Friends recall coach Brown’s tenure for ESPN documentary
It was a reunion, of sorts, of the Lawrence folks associated with Larry Brown back when he was Kansas University’s men’s basketball coach.
And it was convened by ESPN.
A production crew from the cable sports television network’s SportsCentury show was in Lawrence on Friday interviewing people for a documentary about Brown, who coached at KU from 1984 to 1988.
“It was absolutely critical to come to Lawrence to get the show right,” said producer Marc Kinderman, who spent the day with a two-man crew interviewing former players, sportswriters, KU athletic officials and others close to Brown during his tenure in Lawrence.
“His place in basketball history will be up there with any great coach who has ever coached before,” said Jeff Gueldner, who was coached by Brown.
Brown, who coached KU to a national championship in 1988, is now coaching professional basketball’s Detroit Pistons.
“People would say (to Brown), ‘What a year ’88 was,’ and he’d say, ‘No, it was a great four weeks,'” said Chris Piper, a player on that champion team.
Kinderman’s crew shot video of the Lawrence area Thursday before taping interviews Friday. The crew visited Pine Valley Farm and was courtside at the KU-TCU game Thursday night.
“It’s a beautiful area, even in the wintertime,” Kinderman said.
Former KU basketball player Jeff Gueldner, a member of coach Larry Brown's 1988 Kansas University men's basketball team that won the National Championship, is interviewed by ESPN Classic producer Marc Kinderman. ESPN is producing a show on Brown, and an ESPN production crew conducted interviews with Brown's former players and acquaintances Friday at the Eldridge Hotel.
Kinderman and crew spent Friday at the Eldridge Hotel, interviewing former Brown associates, including all-time leading KU scorer and Brown recruit, Danny Manning.
Manning’s relationship with Brown will be explored in the 45-minute documentary.
“It was a very intense relationship of trying to get Danny to be a leader,” Kinderman said. “Hopefully, I get that (across to) everybody.”
He also interviewed current coach Bill Self, who was a graduate assistant for Brown.
Gueldner, who was a sophomore player in ’88, said it seemed right that the KU coaching staff had come full circle.
“It’s a big family, and not that it won’t someday be broken, but with every year, that family gets bigger,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s a great place to play and coach.”
Kinderman said the SportsCentury episode on Brown would be broadcast in June around the NBA finals. Shooting for the documentary will wrap up in April.
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