Larry Brown has agreed to become the head coach at SMU, sources told ESPN.com. An official announcement could come as early as Tuesday.
The only holdup involves Brown's assistants. Sources said that Brown has offered Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich a "coach-in-waiting position." Jankovich is leaning toward accepting the job, but he's also conflicted about leaving a Redbirds squad that returns every key player from last season's 21-14 team.
Jankovich didn't not answer calls to his cellphone Tuesday afternoon. Kansas coach Bill Self, who worked with Jankovich at Tulsa, Ill., and Kansas, said he hadn't talked to Jankovich in "two or three days."
"One thing I do know," Self said, "is that he loves Larry."
Jankovich has been around Brown a lot over the years because of his relationship with Self, who considers Brown a mentor.
Former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard is also expected to join Brown's staff along with former Kentucky assistant Rod Strickland. Howard is regarded as one of the country's top recruiters. Strickland has spent the last two years on John Calipari's staff in an administrative role. Strickland was a first-round pick out of DePaul in 1998 and played in the NBA until 2005.
Brown, 71, is the only coach in history to win an NCAA title and an NCAA championship. He has not coached since 2010, when he resigned from the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats.
