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  • Newest Kentucky Colonel, Dale Brown

    By: LARRY VAUGHT



    Being named a Kentucky Colonel was something that former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown never imagined would happen to him.

    “Being kind of a Kentucky enemy, I though Osama Bin Laden would get this award before me,” joked Brown Saturday night in Georgetown after county judge George Lusby presented him with the proclamation making him a Kentucky Colonel.

    However, those at the ceremony to raise money for the Tyler Hicks Memorial Scholarship — he played for his father, Billy Hicks, at Scott County and was killed in a car crash in 2012 — had nothing but love and praise for Brown after he made the 14-hour, 870-mile drive from Louisiana to be part of the fundraising effort. He donated items that sold for $5,000, including two premium seats with him at the next Kentucky-LSU game in Baton Rouge.

    “It means the world to me that Dale Brown came,” Billy Hicks said. “But I’m not one bit surprised. I’ve known coach Brown a long time and that’s the kind of person he is. When I called, he said he would be here because he will do anything to help a friend. He never wavered.”

    Hicks and others are trying to fun a $5,000 annual scholarship to honor Tyler’s life by rewarding a standout student or athlete at Scott County each year.

    “This is just something that I wanted to do,” Brown said. “The first time I met Billy Hicks about 25 years ago, Tyler was maybe in third or fourth grade and out there dribbling. I was mesmerized by Billy. He is a great coach. He could have coached on any level. He is the epitome of what a coach should be. He is not profane. Is he tough? Ask his players. But he’s good because he got that players don’t give a darn how much you know until they know you care.”

    Most UK fans didn’t care for Brown when he was coaching against Kentucky — and he admits he pulled stunts to upset UK fans because his goal was to make his program the equal of Kentucky.

    He recalled the highs and lows of the UK-LSU rivalry — beating UK’s national title team in 1978 after all five of his starters fouled out, Kyle Macy’s game-winning shot that beat LSU in the 1979 SEC tourney, a Rupp Arena loss in 1981 that kept LSU from having an unbeaten SEC season, beating Kentucky for a Final Four berth in 1985 after losing to UK three times during the season, a 35-point win over UK in Rupp Arena in 1987, a 47-point loss to UK at home in 1995 and the dramatic comeback from a 31-point deficit by Rick Pitino’s team at LSU.

    He often heard “Sit down Brown” from UK fans in Rupp Arena, but now seems to have become a darling of UK fans. He took pictures with many of the nearly 300 at the event Saturday and signed autographs. He burst out laughing when one fan said, “I used to hate you, but now I love you.” Another fan told him, “Now that you are not coaching at LSU, I love you.”

    Brown told a story about how a group of UK fans at the Final Four in Indianapolis this year had the same reaction when they ran into him.

    He invited former UK All-Americans Kenny Walker and Macy to come Saturday and both did.

    “Talk about what Kentucky basketball players should be. Clone these two guys, Kenny and Kyle,” Brown, Hall of Fame coach with 448 wins including 18 over Kentucky, said. “My favorite two players in the SEC that I did not coach were Kenny Walker and Charles Barkley. Kenny Walker had everything you want. But so did Kyle Macy. They represent Kentucky basketball. I couldn’t stand Macy because of that shot (to beat LSU), but he was one of my favorites, too, even if he did put a javelin in my heart.”

    Brown praised those who came to support what Hicks was doing in his son’s memory.

    “What can we leave with tonight? Billy and his wife had to make a decision. I can’t imagine the pain they must still be in. Every day there is going to have heartache. That can either make you better or bitter,” Brown, who has been to 90 countries and all 50 states, said. “The love you showed to come here to support this cause is tremendous. The love you have in this community is great. Keep it up. The world would be a lot better place to live in if there were more communities like this.”



    But the more you are around Brown — and I’ve known him for 40 years now — you also realize the world would be a lot better if there were many more Dale Browns, too.
    Comments 5 Comments
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      I confess, I'm one of those hate/love guys for Dale Brown. Couldn't stand him when he coached LSU. One of my favorite people now. It's not just that he's no longer coaching LSU, or he has shown Kentucky so much respect. It has been that I've gotten to know who he is as a person so much more over the years. Call me a late adopter, but I got there eventually.
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      Really enjoyed that. I feel the same D.

      Thanks Larry
    1. CitizenBBN's Avatar
      CitizenBBN -
      He definitely worked to goad UK fans, and of course I'm not going to like that, but I always respected him b/c he called everything like he saw it, including some egregious NCAA policies at the time. I like to know where I stand with someone, and you know where you stand with him. He also sincerely cared about his players and players in general.
    1. Hoss's Avatar
      Hoss -
      Great read!
    1. suncat05's Avatar
      suncat05 -
      Brown had some pretty good teams and players over the years back then. Didn't like him much at all back then, but he seems like a good guy now.
      I will NEVER forget the forlorn look on his face when we came back from 31 down @ LSU to win that game and he knew he couldn't do anything about it. Gotta love that when your team can make it happen.
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