Brown, Williams still learning from Smith

Former North Carolina basketball coach holding court at U.S. Olympic training camp

? Red, white and Carolina blue.

The coaches on the U.S. Olympic team certainly have that look.

Larry Brown, former player and assistant at North Carolina, is the head coach. Roy Williams, former assistant and current Carolina head coach, is Brown’s aide. And paying a visit to training camp this week is the biggest Tar Heel of them all, Dean Smith.

Smith has no official role on the coaching staff.

But anyone who thinks he’s in Jacksonville just for show should think again.

“Everything I’ve been taught comes from something he taught us,” said Brown, 63, arguably the most accomplished active basketball coach in the world these days.

All the defensive calls Brown makes this summer, as the American team heads to Athens, will be the same ones Smith used during his 36 years at North Carolina.

The work ethic. The discipline. The fundamentals. Even in an era of pampered, high-priced players, Brown has managed to stay true — and keep his players true — to many of the basic tenets of the game, most of which he learned from Smith.

Earlier this summer, Brown led the underdog Detroit Pistons to the NBA title, and in doing so, became the first coach to win it all in both college and the NBA. He guided Kansas to the NCAA title in 1988. Now, he’s seeking to add Olympic gold to his haul.

Emeka Okafor towers over USA coach Larry Brown during a recent practice. The U.S. squad is preparing for the Olympics at camp in Jacksonville, Fla.

Melding this collection of 12 NBA players, however, might be among the biggest challenges he has faced in his four decades of coaching, especially considering he has limited time to do it. This week is the first time this group has been together. After an exhibition game Saturday against Puerto Rico, the team heads to Europe for a few more weeks of practice. Then, it’s Athens, where the United States opens play Aug. 15.

“When I coached, we had six weeks to be together and put everything together,” Smith said. “It’s a lot different now.”

Smith was coach of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976, back in the day when professionals weren’t allowed to play, and when the bulk of college talent was centralized in a handful of locations. One of them, of course, was North Carolina, and that helps explain why four of Smith’s Tar Heels — Walter Davis, Phil Ford, Mitch Kupchak and Tom LaGarde — were on the team that won gold in Montreal.

The win back then only served to strengthen Smith’s resume. The former KU guard was 15 years into a career that ended with 11 Final Four appearances and two national championships.

“I know that everything I’ve learned in basketball, 90 percent of it comes from him,” said Williams, who was Smith’s assistant before he left to coach Kansas. “His impact on the game is still huge.”

U.S. Olympic basketball team member Tim Duncan signs autographs for some of the military personnel in attendence for the USA's scrimage against Puerto Rico. Duncan and his teammates practiced Thursday afternoon at the University of North Florida Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.

In typical fashion, the 73-year-old former coach of the Tar Heels doesn’t talk up his role. But there’s a reason he’s here this week — huddling with the coaches, chatting with players, sitting with Brown at the scorer’s table during a scrimmage Thursday to help evaluate this forming team.

“I don’t know if I still have an influence or not,” Smith said. “I’m not too sure about that.”

Pretty much everyone else is. Even the Duke guys. On a different day, in a different setting, former Blue Devil Carlos Boozer would have been trained not to like Smith, Brown, Williams or anything else that comes packaged in Carolina blue. This summer, though, they’re all working toward the same goal.

“It’s an honor to be in his presence,” Boozer said. “Never mind the Duke-UNC thing, because he’s one of the greatest of all time, and I’d like to learn as much as I can from him.”

NOTES: The Americans easily handled Puerto Rico in the scrimmage Thursday. LeBron James was the crowd favorite, with a number of huge dunks, including a double-pump reverse jam that drew the biggest cheer of the day. Asked what he learned from the scrimmage, Brown said, “That Dwyane Wade can really play.” But the coach also said the Americans need a lot of work on defense. They were also missing an outside-shooting presence. Although no official stats were kept, the United States hit only four shots outside 15 feet during the four 10-minute quarters. … Emeka Okafor (ankle) sat out of the scrimmage, but is expected to be fine. … Tickets for Saturday’s exhibition are sold out, according to managers at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.