http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/213526.html
Ailene Voisin: With search now a wash, hire Brooks
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Columnist
Last Updated 1:08 am PDT Saturday, June 9, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
MANTECA -- Enough of Stan Van Gundy's undercover visit to Kinko's and his clumsy departure from the lobby of a downtown Sacramento hotel. Enough of the interviews and the waiting game. Enough of subconsciously hoping for their Al Gore to jump into the race.
The Kings can clean up this mess with a one-hour trip to the car wash.
Scott Brooks was theirs all along. He was there all last weekend -- at a family-owned establishment called "Dribbles" -- spraying cars, wiping windows, chatting up customers, anxiously monitoring developments while Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs met for a second time with coaching candidates Van Gundy and Kurt Rambis.
"Scott knows I'm going to put him to work when he comes down here," said his mother, Lee, who manages the car wash located just west of Route 99, "but I think he's a little nervous about this (Kings situation). I think it was just an excuse to come home."
This is home, this is where he wants to be, this is Brooks. Blue collar, farmland, San Joaquin Delta College, Northern California. Your basic soap and water guy. The search should end right down the street, or, as he often jokes about his background, on the other side of the tracks.
Superstars Jerry Sloan, Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley are unavailable. Don Nelson was last season's blown opportunity. Larry Brown travels with too much baggage for Petrie. Jeff Van Gundy failed to excite the Kings basketball president even before his older brother signed with the Orlando Magic while at a Kinko's located mere miles from Arco Arena. Bill Laimbeer's outsized personality intimidates. John Whisenant's résumé lacks NBA experience. And for varying reasons, the experienced Rick Carlisle, P.J. Carlesimo and Terry Porter don't have Petrie and the Maloofs linking hands and screaming, "Here's our Al Gore!"
But Rambis impressed. Brian Shaw intrigued. Bill Cartwright could receive another look, as will Brooks.
So might as well conserve energy anyway. Just hire the guy.
As one longtime NBA insider observed the other night from afar, when no obvious candidate emerges -- and Stan Van Gundy was an obvious front-runner -- teams hire on potential rather than past accomplishments. Accordingly, it's always wiser to hire someone you know, someone familiar with the organization and its personnel and, in this instance, someone who witnessed what wrong went last season and understands what not to do in the future.
And, yes, Brooks can finally spill the news. Though widely known within the organization, the distance between head coach Eric Musselman and his lead assistant stretched the width of the Grand Canyon. They were an odd couple constantly at odds. Yet out of loyalty to his boss -- and the fact that he played for the late Bill Musselman -- Brooks kept his reservations private and publicly supported his coach.
Would he have dealt with Ron Artest and Mike Bibby differently? Been more forceful and less concerned with keeping 12 grumpy guys happy?
This is all a guessing game -- don't all candidates have all the answers? Based on his past, this much is known of Scotty Brooks: In spite of his boyish, almost cherubic features and warm, engaging manner, he is a tough, in-your-face competitor with abundant survival skills.
Born in French Camp, Brooks is the youngest of seven children reared by a single mother. Lee Brooks, a wiry, vibrant woman who, in blue jeans, long-sleeve T-shirt and sneakers, also appears younger than her 74 years, made auto parts for a living. For extra cash, the Brooks youngsters worked the nearby farms, harvesting onions and picking walnuts. But Scott, she says, raced off to the gym at every opportunity, later starring at East Union High School and Delta College before excelling at UC Irvine.
"All I ever heard was, 'Doctor J, Doctor J (Julius Erving),' " she said with a grin when surprised by a visitor the other day at Dribbles. "All Scott ever wanted to do was play in the NBA."
Generously listed as a 5-foot-11 point guard, the undersized Brooks went undrafted in 1987 but earned a tryout with the 76ers. He went on to play a reserve role for six teams in 10 seasons, including the 1994 NBA champion Houston Rockets. He was hired as an assistant by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, then pursued a job with the Kings last offseason largely to be closer to his family -- and the family business he purchased six years ago.
Situated on the main business strip in Manteca, the car wash is a 24-hour, mostly self-serve establishment, with the vacuum bays located in the back, behind six drive-through stalls. A seventh stall is reserved for the more involved express service that requires an employee to apply the pre-rinse and broom-sweep the exterior.
Underneath a sign featuring the image of a basketball splashed into a water bucket, the prices are listed as follows: A "layup" costs $6. A "3-point play" goes for $7. The "slamdunk" -- wash, wax, dry and tires inclusive -- tops out at $8.
"Scott called me on Monday," Lee said in a conspiratorial whisper, "and he said he was sore all over. He said he hadn't worked that hard in a long time."
Pause.
