Kevin Sherrington: SMU’s Brown is a winner who gets penalties, so no outrage, please

And so here we are again on familiar ground for everyone involved: SMU and Larry Brown on probation. Go figure, right?tmpplchld No postseason this year for a team expected to be in the top 25 and a title contender in its conference. Loss of nine scholarships over three years, a major dent. And Larry sits out nine games. He’ll hardly know what to do with himself.tmpplchld The faithful will cry that the NCAA is picking on little ol’ SMU again, and while there’s probably some small merit to the charge, here are the facts:tmpplchld _ The SMU basketball program already was on probation for impermissible texts, and while that’s not exactly a felony, the NCAA frowns on cases where you’re in trouble when you get in trouble.tmpplchld _If the charges are true, there’s no defense for academic violations involving a student athlete. Larry may not have known about the actions of a former assistant, but the new rule say he should have known, a good rule, at that.tmpplchld _And a college basketball program under Larry Brown is once again on probation. This makes him 3-for-3.tmpplchld Larry led Kansas and UCLA to great heights but ultimately left both on NCAA probation, as well. He’s on the same track at SMU.tmpplchld The Mustangs have undergone an unbelievable transformation under Larry’s watch, and it’s not because he’s cheating. Keith Frazier, the player cited in the report, has only occasionally been eligible. SMU wins a lot lately because Larry’s one of the greatest in the history of the game, a man who, even at 75, can outcoach just about anyone he comes up against.tmpplchld But NCAA violations are part of his legacy, as well. Same goes for SMU.tmpplchld Let’s put it this way: You think national college basketball fans heard this news and were shocked? Probably figured it was only a matter of time.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Dallas Morning Newstmpplchld Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld