The Saline boys' basketball team has its man.
Former Schoolcraft College head coach Michael Brown agreed last week to become the new head coach of the Hornet boys' basketball program.
Brown will take over the position from Terry Breneman, who resigned in mid-March after 13 years at the Hornet helm.
"I'm very excited to be coming to Saline," Brown said in an interview Tuesday. "There's nothing lacking here in terms of what you need to be successful. I'm thrilled that I've been given what I feel is a great opportunity."
Saline High School Athletic Director Rob White said that there had been a large amount of interest in the position, but that after interviewing Brown, White had little doubt that he was the right choice for Saline.
"As an athletic director, ultimately what you're looking for is the total package, someone who knows their X's and O's, but more importantly is going to connect with kids and form positive relationships," White said. "When Mike left after his first interview, we felt he was clearly the leading candidate, that he would be that positive role model.
"It didn't take us long to decide that it was time to offer Mike the job."
Brown is a graduate of Huron High School in Ann Arbor and Siena Heights University, and served as an assistant on the benches of Belleville High School and Schoolcraft before being named head coach at Schoolcraft, a community college in Livonia.
Brown decided to pursue the Saline opening after receiving word of it through his friend Brian Townsend, an assistant men's coach at Ohio University.
"There's a number of different reasons," he said as to why he pursued the opportunity, adding that he had enjoyed his time at Schoolcraft but that it was "time to move on."
"(The Saline position) will be close to home; the facilities are excellent," he said. "It's a situation where I feel I can come in and be successful."
Although inexperience, injuries, and suspensions hindered the 2006-2007 Hornet boys and resulted in a disappointing 4-17 record, the team will return leading scorer and rebounder Kyle Larsen and a host of other contributors from the varsity and junior varsity teams.
Speaking before he had even met his future Hornet players, however, Brown wasn't ready to set firm expectations for his first season in charge, other than that his team can be expected to give 100 percent on and off the floor.
"We're going to get after it, no matter what," he said. "I'm a competitor. I expect to win, and I want my players to expect to win every time we take the court. At the same time, all I can ask of them is that they do everything they can to help their team. That's going to be our mindset.
"If we do that, we're going to be successful."
Another asset Brown says he will bring to Saline will be flexibility. Although he prefers his teams to play an up-tempo, full-court style of basketball, he says he will have no problem tailoring his strategies to whatever kind of talent he finds on hand in Saline.
"We'll play to our strengths," he said. "I like playing up-tempo because it's an imposing style. If we have the kinds of athletes who can play that style, that's what we'll do. If not, we'll find another way to be successful."
As much as he enjoys the game of basketball, however, Brown made clear that he became a coach for more than just his love of the sport.
"I love coaching and working with young men, helping them learn, helping them grow," he said. "And I do love the game. This is a way for me to combine those two passions."
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 1-734-429-7380 or at jhinnen@heritage.com.
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