http://www.freep.com/article/20090219/S ... +to+mellowEx-Pistons coach Larry Brown starting to mellow: A kinder, gentler Larry Brown? Charlotte Bobcats guard Raja Bell sure thinks so. This is Bell’s second stint playing for Brown. Bell started his career with Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers from 2000 through 2002. “More mellow,” Bell said recently. “From the first couple of days (after Bell’s trade from Phoenix to Charlotte), I could see a different guy. When he needs to yell, he will. But in day-to-day demeanor, he’s a different guy.”
Bell says Brown is no less an authority figure. But he’s more collaborative, less strident, less prone to overreact and wear out players with constant criticism. An example: Brown was famous for riding his point guards, micromanaging how they play. He took the same approach during the preseason with the Bobcats’ Raymond Felton, only to find Felton would internalize the criticism and try too hard to please. So Brown adapted, rather than make Felton adapt. “I was on him early and I didn’t think that was particularly productive,” Brown said of Felton. “He’s a pretty incredible individual.” When that anecdote was passed on to Bell, his eyebrows raised. “I don’t think Larry would have given that benefit of the doubt” to his point guard in the past, Bell said.
Brown’s reaction to all this was interesting: He insists he hasn’t gone soft (and there’s plenty of evidence at practice that he hasn’t). However, he agrees he’s more flexible these days in his approach with players. “The biggest thing now is (how you coach) depends on the person you’re dealing with,” Brown said. “I used to treat 1-15 (on a roster) exactly alike. That’s how I was taught” by his mentor, former North Carolina coach Dean Smith. “That way, nobody knew who my favorite was.” Brown’s “favorite” when Bell played for the 76ers was point guard and former Michigan State star Eric Snow. Brown said he was extra hard on Snow to make sure everyone else knew they’d be held accountable. “He took that the right way,” Brown said of Snow’s reaction. And now? “Kids are all different,” Brown said. “The important thing is to get each of them better.”
