Back to school?

NBA's Karl, Brown say they haven't been contacted by UNC

SI.com's Marty Burns MILWAUKEE -- He says he won’t pursue it, but the gleam in his eye is unmistakable. Bucks coach George Karl has never hidden his love for his alma mater, the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels coaching job, which opened Tuesday with the resignation of Matt Doherty, remains a flame that flickers inside him. "I just want to see North Carolina get back to its glory years," he said Wednesday as he sat in his office before his team’s game Houston. "If I can do anything to be part of that or help the school, I’ll do it." FULL STORY

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Two NBA coaches and North Carolina alumni linked to the Tar Heels' vacant coaching job said they have not been contacted by the university.

Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown and Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl -- both of whom played for legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith -- said Wednesday they have not talked with UNC officials since Matt Doherty's resignation as coach Tuesday.

Brown, 62, a Hall of Fame coach who won an NCAA title at Kansas, said he has no plans to leave the Sixers' bench. He interviewed for the job at his alma mater three years ago when Smith's successor, Bill Guthridge, retired.

"I have a lot of interest in the success of the program," Brown said before the 76ers' 108-101 win against the Chicago Bulls. "I want to see them do well, but I've got a job, I'm happy here with a team that's really making progress."

Brown has said in the past that coaching North Carolina is his "dream job." Smith, Brown's mentor and former coach at North Carolina, campaigned to bring Brown back to Chapel Hill in 2000, but athletic director Dick Baddour eventually gave the job to Doherty.

Brown has two years remaining on a contract that pays him about $6 million per season.

Team chairman Ed Snider also said he isn't concerned about Brown leaving.

"He's too old to coach college," Snider said.

Karl has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave Milwaukee for the North Carolina job. He played for Smith in the early 1970s.

"I haven't been contacted and I have no idea what the timetable and game plan is down there," Karl said before the Bucks' 106-99 win against the Houston Rockets.

UNC image problem? North Carolina should be in New Orleans, its good luck city. That's where Dean Smith won two national championships and Michael Jordan made a name for himself with a game-winning shot for the ages. Instead, the Tar Heels are back on campus in turmoil, trying to clean up a jumbled mess that pitted players threatening to transfer against a volatile coach. FULL STORY

Three years ago, Bucks owner Herb Kohl refused to allow Karl to talk to North Carolina about the vacant job.

When Karl negotiated a two-year, $14 million extension to his contract that runs through the 2003-04 season, he insisted on a clause that allows him to leave the Bucks to coach the Tar Heels.

But Karl said Wednesday he did not think he would pursue the job, calling the idea "more of a fantasy than a reality."

"I've never coached college, so I don't know anything about that," he said. "I just want to help North Carolina get back to the glamorous years that we've had for 30-some years. If I can do anything to help, I'd be glad to do it."

Bucks guard Sam Cassell and center Ervin Johnson said the possibility of Karl leaving for North Carolina had not crossed their minds.

"It's one of the top jobs in the country," Johnson said. "It's a tough job to take, too. Standing in the shadows of Dean Smith, it's tough."

 

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