By Mark Montieth mark.montieth@indystar.com February 9, 2005 If you didn't play in the NBA, you need a hall pass for admittance to its exclusive coaching ranks. Mike Brown got his from Bernie Bickerstaff. Bickerstaff, the Charlotte Bobcats coach whose team plays the Indiana Pacers tonight at Conseco Fieldhouse, provided the inspiration and opportunity that helped Brown beat the system. Brown has done the rest, establishing himself as a respected assistant who, at 34, has interviewed for two head coaching positions. "That's my guy," Bickerstaff said of Brown. "He's got a great basketball mind, a great work ethic. "You need a chance to get in the door. But then it's on you. Everything that's happened since then is because of Mike." Of the 30 NBA coaches, 10 did not play in the NBA or ABA. They needed a connection, to know the right person at the right time, and then make the most of their chance. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle had the benefit of playing in the NBA for five seasons, but he needed a break, too. He got it in the same phone call from New Jersey coach Bill Fitch that informed him he had been waived early in the 1989-90 season. Carlisle started as an advance scout who sat behind the Nets bench on occasion, eventually working his way up to the bench. Carlisle in turn has helped pave the way for Pacers assistants Dan Burke, who was the video coordinator in Portland when Carlisle was an assistant there, and Chad Forcier, with whom he became acquainted at summer camps. "NBA coaching is a tough business to get into, because there aren't a lot of jobs," Carlisle said. "Familiarity with people and how they work is a big prerequisite to hiring." Brown didn't even have a connection to the NBA as a senior guard at the University of San Diego. He knew he wasn't good enough to play in the NBA, but he also knew he wanted to coach. Somewhere. So when he grabbed an alumni magazine while sitting in the coaches' office while waiting to board a bus for a trip, he was intrigued by the face staring back at him from the cover. There was Bickerstaff, a USD graduate who was coaching the Denver Nuggets. That photo and the article inside were like a holy grail for Brown, who took the magazine with him for inspirational reading. Brown arranged a summer internship with Bickerstaff through his college coach at USD, Hank Egan. He started out providing free grunt labor as a video coordinator, scout and summer camp coach, and kept adding responsibilities. "I kept picking up crumbs until I was able to make a sandwich," Brown said. "I was able to grow under him. He didn't hold me down or give me specific duties. Anything that came my way, I just started doing it. The more I got, the more hungry I got. I realized, 'Wow, I don't know how many people in this business enjoy this stuff, but I know I do.' " Bickerstaff surprised Brown with a $1,500 check at the end of his summer internship and held a job for him until December, when he completed his final semester of college. Brown followed Bickerstaff to Washington, stayed on the staff there after Bickerstaff was fired, then moved on to San Antonio to work for Gregg Popovich, another coach who found his way to the NBA without playing professionally. Now in his 13th season as an NBA assistant, Brown is an associate head coach in charge of defense for the Pacers. He interviewed with Toronto and Atlanta for head coaching positions last summer and was the runner-up to Mike Woodson for the Hawks job. It's takes more than connections to become a head coach in the NBA. But if Brown gets his chance, he'll know where to trace his lineage. It goes right to the cover of that alumni magazine. Link
