Interview with Coach Dale Brown
LSU Head Basketball Coach and Living Legend Dale Brown chops it up with LD. The Louisiana State University Living Legend gives an engaging description of his life growing up in “The Magic City” Minot, North Dakota. Coach gives his views on the NCAA, the changes he has fought for during his career, some of which have finally come to fruition. Find out why Coach is considered a players coach as he shares stories about some of his 160 players. Coach Brown and LD give a clinic on overcoming adversity, friendship, loyalty, social justice and the importance of standing up and being counted.
Coach Brown an LSU basketball living legend joins Greg Lafleur, restaurateur Mike Anderson and former Governor Edwin Edwards as one of Count Times favorite LSU episodes.
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One of the top motivational speakers in America, Dale Brown served as head coach of the LSU basketball team for 25 years, (1972-1997).
The creator of a syndicated radio program called Motivational Moments that ran on NPR, he also served for a while as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and ABC. As LSU coach, he was twice named National Basketball Coach of the Year, led his team to two Final Fours and four Elite Eights, and emerged as the second-winningest coach in SEC history. He is also known as the recruiter of Shaquille O’Neal, one of the top basketball players ever at LSU and in the NBA. Coach Brown lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife, Vonnie.
After lengthy and heated meeting, LSU approves naming of Dale Brown Court inside PMAC
Selected quotes and notes from Count Time Podcast with LD Azobra – Interview of LSU Basketball Living Legend Coach Dale Brown
LD:
Good evening. Good evening. Good evening it’s 4:00 PM. Stand up. It’s count time, time for every man and woman to stand up and be counted. Welcome to another edition of Count Time podcast. I am brother LD Azobra formerly named Lyman White. Thank you for joining us today. (listen to why I changed my name, it’s not what your thinking)
LD:
Today, we are doing our special segment and we’ve got a very special young man here. We all feel we are honored, enthused, and excited to have the legendary, the great, the famous Coach Dale Brown
Coach:
Azobra, your whole show could be summed up by STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! We can stop right now and concentrate on, stand up and be counted. That’s one of the major problems people have. Silence has always been evil’s greatest ally and whenever evil and good compromise, evil, always wins.
LD:
I’ve been knowing you for quite some time. And I want to start in your days, when you told me about a story, when you were growing up in North Dakota, was it midnot or how do you pronounce that name?
Coach:
Minot.
LD Azobra:
You said that your mother was on welfare and the welfare lady came by and was very rude to your mother, and from that day forward, you decided you were going to fight against injustice.
Coach:
I was 10 years old when that happened. My mother, two older sisters were abandoned by our biological father two day’s before I was born.. My mother moved from the farm, had to move into a one room apartment of above a bar and hardware store. I never slept in a bed for 21 years. Mother had a little bed that pulled out from the wall and I slept in a tiny sofa. My mother was the nicest human being you ever want to meet in your life. Every Sunday she’d come home with this lady, friend of hers. They’d had their cocoa and cinnamon toast.
Now, Minot, was a little town. It probably had 25 black Americans. My mother’s friend was black I watched how they bonded and respected each other.
Now, Minot, was a little town. It probably had 25 black Americans. My mother’s friend was black I watched how they bonded and respected each other.
Dale Brown Coach:
I judge people by their heart and their attitude. I don’t care what religion, color, political party they belong to. So until we understand the best potential of me is we, will continue to have these problems. Prejudice has always been a great tine saver because it enables a person to form opinions without bothering to get the facts.
LSU’s Wall of Legends. A true Living Legend.
Coach Dale Brown and Shaquille
LD:
So LSU always had an issue with change?
Coach:
Athletic director Carl Maddox gave me his full support. However, I did get some hate mail and threats. Now, first of all, they knew my philosophy was to recruit human beings first. So no, I got nobody from LSU ever said, oh, how many black’s, how many foreigners you recruiting? I do remember a guy writing a letter. The audacity of Dale Brown, spending Louisiana money recruiting these foreigners. So there’s always going to be prejudice. However, love is the most powerful tool in the world. The only thing more powerful than fear is the boldness of love. How did things work out? They just do.
