Brown with giving him back his spirit for the game and called him a great mentor and teacher. ``Just wanting to go out and work hard for somebody every day, that's the way he made me want to play every day, and I'm going to miss that,'' Wells said. The Grizzlies had some friction earlier this season when Jason Williams started yelling at Brown and his son and assistant coach, Brendan Brown, during the third quarter of a loss to the Mavericks in Dallas on Nov. 7. Williams did not return to the game. Asked if that contributed to any stress, Brown quickly dismissed that as an issue. Memphis forward Shane Battier thinks Brown deserves to spend some time with his wife, Claire, and his grandchildren while the Grizzlies try to continue building on what the coach started. ``We're all luckier people to have worked with him for the two years that we did,'' Battier said. Copyright 2007 - MOP Squad Sports Top of Page