Randy Ayers, the former assistant to Larry Brown, was named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers Friday.

Ayers spent six seasons as assistant coach to Brown, who quit the 76ers last month to take charge of the Detroit Pistons.

A former head coach at Ohio State, Ayers takes over a teamn which had a 48-34 record last season before being eliminated by the Pistons in the second round of the playoffs.

"At the end of the day, it became clear that Randy was the guy," team president Billy King told a news conference.

"We have the same vision. With some tweaking, I believe we can go far."

Ayers replaces a Hall of Famer in Brown, who had several disagreements with All-Star guard Allen Iverson.

"I have great respect for coach Brown," Ayers said. "The biggest thing he taught me was game management.

"He managed the game better than any coach I've been around. But we will be more up-tempo. We want to push the ball with the guards and be more creative."

Ayers's record at Ohio State was 124-108. He led the Buckeyes to four postseason appearances and was coach of the year in 1991 after the school went 27-4, winning the first of two consecutive Big Ten championships.

But his time at Ohio State ended with four consecutive losing seasons, with the Buckeyes also going on probation for numerous violations.