Chamique Holdsclaw was heralded as a star when she helped lead Tennessee to the NCAA title in 1996.

	Al Brown helped Tennessee win three championships and was the first coach to reach the men's and women's NCAA title games.

But while the freshman was an important part of the Lady Vols' national championship run, another one of Tennessee's newest team members also played a vital role.

Al Brown had joined Pat Summitt's staff prior to the 1995-96 season, and just months after teaming with Summitt and fellow assistants Mickie DeMoss and Holly Warlick, Tennessee had won its first NCAA title in five years.

A lot of people believe that's more than just a coincidence, and with good reason. Brown is an amazing assistant, one of the best scouts in the game and an incredible asset to any bench. And although he has left Tennessee after seven seasons to join Jane Albright's staff at Wisconsin, Brown has helped, and will continue to help, raise the level of the game.

In today's level of college basketball, assistant coaches have more and more responsibilities. They break down film, scout the opponent for the pre-game report and just about do the legwork for everything. It's no secret that the game's most successful head coaches have some of the best assistants in the game.

Brown is one of them, and is journey -- which spans five decades -- is a long one.

After playing three seasons for Purdue from 1959-1962, Brown then served as a graduate assistant for the Boilermaker men from 1967-70. In that time, Purdue earned its first Big Ten title in 40 years, and reached the 1969 NCAA title game, where it lost to UCLA.

Brown then was a Ball State assistant for four seasons from 1977-81 before serving as the Cardinals' head coach from 1982-87. After a 68-75 mark over five seasons that included Ball State's second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, Brown returned to the assistant ranks. He spent time at Western Michigan (1987-88) and Minnesota (1988-1991) before landing in Knoxville as an assistant to Wade Houston for the Tennessee men.

Houston, however, left after two seasons, leaving Brown behind. But it didn't take long for Summitt, who always has been praised for being cutting edge, to make the most of the opportunity. So years before it became chic for coaches with NBA or men's college basketball backgrounds to cross over to the women's game -- like Michael Cooper, Richie Adubato, Ron Rothstein and Sonny Allen have done in the WNBA -- Summitt brought Brown over to the Lady Vols to share and apply his knowledge to the women's game.

Success followed soon after, as Tennessee won three consecutive NCAA titles in 1996, '97 and '98. The first, which came after beating Georgia in the championship game, made Brown the first person -- male or female -- to coach in both a men's and women's NCAA title game. By the time he left Tennessee last summer, Brown had helped the Lady Vols make four championship game appearances and notch one of only 10 undefeated seasons in NCAA history.

Brown never did any recruiting at Tennessee, but was a guru at breaking down film. He not only would evaluate and scout the opponent, but also analyze Tennessee as a team and individually, which is something a lot of teams don't do but is crucial to understanding your team's strengths and weaknesses.

Brown, who says he has loved being a part of the growth of the women's game and seeing how passionate his players are for the sport, also helped players improve their skill development in the offseason, and is part of the reason Tennessee now plays such a pressing defense.

But ultimately, Brown is a Big Ten guy, and leaving Tennessee for Wisconsin has allowed him to return to his roots. And it's a great move.

Not only will he live closer to the place he calls home, Brown will also be comfortable working within Albright's system. Albright, after all, is one of many coaches across the country -- including Carolyn Peck and Nancy Darsch -- who have coached under Summitt at some point in the past 29 years.

Albright, who was a graduate assistant for Tennessee from 1981-83, is the all-time winningest coach at Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. She has done a great job with the Badgers, and like every coach, she wants to continue to take her team to the next level. Part of the journey is getting the right players in place. But getting the right staff on board is also crucial -- I tried to hire him away from Tennessee in 1998 to come coach the Detroit Shock with me -- which is one reason Brown is a good fit at Wisconsin.

Despite their 1-4 start this season, Brown will help make the Badgers better. He likes to be a teacher and has an incredible love and passion for the women's game. And while he'll continue many of the same roles at Wisconsin that he had at Tennessee, Brown also is involved in recruiting. That's a huge plus for him. In the past, he was given a group of players to work with and figure out how they fit into the system. Now he has some control over the type of player that comes to campus because he can now go out and look for the players he wants.

Brown's biggest asset is his experience, and his 26-year coaching background essentially gives Albright a peer on the bench. While her assistants are top notch, they are a bit young. Erika Lang-Montgomery, a Wisconsin assistant and recruiter, has been with the Badgers for three seasons, while Wisconsin's chief recruiting coordinator, Kate Peterson, has been in Madison for six seasons. So by hiring Brown, Albright has done a nice job of mixing youth with experience, and they will all benefit from each other.

While Brown's decision to leave Tennessee surprised a lot of people, his departure was amiable. He realizes he has worked at the one of the best program's in the country, but at the same time, this opportunity allows him to expand his role as a coach. And as for Summitt, she has learned through the years that you're eventually going to lose some great people.

Brown no doubt has the knowledge and résumé to be a head coach in the men's or women's game. But right now, and while he was at Tennessee, Brown is pretty comfortable where he's at.

And if you're Summitt or Albright, that's a pretty incredible safety net sitting next to you on the bench.

Nancy Lieberman, an ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. Contact her at www.nancylieberman.com.