For all his fame and career accomplishments, Larry Brown is still a 72-year old coach who hasn't been involved in college basketball in over a generation, which is why his coaching staff will be crucial in terms of his ability to recruit.
He scored a major coup on Thursday, when SMU announced the hiring of University of Houston assistant coach Ulric Maligi, who has long-time ties to the Dallas basketball community:
Larry Brown is now in business. Per @skhanjr, the SMU coach has hired Houston assistant Ulric Maligi. Critical hire to get Texas kids.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) April 26, 2012
Maligi, who is from Arlington, was the head coach of the Dallas Mustangs AAU program from 2003-2006. The Mustangs have long been one of the elite amateur basketball programs in the area, and Maligi coached several future NBA players there, including Wesley Johnson, Anthony Randolph, Sean Williams and Donald Sloan.
He was an assistant coach for UT-Arlington, Stephen F. Austin and Houston for the last seven years, and he should be an invaluable asset for Brown in terms of recruiting Texas players.
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