Sweater Season

Al Brown is the only coach in college basketball history to coach in the men's and women's national championship games, but he might be better known by Duke fans as the assistant coach who wears flamboyant sweaters.

"In the men's game, I always wore a tie and sports coat or a suit," Brown said. "In the women's game, probably three or four years after I started, I started wearing sweaters. It was just purely by accident. I forgot my sports coat and everything and I thought, 'Well, this is a pretty good idea.' Honestly, I had never, ever thought it would become what it's become. I never thought it would have a life of its own."

Brown, who is now in his seventh season as a Duke assistant coach, graduated from Purdue in 1964 and became a member of the Boilermaker staff in 1967. He coached in the 1969 national championship game when Purdue fell to John Wooden's UCLA squad.

Brown was an assistant at four other schools and was the head coach at Ball State from 1982-87, leading the Cardinals to one of their most successful seasons in 1986 before joining the women's game as part of Pat Summit's Tennessee staff in 1995.

After winning three consecutive national championships with the Lady Vols from 1996-98, Brown was eventually hired as an assistant by Joanne P. McCallie at Michigan State in 2004. After leading the Spartans to their first-ever national championship game in 2005, McCallie and Brown took their successful partnership to Duke in 2007.

"It's just so great to have such wisdom and experience," McCallie said. "I like to have a coach that can compare things to the men's side and women's side, and then we can apply them. He's one of the best scouters in the country.... His attention to detail is terrific."

Brown works heavily in the film room, breaking down each Blue Devil opponent and analyzing ways in which Duke can attack them. Additionally, he works heavily with Duke's post players.

"I think we see the game similarly," McCallie said. "We're pretty efficient in getting ready for an opponent. We both watch a great deal of film, but he watches the most film.... He wears many hats, and those hats are certainly all appreciated."

Although Brown's coaching in practice is extremely valuable, the statistics he keeps during Duke games are also helpful, allowing the coaching staff to make in-game adjustments more efficiently. Most people would likely fail to notice the stat sheet in Brown's hands during games, though, and instead be curious about the unique sweaters he dons.

"I think it's cool that he has his own trademark," junior forward Elizabeth Williams said. "When we went to France [during the summer of 2012], we went into one of the stores and it had a bunch of sweaters like that, so we each pitched in and got him a new one. They're really cool. I think it's awesome. I love his sweaters. I think it's odd when he's not wearing a sweater."

In recent years, a twist has been added to Brown's quirky habit, as practice player Will Giles—now a junior and captain of the practice squad—has gone beyond his voluntary duties and helps Brown keep detailed statistics at home games. Giles has started showing off his own flashy sweaters, starting a friendly rivalry between two of the more competitive men associated with Duke women's basketball.

"Will is a great young man," Brown said. "He just loves the game and he loves sweaters. He and I, I guess, according to him, have a contest. According to me, it's no contest, he has to finish second.... That's been fun to do. I've enjoyed that, and I think he has too."

Brown's 35th season as a basketball coach will commence Sunday, making him one of the longest-tenured basketball coaches in the college game today. The Blue Devils definitely do not take the man behind the sweaters for granted.

"Coach Brown is great," Williams said. "He's seen the game from all types of perspectives and seen the game grow. He's just a great coach and mentor. We can just go into his office and talk about anything. As the post coach, he does a really good job of honing in on the details and knowing where we should be and what we should do in certain situations."

Anyone wanting to see what sweater Brown chooses to wear to start the season will have to tune in to ESPNU Sunday at 6 p.m. when No. 2 Duke faces No. 9 California. Expect Brown's sweater choice to be meticulous, reflecting the nature of the man wearing it.

"I've already got that one in mind," Brown said with a wry smile. "I've got to kind of look it over and make sure it's okay, but I'm set for that one."