Any time and any where that the Kansas Jayhawks go up against the Duke Blue Devils in college basketball….you can pretty well bet it is going to be a great game….and this 1986 meeting in one of the National Semifinal match-up was no exception.
Duke’s Coach K brought his Blue Devils team into this national semifinals game after taking down The Admiral David Robinson’s Navy squad in the East Regional Finals….while Kansas Coach Larry Brown brought his Jayhawks into this contest….after beating NC State Wolfpack in the Midwest Regional Finals.
The Final Four match-up between these two legendary college basketball programs….was highly anticipated by the media and college basketball fans all over the country….for here was a moment in college basketball history where two coaching legends go face to face with talented teams.
Larry Brown is an American basketball coach….who was most recently (2016) head men’s basketball coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU)….for he is the only coach in basketball history to win both an NCAA national championship (Kansas Jayhawks, 1988) and an NBA title (Detroit Pistons, 2004). He has a 1,275-965 lifetime professional coaching record in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA)…so, when you add the 299 victories in college ball, that’s 1574 lifetime victories…for Larry Brown is the only coach in NBA history to lead eight different teams to the playoffs. He also won an ABA championship as a player with the Oakland Oaks in the 1968–69 season….and an Olympic Gold Medal in 1964. He is also the only person ever to coach two NBA franchises in the same season (Spurs and Clippers during the 1991–92 NBA season). Before coaching, Brown played collegiately at the University of North Carolina and professionally in the ABA. He has been a basketball coach from 1972 to 2016….just a mere 44 years.
When you consider Coack K of Duke….an absolute college coaching legend in his own right….who is Larry Brown’s opposing coach in this contest herewith….for Coach K had a record of 1099 – 337 for an incredible .765 career winning percentage….and Krzyzewski would have to win another 475 games to surpass Brown’s total….which is only 20 wins per season for the next 24 years.
The simple truth, this video is “pure gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories….as there probably has never been another contest in the history of sports where the two opposing coaches would combine for well over 2600 combined victories under their career belts. AWESOME!!!
