Isaac Brown (basketball)

Isaac Brown
Brown with Wichita State in 2021
Biographical details
Born (1969-05-07) May 7, 1969 (age 55)
Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.
Playing career
1988–1990Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
1990–1991Texas A&M
1992–1993Northeast Louisiana
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1997–1999Pearl River CC (assistant)
1999–2000Pascagoula HS (assistant)
2000–2002Okaloosa-Walton CC (assistant)
2002–2007South Alabama (assistant)
2007–2010Arkansas (assistant)
2010–2011Arkansas State (assistant)
2011–2014Louisiana Tech (assistant)
2014–2020Wichita State (assistant)
2020–2023Wichita State
Head coaching record
Overall48–34 (.585)
Tournaments0–1 (NCAA Division I)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
AAC regular season (2021)
Awards
AAC Coach of the Year (2021)

Isaac Leon Brown[1] (born May 7, 1969) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at Wichita State.

Playing career

Brown is a native of Pascagoula, Mississippi. He played basketball at Pascagoula High School and helped the team reach the state championship game in 1988. Brown played at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College from 1988 to 1990.[2] He played one season at Texas A&M, averaging 12 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while starting 17 games, but was dismissed in February 1991 by coach Kermit Davis.[3] Brown decided to transfer to Northeast Louisiana. After sitting out a season, he helped Northeast Louisiana capture the 1993 Southland Conference title with a 17–1 record, finish 27–4 overall and receive a berth in the NCAA Tournament.[2]

Coaching career

Brown began his coaching career as an assistant at Pearl River Community College from 1997 to 1999. He served as an assistant at Pascagoula High School during the 1999–2000 season. Brown became an assistant at Okaloosa-Walton Community College in 2000 and served until 2002.[2]

Brown landed his first job as a Division I assistant coach at South Alabama in 2002. Between 2007 and 2010, he was an assistant coach at Arkansas under John Pelphrey. Brown was on the staff of John Brady at Arkansas State during the 2010–11 season. Brown served as an assistant at Louisiana Tech under Mike White from 2011 to 2014.[4] Brown helped the team receive its first-ever WAC regular season championship during the 2012–13 season. The following year, he helped guide the Bulldogs to a 29–8 record, tied for the most wins in a season in program history. He was hired as an assistant at Wichita State under Gregg Marshall in August 2014.[2]

Brown served as the Shockers' top recruiter, and helped the team achieve a 157–50 record in six seasons including four NCAA Tournament appearances. He received the second-most votes for best assistant coach in the American Athletic Conference in a poll of league coaches in 2020.[5] On November 17, 2020, Brown was named interim head coach at Wichita State, following the resignation of Gregg Marshall.[6] On February 26, 2021 he was named permanent head coach, agreeing to a five-year deal. He became the first black basketball head coach in Wichita State history.[7]

He was fired on March 11, 2023, after 3 seasons.[8]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wichita State Shockers (American Athletic Conference) (2020–2023)
2020–21 Wichita State 16–6 11–2 1st NCAA Division I First Four
2021–22 Wichita State 15–13 6–9 7th
2022–23 Wichita State 17–15 9–9 6th
Wichita State: 48–34 (.585) 26–20 (.565)
Total: 48–34 (.585)

References

  1. ^ "Top Non-UAMS state higher education employee pay" (PDF). Feb 6, 2010. Retrieved Aug 13, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Rockwell, Curtis (August 28, 2014). "College basketball: Pascagoula's Issac Brown is new basketball assistant coach at Wichita State". Gulflive. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "A&M releases Brown". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. February 14, 1991. p. 54. Retrieved December 4, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (November 18, 2020). "'A player's coach' and a 'grinder': Here's the scouting report on WSU's Isaac Brown". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (November 17, 2020). "Meet Isaac Brown, the longtime assistant who'll lead WSU basketball as interim coach". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Isaac Brown Named Interim Head Coach". Wichita State Shockers. November 17, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (December 4, 2020). "How Isaac Brown is inspiring as first Black basketball head coach at Wichita State". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "Wichita State fires Isaac Brown: Shockers move on from men's basketball coach after three seasons". CBSSports.com. 11 March 2023.