In a landscape devoid of almost all sports related events, The Last Dance has served as an escape.
That has been the case for West Virginia head coach Neal Brown, too.
The ten-part documentary series is focused around the final season of the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls dynasty and intertwines the rise to that point as well as profiling all of those involved.
Two episodes will air on ESPN every Sunday over the course of five weeks and the experience is one that not only has been entertainment for Brown but has brought back memories as well as taught him a few things in his role as the leader of a program.
“It’s been fun to watch The Last Dance because it is Jordan’s heyday and I’ve always been a Jordan fan. I’m appreciative of anybody that is elite. I think people forget how much of a competitor he was and how elite he was,” he said.
The experience also has taken Brown back to a different place in time as well. That final run of the Bulls occurred during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons in high school and he vividly recalls moments during that time that have stuck with him over the years.
For instance, the 1998 Bulls take him back to standing inside Commonwealth Stadium at the University of Kentucky attempting to watch the NBA Finals through an equipment window. Brown was preparing to play in a Kentucky/Tennessee all-star football game but his attention was on basketball.
“I can remember Jordan hitting the shot to beat the Jazz,” he said.
From a management standpoint, Brown has paid particularly close attention to how then Bulls head coach Phil Jackson handled not only his team but the various personalities on it.
“As a coach I appreciate that and it’s been kind of a learning tool,” he said.
The experience has been one that has been a nice flashback for Brown in many ways and allowed him to reflect on some of the sports memories that have stuck with him the most.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” he said.
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