LD:
So that happened in 72. I assume. So, because you’ve been here since 72. Your longest stay been in Louisiana.
Coach:
Yeah. We’ve been here. Well what? 50, 49 years.
LD:
So, but also when you arrived here, you had opportunity. you were also with here too with the infamous, David Duke grand master grand wizard of the KU Klux Klan. Right? How did you deal with that coming from North Dakota?
Coach:
There was an incident that happened with Shaquille. Shaquille didn’t have any more idea who David Duke was than the man on the moon. And he interviewed Shaquille, I didn’t know this.
LD:
David Duke did?
Coach:
No, excuse me. TV interviewed Shaquille. David Duke watched the interview. And in the interview the guy said, what do you think of David Duke being, governor Shaquille says I could care less who governor is, he didn’t know who was running for governor. He was a freshman in college. So then David Duke on a commercial insinuated Shaq was for him. The next morning. who’s standing at my door waiting to talk to me. But Shaquille, coach he says that guy is lying. I never said that. I didn’t know him or he was a KU Klux Klan leader. He said, what can we do about it? I said, I’ll handle it.
So that happened in 72. I assume. So, because you’ve been here since 72. Your longest stay been in Louisiana.
Coach:
Yeah. We’ve been here. Well what? 50, 49 years.
LD:
So, but also when you arrived here, you had opportunity. you were also with here too with the infamous, David Duke grand master grand wizard of the KU Klux Klan. Right? How did you deal with that coming from North Dakota?
Coach:
There was an incident that happened with Shaquille. Shaquille didn’t have any more idea who David Duke was than the man on the moon. And he interviewed Shaquille, I didn’t know this.
LD:
David Duke did?
Coach:
No, excuse me. TV interviewed Shaquille. David Duke watched the interview. And in the interview the guy said, what do you think of David Duke being, governor Shaquille says I could care less who governor is, he didn’t know who was running for governor. He was a freshman in college. So then David Duke on a commercial insinuated Shaq was for him. The next morning. who’s standing at my door waiting to talk to me. But Shaquille, coach he says that guy is lying. I never said that. I didn’t know him or he was a KU Klux Klan leader. He said, what can we do about it? I said, I’ll handle it.
Coach:
And he was really shook up about it. So then through good people, they said, well, he’s planning to come to the, to the, I think it was a Kentucky game with six people. I said, no, that ain’t gonna work. So I told the AD and President, he shows up, at the Kentucky game with these six people. I’m taking the team off the court. If we forfeit, we forfeit. If I get fired, I get fired. Well, fortunately he didn’t show up, but I would not have played the game and I would have been fired. I’m sure. I’m not sure because Carl Maddox was a good man.
LD:
So I want to read this something I wrote for myself this morning, and I thought about you and this take a few take maybe a minute and a half to read it. I want to be to put this in your obituary one day. When I read it,
Coach:
you wrote this this morning?
LD:
I wrote this. Dale Brown is a man and a brother who trust is in God. He never meet a stranger. And only level with others about his true feeling, keeping it real and square. He has a grip on truth and righteousness. He’s loyal to all he calls his friends and expect the same to maintain divine order. He came from the north, but remained in the south but forever traveling east towards the light that you may continue to enlighten others.
Coach:
Wow.
LD:
His travel and studies allowed him to receive many degrees while giving wisdom to many who asked he is the master of his universe. And for that may God get the glory and may His name be written in the lamb book of life forever. That’s my word to you.
So I want to read this something I wrote for myself this morning, and I thought about you and this take a few take maybe a minute and a half to read it. I want to be to put this in your obituary one day. When I read it,
Coach:
you wrote this this morning?
LD:
I wrote this. Dale Brown is a man and a brother who trust is in God. He never meet a stranger. And only level with others about his true feeling, keeping it real and square. He has a grip on truth and righteousness. He’s loyal to all he calls his friends and expect the same to maintain divine order. He came from the north, but remained in the south but forever traveling east towards the light that you may continue to enlighten others.
