Report: Larry Brown Officially Hired As SMU Basketball Coach

According to Kate Hairopoulos with the Dallas Morning News, SMU and Larry Brown have reached an agreement that will name him the head basketball coach. SMU has been searching for a head coach for over a month since it fired Matt Doherty in March. With a transition to the Big East coming in 2013, SMU desperately wanted to make a splash of a hire and reached out to a number of high profile candidates (including Marquette's Buzz Williams) before settling on Brown. He won't be the only coach coming, however. According to Hairopoulos:

Brown, whose contract terms weren't immediately known, is expected to bring in a head-coach-in-waiting, possibly Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich.

SMU is willing to pay more than $800,000 a year with a five-to-seven year guaranteed deal to secure Jankovich, according to a source. SMU paid former coach Matt Doherty, who was fired on March 13, around $500,000 annually. Doherty will also be paid next season to fulfill his contract.

Former Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard and Kentucky assistant Rod Strickland are expected to join Brown.

Getting the coach they wanted, though the search seemingly took forever, is still the easy part for SMU. Now the Mustangs have to rebuild a roster that was not even capable of competing in Conference USA, much less against future Big East opponents. That's why the additions of guys like Howard and Strickland are so vital to the effort. Strickland has been the Director of Basketball Operations for national champion Kentucky and Howard has a reputation as one of the nation's best recruiters.