MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis Grizzlies general manager Jerry West's basketball résumé includes the Hall of Fame, NBA's 50 Greatest Players of all time, NBA championship rings as a player and general manager, an Olympic gold medal and 14 NBA All-Star appearances. Oh yeah, the NBA logo was designed after "Mr. Clutch," too.

With all those accolades in mind, who could a wise man turn to when he needs advice? A wise older man, of course, like 69-year-old Hubie Brown.

	Jerry West had to smile about the Grizz's first four-game win streak in Memphis.

"If you were going to ask someone for advice for yourself, would you ask someone your same age?" said West, 64. "I don't think so. You'd want somebody that has been through the wars. You'd want someone who has had success and turned things around. He's like a sponge. It's fantastic to go to practice and watch him.

"If our players want to be better players, they are going to be better players with him. If they don't want to be better players, than they are not going to be better players."

So why are the Grizzlies winning under Brown and didn't under Sidney Lowe? Sources close to the team say it's more than Brown's words of wisdom.

The likeable Lowe won an NCAA championship while playing for North Carolina State and had success coaching in the Continental Basketball Association, but many of his players did not respect that since they either weren't born when he won a national title or didn't know or care about his basketball background. Moreover, Lowe's NBA journeyman career and lack of coaching success didn't aid his credibility with the players.

Lowe didn't have an in-your-face approach and there was talk that he gave the players too much rope. For example, he bent over backwards to appease guard Jason Williams. But Williams abused that privilege, which took respect from Lowe.

"We kind of got a clean slate to start from," Memphis rookie forward Drew Gooden said. "The team is together now. He (Brown) came in and added some standards. Everybody is on the same page. This isn't so much of a learning experience now."

While Brown seems like a great choice now, there was initial skepticism in large part because of his age.

"Why is it in football that a guy in his 60s, 70s and 80s in Marv Levy is referred to as a veteran coach?" Brown said. "Joe Torre, Sparky Anderson and Tommy Lasorda are in their 60s and they're referred to as veteran managers. But yet in basketball, as soon as you're up in age you're known as a retread.

"I don't get it because in the other sports you are rewarded whereas in basketball you're looked at as you're over the hill, you've lost your knowledge and lost your teaching ability. And nobody can figure out why this is. ... Hopefully, we can open up opportunities for a lot of great coaches who did it in the '70s and the '80s and had terrific things."

While the Grizzlies are one of the NBA's youngest teams at an average of 24.6 years, they also are loaded with budding talent.

Last season, Pau Gasol was Rookie of the Year and swingman Shane Battier was an all-rookie selection. Gooden was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November. Forward Stromile Swift, 23, seems to have recently seen the light on how to play in the NBA. West may have found two diamonds-in-the-rough rookies in guard Gordan Giricek and project 7-foot-2 center Cezary Trybanski. And Williams, 27, may have finally found the right coach to channel his wild skills positively.

"We have some interesting young players and very good young players," West said. "When you look at them, you wonder what they are going to do a year from now? Are they going to be able to take another step in a year's time? Where are we going to be at the end of the season?

"It's basically training camp all over again for us right now because of the coaching change. There has been a lot of things that I have expected, some things I haven't expected. But it's been a great learning experience."

The hiring of the Yoda of the NBA's coaches has definitely been a great learning experience for these young Jedis in Memphis. Things are finally going in the right direction for this historically woeful franchise that has never won more than 23 games in a season.

"I wouldn't say we're a lot better," Brown said "We're inching along."

Marc J. Spears, who covers the Denver Nuggets for the Denver Post, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.