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Larry Brown On Allen Iverson: Coaching Him Made Me A Better Person

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --  Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame tonight.

This afternoon, former Sixers head coach, and hall of famer himself, Larry Brown called in to the Mike and Ike Show on SportsRadio WIP to discuss A.I. being honored.

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"It's pretty special. I always remember Coach Smith saying his proudest moments were when his players got honored in some way shape or form, so now I understand what he means."

"Doing it with Allen involved is probably the biggest thrill because what he meant to Philly, what he meant to my career, to my family, it's pretty neat. It never was easy, but when you understand what he went through...It's going to be really special."

Brown says when he got let go from Charlotte, he visited college programs to learn as much as he could. "Every single place I would go to watch, as soon as practice ended all of the kids came up to me and all they wanted to do was talk about Allen, telling me he was their favorite player. They just wanted to know about him. So many kids wanted to be like Allen. It's something I tried to get Allen to understand when I coached him."

Brown continued, "He's made me a better coach because of the relationship we had and the time we had together. Because I got to coach him, it's made me a better person and showed me how to deal with kids in a different way."

Despite their battles, Brown says, "There were things that he did that drove me crazy, off of the court. But there was never a lack of respect... It's never easy for an unbelievable talent like Allen to play for someone like me. I think at the end of the day we both realized how we both benefited from our relationship. We had to change the way played and approach the game to utilize all of Allen's gifts."

 

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