Larry Brown Comments on NCAA Sanctions, Respect for AAC

Southern Methodist men's basketball coach Larry Brown is ending his silence regarding the NCAA penalties on his program, and suffice it to say, he's not happy.

"To say that there was a lack of compliance is the biggest bunch of bull," Brown said Tuesday, per Ed Daigneault of the Republican-American.

The NCAA banned SMU from the 2016 postseason and suspended Brown nine games in September. An investigation uncovered "academic fraud and unethical conduct," which centered on former assistant coach Ulric Maligi's relationship with former guard Keith Frazier. It's alleged that Maligi helped Frazier get into a class so he could become academically eligible and then received improper help.

"The student-athlete received fraudulent credit for the course and, as a result, competed while ineligible during his freshman season," the NCAA said, per ESPN.com.

While Brown acknowledged the "need" for punishment, he was patently unhappy with the way the NCAA handled SMU's case.

"You need to be punished, I get it, but they wouldn't do that to a power conference," Brown said, per Daigneault. "They're going to get Southern Miss, SMU. The NCAA had six to eight weeks to make a decision. They waited 15 weeks. (The seniors) had no recourse (about playing elsewhere for one year)."

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

SMU, which began the season 18-0, has four seniors on the roster. Among them are team leaders Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy, who have been stalwarts under the Brown-led Mustangs. Forward Jordan Tolbert also transferred from Texas Tech to SMU for his final season of eligibility.

Brown indicated part of the reason the NCAA waited so long with the SMU case was because the American Athletic Conference isn't seen as a priority.

"This conference gets no respect. Somebody has to do something about it," Brown said, per Daigneault.

While the timing may seem odd, this is likely something Brown has been itching to say for months now. Perhaps with the start of the NCAA tournament just a month away, the sanctions are really hitting home as what could have been the Hall of Famer's best chance at a deep March run at SMU is no longer in the cards.

Either way, Brown's going to open some eyes in Indianapolis.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.