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Brown Back and Excited for the 2015-16 Season
10/30/2015 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Ryan Neu, Duke Sports Information
DURHAM, N.C.-- Duke women's basketball assistant coach Al Brown began his coaching career as an assistant at Purdue, his alma mater, in 1967. Brown had not missed a game or practice during his career — a career that saw him coach at 11 different schools in both men's and women's basketball, help win three NCAA championships and appear in four national title games, eight Final Fours and 24 NCAA Tournaments.
He did not miss any time during those 47 years until he was diagnosed with a spinal fluid leak in December 2014. The injury forced him to take a step back from coaching and miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season.
Brown began experiencing symptoms during a practice in October, but he did not know the extent of his injury at first since the pain was relegated mostly to his head.
“I thought it was a sinus headache or something like that,” Brown said. “I didn't do anything with it. I just lived with it.”
On December 22, 2014, Brown was diagnosed with a spinal fluid leak, an injury in which a hole is exposed in the dura, or casing, of the spinal cord allowing spinal fluid to seep out.
Although the injury is not particularly common, another basketball coach, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, was recently diagnosed with the same issue.
The injury prevented Brown from lifting anything heavier than about 15 pounds, yelling or running, and required a specialized procedure to correct.
“It requires a form of surgery,” Brown said. “It's not invasive, but it's like a Band-Aid that you put on a cut or something. It patches the dura and then the dura reseals just like your skin would.
“It heals and then the fluid stays in the spinal cord.”
Because the leaks can be very small and difficult to find, it sometimes takes several attempts to bandage the proper spot on the dura. In Brown's case, it took four tries to cover the leak in his spine and allow the injury to heal properly.
With the amount of procedures and the time it required to heal properly, Brown was forced to deal with being absent from coaching. It was difficult for him at first to deal with being away from the team, and he used a day-to-day approach to his recovery. With each passing day, he understood that he was getting better and that it would take time to heal, but it was frustrating to not be present.
“I missed the actual fun of working with the players on an intimate basis on the court, and I wasn't able to do some things there or travel,” Brown said. “I missed games but missing practice and missing the contact with the players was the biggest thing because I think the world of them. They're terrific young ladies and I just missed that part of it.”
Now Brown is back on the court and fully participating in practice, meetings and scrimmages with the first exhibition games about a week away and the start of the regular season set for Friday, November 13 against the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
This year's team features a mix of experienced players returning from last season's Sweet Sixteen squad and five freshmen guards who bring a variety of talents to the backcourt.
“It's going to be a great year,” Brown said. “We've got great, young talent. It's going to be a fun year to develop that talent and develop this team.
“I think we need to expect a lot from our veterans and certainly our post players because that's where the most experience is. By the same token, we have five new guards, which we also have high expectations for, but they're freshmen so that will take some time, but I'm really excited.”
The Blue Devils return to Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday, November 5 for an exhibition game against Pfeiffer at 7 p.m.
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