Kansas basketball: Ranking the top coaches in program history
No. 4: Larry Brown (1983–1988)
Larry Brown was the shortest tenured head coach in Kansas basketball history; yet, he accomplished some of the most incredible feats. Here are a few of them:
- 135–44 record
- 1 NCAA championship
- 2 Final Fours
- 1 Big Eight title
- 1-time Big Eight Coach of the Year
- 1988 Naismith Coach of the Year
Brown took over for the fired Ted Owens and led the Jayhawks to a 22-10 record after they’d finished 13-16 the year before under Owens. In his third season, Brown took his Kansas team to the final four where they played the Mike Krzyzewski led Duke Blue Devils.
The Jayhawks fell to Duke 71-67 finishing the season with a 35-4 record.
In 1988, Kansas came into the NCAA Tournament as a six seed with little hope of making it out of the second round. Led by Danny Manning, the Jayhawks would advance to the Final Four and face Krzyzewski and Duke again.
This time, Brown’s Jayhawks beat the Blue Devils and advanced the national championship against fellow Big Eight member Oklahoma. The Sooners were an eight-point favorite over the Cinderella Jayhawks, but that didn’t faze Manning. Danny would drop 31 points and 18 rebounds in the title game, leading Kansas basketball to an 83-79 win and their second NCAA championship.
After the miracle season, Brown left Kansas to take over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.
While Brown has one more national title than another coach that’s ranked higher than him on this list, he deserves the No. 4 spot. More on that next.