"Have you heard anything about the Kings job?" she asked. "We sure hope he gets it."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@ sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: With search now a wash, hire Brooks
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Columnist
Last Updated 1:08 am PDT Saturday, June 9, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
MANTECA -- Enough of Stan Van Gundy's undercover visit to Kinko's and his clumsy departure from the lobby of a downtown Sacramento hotel. Enough of the interviews and the waiting game. Enough of subconsciously hoping for their Al Gore to jump into the race.
The Kings can clean up this mess with a one-hour trip to the car wash.
Scott Brooks was theirs all along. He was there all last weekend -- at a family-owned establishment called "Dribbles" -- spraying cars, wiping windows, chatting up customers, anxiously monitoring developments while Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs met for a second time with coaching candidates Van Gundy and Kurt Rambis.
"Scott knows I'm going to put him to work when he comes down here," said his mother, Lee, who manages the car wash located just west of Route 99, "but I think he's a little nervous about this (Kings situation). I think it was just an excuse to come home."
This is home, this is where he wants to be, this is Brooks. Blue collar, farmland, San Joaquin Delta College, Northern California. Your basic soap and water guy. The search should end right down the street, or, as he often jokes about his background, on the other side of the tracks.
Superstars Jerry Sloan, Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley are unavailable. Don Nelson was last season's blown opportunity. Larry Brown travels with too much baggage for Petrie. Jeff Van Gundy failed to excite the Kings basketball president even before his older brother signed with the Orlando Magic while at a Kinko's located mere miles from Arco Arena. Bill Laimbeer's outsized personality intimidates. John Whisenant's résumé lacks NBA experience. And for varying reasons, the experienced Rick Carlisle, P.J. Carlesimo and Terry Porter don't have Petrie and the Maloofs linking hands and screaming, "Here's our Al Gore!"
But Rambis impressed. Brian Shaw intrigued. Bill Cartwright could receive another look, as will Brooks.
So might as well conserve energy anyway. Just hire the guy.
As one longtime NBA insider observed the other night from afar, when no obvious candidate emerges -- and Stan Van Gundy was an obvious front-runner -- teams hire on potential rather than past accomplishments. Accordingly, it's always wiser to hire someone you know, someone familiar with the organization and its personnel and, in this instance, someone who witnessed what wrong went last season and understands what not to do in the future.
And, yes, Brooks can finally spill the news. Though widely known within the organization, the distance between head coach Eric Musselman and his lead assistant stretched the width of the Grand Canyon. They were an odd couple constantly at odds. Yet out of loyalty to his boss -- and the fact that he played for the late Bill Musselman -- Brooks kept his reservations private and publicly supported his coach.
Would he have dealt with Ron Artest and Mike Bibby differently? Been more forceful and less concerned with keeping 12 grumpy guys happy?
This is all a guessing game -- don't all candidates have all the answers? Based on his past, this much is known of Scotty Brooks: In spite of his boyish, almost cherubic features and warm, engaging manner, he is a tough, in-your-face competitor with abundant survival skills.
Born in French Camp, Brooks is the youngest of seven children reared by a single mother. Lee Brooks, a wiry, vibrant woman who, in blue jeans, long-sleeve T-shirt and sneakers, also appears younger than her 74 years, made auto parts for a living. For extra cash, the Brooks youngsters worked the nearby farms, harvesting onions and picking walnuts. But Scott, she says, raced off to the gym at every opportunity, later starring at East Union High School and Delta College before excelling at UC Irvine.
"All I ever heard was, 'Doctor J, Doctor J (Julius Erving),' " she said with a grin when surprised by a visitor the other day at Dribbles. "All Scott ever wanted to do was play in the NBA."
Generously listed as a 5-foot-11 point guard, the undersized Brooks went undrafted in 1987 but earned a tryout with the 76ers. He went on to play a reserve role for six teams in 10 seasons, including the 1994 NBA champion Houston Rockets. He was hired as an assistant by the Denver Nuggets in 2003, then pursued a job with the Kings last offseason largely to be closer to his family -- and the family business he purchased six years ago.
Situated on the main business strip in Manteca, the car wash is a 24-hour, mostly self-serve establishment, with the vacuum bays located in the back, behind six drive-through stalls. A seventh stall is reserved for the more involved express service that requires an employee to apply the pre-rinse and broom-sweep the exterior.
Underneath a sign featuring the image of a basketball splashed into a water bucket, the prices are listed as follows: A "layup" costs $6. A "3-point play" goes for $7. The "slamdunk" -- wash, wax, dry and tires inclusive -- tops out at $8.
"Scott called me on Monday," Lee said in a conspiratorial whisper, "and he said he was sore all over. He said he hadn't worked that hard in a long time."
Pause.
"Have you heard anything about the Kings job?" she asked. "We sure hope he gets it."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@ sacbee.com.
