Bob Brown was looking to get a little closer to home.

While coaching at Saint Anselm College, the New England Basketball and Maine Sports Hall of Famer was drawn back to Maine because of family issues. It also led to a coaching opportunity that became a brief stopover during a lengthy and prestigious career.

“I was coaching at Saint Anselm College and my dad was sick,” said Brown. “He was in the throws of passing away. I left college and the Edward Little job was open.”

Brown became the coach of the Red Eddies for the 1986-87 season. EL had won just six games the year before, and Brown thought it was a good opportunity to stay involved in coaching and make a difference at EL.

“Every job I’ve taken I’ve taken with the thought I’d stay there,” said Brown. “Edward Little was an excellent high school. It always had the good reputation of being an athletic school. I knew the program was down a little bit, but I had some nice kids and we had some nice young kids coming in. It looked like we were on the way to reestablishing some of the tradition there.”

EL went 10-8 that season and made the playoffs, losing in the first round. It was just the third winning season for EL in the previous 16 years. That season set the table for the 1988 squad that went 15-3 and earned the fourth-seed in Western A. EL won its quarterfinal game but lost to Portland in the semis.

Brown made an immediate difference at EL, but his tenure there was short-lived. He had the opportunity to return to college. He took the head coaching job at the University of Southern Maine, where he coached the Huskies for three years and reached the NCAA Final Four.

“I had planned on staying there, but the job at the University of Southern Maine opened up and that took precedent,” said Brown. “I was the head coach at St. Anselm, and I had been an assistant at Boston University. So college seemed to be right then and there to be along the lines of what I was looking for.”

Brown established himself as one of Maine’s greatest basketball coaches. Between college and high school he’s been coaching for 50 years and has over 550 wins, including the state title with Cheverus in 2007-2008.

While his stay at Edward Little was brief, it was full of some great experiences for Brown. He can even recall many of the details and players of that club off the top of his head.

“That was 23 years ago but John White was the athletic director,” said Brown. “My captains were Tommy Daniels, Jeff Libby and Jeff Hess. You still remember the kids. They were good kids. Brian Dubois was my little backcourt guard. I had good memories.

“The school was good. The principal and the administration was great. Everybody I ran into there was first class. So my leaving Edward Little was nothing more than my opportunity of going on to college.”

Brown’s Cheverus team plays Edward Little Saturday at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Even before his Stags had clinched a spot in the Class A state game against the Red Eddies, Brown was reminded of his brief stay at EL.

“I was getting ready to play in the Western Maine final and Tommy Mower came over to wish me luck and brought his daughter,” said Brown. “It was nice to see him.”

Between that visit, the EL players on hand to scout the Western A winner and the subsequent matchup with EL in the state game, it has brought that year with EL back to the forefront in Brown’s mind.

“The nostalgia really became evident when Tommy came over and talked to me,” said Brown. “I’ve got good memories of Edward Little. When you look back and can say good things and have good memories it always becomes meaningful.”

Come Saturday night, his attention won’t be on his past season at Edward Little but will be focused on the task at hand with Cheverus. Still, he’s excited about the matchup and thinks it could be a pretty even game.

“I left with wonderful feelings about Edward Little,” said Brown, who taught business at the school. “I travelled every day from South Portland to Auburn to coach and to teach. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the people. It will be interesting to come back and see the Red Eddies on somebody else.”