Coach:
Wow.
LD:
His travel and studies allowed him to receive many degrees while giving wisdom to many who asked he is the master of his universe. And for that may God get the glory and may His name be written in the lamb book of life forever. That’s my word to you.
Coach:
That’s beautiful. I’d cry but I don’t want to embarrass your daughter. This has really been fun and you know what? It’s too bad. This can’t be played nationally every minute of it. And anybody that disagrees fine disagree.
LD:
We ain’t concerned about that this is Count Time.
Coach:
I’ve Never done anything that I tried to impress anybody.
LD:
You had a way with the players. I mean, with the whole community, everybody
LD:
We ain’t concerned about that this is Count Time.
Coach:
I’ve Never done anything that I tried to impress anybody.
LD:
You had a way with the players. I mean, with the whole community, everybody
Coach:
Just trying to improve each day and remembering what Oscar Wilde said, “ Every Saint Has A Past And Every Sinner Has A Future.” I am still a work in progress but will never quit trying to be better.
Napoleon Hill is one of my favorite authors said, “When the dawn of intelligence shall spread over the eastern horizon of human progress and ignorance and superstition shall have left their last footprints on the sands of time, it’ll be recorded by the last chapter of the book of man’s crimes that his most grievous sin was that of intolerance.”
Napoleon Hill is one of my favorite authors said, “When the dawn of intelligence shall spread over the eastern horizon of human progress and ignorance and superstition shall have left their last footprints on the sands of time, it’ll be recorded by the last chapter of the book of man’s crimes that his most grievous sin was that of intolerance.”
LD:
Well Coach we thank you for taking this time out to do this Wonderful, wonderful interview. Now we have done almost two hours.
Coach:
That’s unbelievable.
LD:
And 50 minutes.
Coach:
because of you,
LD:
No because of you, and your patience. No, no, no. And I really enjoyed this Count Time.
Coach:
I get bored very easy and You didn’t bore me one second.
LD:
Well, I gave you a chance to tell your story. That’s what it is, but it’s, it’s a wonderful story. And I had, I had a chance to hear stories I’d never heard before and after being in your presence so many times, you always a lot of great stories. So I appreciate that opportunity to share and the people at count time, remember we got coach the great legendary Dale Brown have graced us with his presence and he shared and open heart today. I hope you don’t have to have open heart surgery, but, uh, it you opened your heart up to us at Count Town.
Well, I gave you a chance to tell your story. That’s what it is, but it’s, it’s a wonderful story. And I had, I had a chance to hear stories I’d never heard before and after being in your presence so many times, you always a lot of great stories. So I appreciate that opportunity to share and the people at count time, remember we got coach the great legendary Dale Brown have graced us with his presence and he shared and open heart today. I hope you don’t have to have open heart surgery, but, uh, it you opened your heart up to us at Count Town.
How old is Dale Brown?
Dale Duward Brown was born October 31, 1935
Dale Duward Brown was born October 31, 1935
What did Dale Brown do?
As the Head Coach of the LSU Men’s Basketball team 1972-97, Brown won 448 games, four SEC Championships and made 13 NCAA Tournaments including Final Four appearances in 1981 and 1986.
As the Head Coach of the LSU Men’s Basketball team 1972-97, Brown won 448 games, four SEC Championships and made 13 NCAA Tournaments including Final Four appearances in 1981 and 1986.
Who coached Shaq in college?
LSU great Shaquille O’Neal played three seasons at LSU coached by Dale Brown
LSU great Shaquille O’Neal played three seasons at LSU coached by Dale Brown
August 28, 2021 @ 4:16 am
I love you and Dale. The interview was very special and I have k own both of you, as people who stand up for what they believe in and have an attitude of gratitude, which I believe comes from God being in your heart through His Holy Spirit..
I admire Dale for many reasons, because he speaks the truth and seeks justice in all situations, regardless of whether it is popular in our present day culture.