 This is my
third year as a collegiate
head coach and my ninth season in college basketball. Here's the
short and sweet version of how I got to this point.
I have loved the game of basketball since I can remember. I grew
up wanting to be Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney, Isiah Thomas, Mark
Jackson and Magic Johnson. Every recreation team I played on I
had to be # 10 or #22 (Cheeks & Toney). When the 76ers won the
championship in 83', I completely changed my shot to look like
Andrew Toney's shot. Once I reached high school, I really
watched Isiah, Mark and Magic. There were three qualities that
drew me to these guys, they could pass, they made big shots and
they were leaders.
In high school I had chance to play for Boo Williams AAU Team.
We had three pros on that team, Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat and
New Jersey Nets), Bryant Stith (Denver Nuggets and Boston
Celtics), and Terry Kirby (Oakland Raiders). Chris Slade (New
England Patriots) also played with us at times. I believe we had
10-12 players who received Division I scholarships. As you can
imagine we were pretty good. Playing with Boo's team gave me the
opportunity to travel to LA, Vegas, NY and Europe. Basketball
gave me an opportunity to travel to places where most high
school kids will never go. I also played with and against some
very good players! I remember one game when Alonzo recorded a
triple/double with something like 20 points, 19 rebounds, and 20
blocks (give or take a rebound), crazy, right?!
I played college basketball at Howard University (Washington,
D.C.) from 1989 - 1993. I was recruited by A.B. Williamson, the
winningest head coach in Howard's history. In 1991-92, we won
the MEAC title and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Our head
coach was Alfred "Butch" Beard. Coach Beard was a member of the
1976 Golden State Warriors NBA championship team. One of his
assistants, Jerry Eaves was a member of the 1980 Louisville
Cardinals NCAA championship team. I learned a great deal about
the game of basketball from these two men. When I finished my
playing career, I told Coach Beard that I was thinking about
coaching, he told me "you might be crazy enough to do this". I
stay in contact with Coach Beard and Coach Eaves to this day.
They both played and coached in the NBA, so I know that both of
these men know a thing or two about basketball.
After I graduated, I went home to be a 1993-1995 assistant coach
for Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Virginia, which is where
I played ball. Our head coach was Revis Conrad who was also my
high school coach. He knew that I was trying to get into college
coaching, he did everything he could to help me achieve that
goal. I also had the pleasure of coaching my two younger
brothers Morocco and Marseilles. During the spring and summer I
coached with Boo Williams 17-under and 19 under AAU teams. I
also had the pleasure of coaching my two younger brothers
Morocco and Marseilles. I also had an opportunity to work in a
Pro-Am summer league, where I coached a guy who I've known since
he was around 10 years old, Allen Iverson. I only coached
"Chuck" for two games because I was hired as an assistant by
Jeff Capel at ODU, but in those two games, he dropped 72 and 81
points! I was an assistant with Old Dominion University from
1995- 1997. My second year we won the CAA championship and
advanced to the NCAA tournament.
From this, I went on to be an assistant with Mount St. Mary's
College form 1997 - 2000. During the 1998-1999 season, we won
our conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
I then moved on to the College of William and Mary to work with
then head coach Rick Boyages from 2000 - 2002. This allowed me
to come back home to the Tidewater Virginia area.
In 2002 - 2003, I came back to Mount St. Mary's as associate
head coach. I was back under the wings of head coach Jim Phelan.
In January 2003, Coach Phelan announced his retirement after 49
years of coaching. Two days later, I was named the new head
coach at Mount St. Mary's College.
- MILAN BROWN
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