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Will Brown (basketball)

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Will Brown
Personal information
Born (1971-10-08) October 8, 1971 (age 53)
Miller Place, New York, U.S.
Career history
As coach:
1995–1998Saint Rose (assistant)
1998–2001Sullivan County CC
2001Albany (assistant)
2001–2002Albany (interim)
2002–2021Albany
2021–2022Albany Patroons
2023–2024Saint Rose (women's)
Career highlights and awards

William J. Brown (born October 8, 1971) is an American basketball coach. He is the former head men's basketball coach at Albany, where he served from 2002 to 2021, guiding the Great Danes to five NCAA tournament appearances.[1]

Playing career

Born in Miller Place, New York, Brown played collegiate basketball at Dowling College, starting for three years. He finished his career as the school's all-time leader in assists, three-point field goals and free-throw percentage, and is the only player in Dowling history to score 1,000 points and tally 500 assists.[citation needed]

Coaching career

Brown began his coaching career at The College of Saint Rose, serving as an assistant coach for three seasons. He then became the head coach at Sullivan County Community College, compiling a record of 90–10 in three seasons. Brown joined the coaching staff at the University at Albany as an assistant coach for the 2001–02 season, and was named interim head coach on December 20, 2001 after head coach Scott Beeten was fired. On March 13, 2002, UAlbany removed the "interim" tag from Brown's title and officially named him as its 15th head coach.[citation needed]

In his fourth full season on the job, Brown led the Great Danes to their first-ever America East conference regular season and tournament championship, as well as its first Division I NCAA Tournament appearance.[2] With the help of two-time America East Player of the Year Jamar Wilson, the team won the America East conference tournament title in 2007 and returned to the NCAA tournament in 2007.[3]

From the 2012–13 season to the 2014–15 season, Brown guided Albany to three straight America East titles and NCAA appearances, adding his second conference regular season title in the process.[4] His fifth conference tournament title tied Jim Calhoun for the highest total in America East history.[5] In 2019, Brown earned his 300th career victory as the coach of the Great Danes when the team defeated Niagara.[6]

On March 1, 2021, Brown and Albany agreed to mutually part ways at the expiration of his contract. Brown's career record at the University at Albany was 315–295.[7][8]

On October 27, 2021, the Albany Patroons of The Basketball League announced that the team had hired Brown as its head coach and general manager for the 2022 season.[9] In his only season with the Patroons, Brown guided the team to a 29–4 record and was named the TBL National Coach of the Year. Brown led the Patroons to The Basketball League Northeast Division Championship, Easter Regional Championship and the Eastern Conference Championship before stepping down from the position on December 17, 2022.[10][11]

Brown was named the head coach of the women's basketball team at Division II Saint Rose on June 23, 2023.[12][13] He took over a team that had won 11 games the year prior and guided them to a 21–7 mark and a third-place finish in the Northeast-10 Conference and guiding the team to the 2024 NCAA Division II tournament for the first time since the 2010–11 season, and in the final year of the school's existence, as it was announced Saint Rose would close at the end of the 2023–24 academic year.[14][15][16]

Head coaching record

Junior college

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Sullivan County CC Generals (Mid Hudson Conference) (1998–2001)
1998–99 Sullivan County CC 30–2 NJCAA Final Four
1999–00 Sullivan County CC 28–5 Region XV Runner-up
2000–01 Sullivan County CC 32–3 NJCAA Championship Runner-up
Sullivan County CC: 90–10 (.900)
Total: 90–10 (.900)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA

Men's

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Albany Great Danes (America East Conference) (2001–2021)
2001–02 Albany 7–13‡ 5–11 T–9th
2002–03 Albany 7–21 3–13 T–9th
2003–04 Albany 5–23 3–13 10th
2004–05 Albany 13–15 9–9 4th
2005–06 Albany 21–11 13–3 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2006–07 Albany 23–9 13–3 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2007–08 Albany 15–15 10–6 3rd
2008–09 Albany 15–16 6–10 7th
2009–10 Albany 7–25 2–14 9th
2010–11 Albany 16–16 9–7 4th
2011–12 Albany 19–15 9–7 4th CIT first round
2012–13 Albany 24–11 9–7 5th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2013–14 Albany 19–15 9–7 4th NCAA Division I Round of 64
2014–15 Albany 24–9 15–1 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2015–16 Albany 24–9 13–3 2nd CBI first round
2016–17 Albany 21–14 10–6 T–3rd CIT first round
2017–18 Albany 22–10 10–6 4th CIT/CBI INVITATION
2018–19 Albany 12–20 7–9 6th
2019–20 Albany 14–18 7–9 7th
2020–21 Albany 7–9 (COVID SEASON) 6–6 5th
Albany: 315–295 (.516) 165–147 (.529)

‡ Beeten fired 12/20/01; Brown coached rest of season.

Total: 315–295 (.516)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Women's

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Saint Rose Golden Knights (Northeast-10 Conference) (2023–2024)
2023–24 Saint Rose 21–7 17–5 3rd NCAA Division II First Round
Saint Rose: 21–7 (.750) 17–5 (.773)
Total: 21–7 (.750)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ "Will Brown - Head Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches". University at Albany Great Danes.
  2. ^ "Vermont vs. Albany – Game Recap – March 11, 2006 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
  3. ^ "UALBANY WINS SECOND-STRAIGHT AMERICA EAST CHAMPIONSHIP OVER VERMONT, 60–59". University at Albany Great Danes. 27 March 2007.
  4. ^ "Stony Brook vs. Albany – Game Summary – March 14, 2015 – ESPN". ESPN.com.
  5. ^ "Will Brown, UAlbany agree to five-year contract extension | The Daily Gazette". dailygazette.com. 29 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Coach Brown Claims 300th Victory at UAlbany vs. Niagara". University at Albany Great Danes. 14 December 2019.
  7. ^ "UAlbany Head Men's Basketball Coach Will Brown and UAlbany Athletics Agree to Mutually Part Ways". University at Albany Great Danes. March 2021.
  8. ^ Dougherty, Pete (March 1, 2021). "Will Brown dismissed as UAlbany basketball coach". Times Union.
  9. ^ Singelais, Mark (October 26, 2021). "Albany Patroons to introduce Will Brown as head coach and GM". Times Union.
  10. ^ Kalantri, Vishnu (December 17, 2022). "Coach Will Brown leaving the Albany Patroons". WNYT.com NewsChannel 13.
  11. ^ Singelais, Mark (December 17, 2022). "Will Brown leaving Albany Patroons". Times Union.
  12. ^ "Will Brown - Head Coach - Staff Directory". College of Saint Rose Athletics.
  13. ^ "SAINT ROSE NAMES WILL BROWN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH". College of Saint Rose Athletics. June 22, 2023.
  14. ^ Singelais, Mark. "Saint Rose women's basketball chosen for NCAA Tournament".
  15. ^ "WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RETURNS TO NCAA TOURNAMENT AS #3 SEED IN THE EAST REGION". College of Saint Rose Athletics. March 10, 2024.
  16. ^ "For Saint Rose, the big dance is a last dance. An NCAA berth comes in a year the school will close". AP News. March 11, 2024.
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