BOULDER — The possibility of squaring off Wednesday against Larry Brown, a Hall of Famer and Tad Boyle’s basketball coach at Kansas, isn’t exactly an entirely new proposition for the Colorado men’s coach.
For the past four years, Boyle’s Buffaloes have battled Brown’s SMU Mustangs in preseason scrimmages.
While several factors have to fall into place for a regular-season matchup to become a reality this week — most notably for Colorado, the need to continue its 10-game winning streak against Penn State on Tuesday in the Las Vegas Classic — the opportunity to play against a team coached by a Hall of Famer and a personal mentor is uncomfortable for Boyle.
“I hate playing against friends and, in Coach Brown’s case, a mentor,” Boyle said. “But it will just be another game. Once the ball is tipped up, he’s going to want to win and I’m going to want to win. I’ve got great respect and love for him, and I always will. That’s not going to change.”
The offseason controversy that forced Brown to accept a suspension and saw the SMU program suffer scholarship and postseason sanctions because of academic fraud and other violations hasn’t deterred the 18th-ranked Mustangs from putting together an undefeated start.
SMU, which plays Kent State on Tuesday, will bring a 9-0 record to Las Vegas and has outscored opponents by an average of more than 24 points.
“You get a chance to coach against a legend and a Hall of Famer, it’s a great opportunity,” Boyle said. “Not only for me, but our players and our coaching staff. I have great respect for him and what’s he’s done in his life as a basketball player and coach. I’m one of the few guys around who still remembers Coach Brown as a player.”
The Buffs have traveled to Las Vegas somewhat regularly during Boyle’s six-season tenure at CU. The familiarity with the brightly lit terrain, alongside the determination the Buffs have displayed during their 10-1 start, has Boyle confident his club will focus on the tasks at hand this week instead of the many distractions that Las Vegas has to offer.
“I trust our team and I trust our guys are going to make good decisions,” Boyle said. “Where we are and what we’ve done up to this point, I think our players appreciate it, understand it, and they know what’s at stake. I don’t think there will be any craziness.”
