BRETT BROWN
1. How you got started in basketball (the very first years as a kid)
"I am the son of a basketball coach. My fathers has been coaching basketball my entire life and still is today at 73 years old. After being a Head Coach at all collegiate levels (Div.1,2,3), he is currently coaching Chevrus High School in Portland Maine. I grew up in a gym, always having the opportunity to be around his teams and play when I wanted to. I am pleased that I can offer this same type of upbringing to my own son Sam who is 6 years old."
2. Who influenced you in those early days.
"My father was my most influential coach during my early junior days, and in many ways remains the person who most helped shaped my views on the game and life in general. We grew up in the remote northeast state of Maine, which reminds me of Tasmania both geographically and lifestyle. Basketball was a big part of each towns infrastructure and he was responsible for implementing 'summer basketball' where each age group received coaching during the holidays. He always felt that by touching the grass roots that inevitably he would reap the benefits with his senior high school programs. Dad has gone on to win 5 State Championships and was recently inducted into the New England Hall of Fame. He was most influential to me during these summer sessions."
3. Brief outline of college and high school career.
"I played high school basketball for my father in South Portland, Maine. We enjoyed success together, winning the State Championship in 1979 going 29-0. I was selected as a First Team All State point guard in both my junior and senior year. After my senior year I was recruited by Rick Pitino to Boston University where I played for him all (4) of my college years (79-83). I was the starting point quard my final 3 seasons, named MVP, and was captain in both my Junior and Senior year. My senior year we earned an NCAA tournament bid where we lost to LaSalle in the first round of the tournament, Each of my subsequent years we either played in the NIT or conference championships. Coach Pitino has gone on to be one of Americas most profile and successful coaches and he remains one of my greatest influences".
4. How you ended up in Australia.
"After graduating from Boston University I accepted a job in telecommunications in New York city. The telecommunication industry was a hot market as the US government broke the monopoly that AT&T had established in the US. I was transferred back to Boston in 1985. During this period, it became clear to me that wearing a suit and tie each day was not for me. I was single, earned good money over the previous 3 years, and I decided that I wanted to travel. The South Pacific always interested me so I decided to visit a college friend who lived in Sydney on Bondi Beach. I ended up living there for almost a year, met my wife Anna and worked coaching/playing with Sydney Uni. During the IV games in Adelaide, I was introduced to a gentleman who was on the board of the Auckland based NBL team who eventually offered me their Head Coaching position. I accepted and coached in Auckland during the 1988 season. I decided to come to Melbourne to be with Anna and sought out the guidance of Lindsay Gaze on how I may be able to get involved with the game in Australia. Lindsay offered me the opportunity to coach with his Melbourne Tigers Club at all levels. I loved my experience with him and his family, and I now look back at this particular time in the very early stages of my own coaching career as pivotal."
5. Your career coaching in Australia and up to the 2000 Olympics.
" I worked as an Assistant Coach with Lindsay Gaze from 1988 til 1991. I was the Head Coach of the Bulleen Boomers in 1992. I worked as Head Coach of the North Melbourne Giants from 1993-1998. I worked as Head Coach of the Sydney Kings from 1999-2002."
6. Your thoughts/feelings on being at the Olympics.
" I have been privileged to be a part of an NCAA berth as a player, experience (1) NBL and (4) NBA championships as a coach, and nothing even remotely compares to the experience of participating in an Olympic Games. It is that simple to me"
7. One line each (quote) on a couple of the players in the Olympic team that I can use in their bios. You can pick the players.
QUESTION ADRIAN? - do you want the quote to be on our current Boomer team or Boomer teams from the past???
8. A photo. Head and shoulders or sideline coaching?
All of the above can be brief as the whole bio will be about 300 words tops, plus the photo.
I hope this is what you are looking for mate. I only read the 300 word request now so please edit what you have to. Let me know about question #7.
All the best Adrian,
Brett
Brett Brown is a basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the national basketball team the team and an assistant coach at the in the . He was an assistant coach with the Boomers for 132 games between 1995 and 2003 including the 1998 world championship and the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Brown was formerly an assistant coach with at the before taking over at North Melbourne in 1993. He was named NBL coach of the year in 1994 when he led the Giants to the a championship victory over the . He coached the from 2000 to 2002 before leaving for San Antonio. He was Head Coach of the North Melbourne Giants from 1993 to 1998 and amassed 278 games as a Head Coach in the NBL with a 149-129 win-loss record. Brown is originally American and met and married his wife, Anna, in Australia. They have two daughters, Julia and Laura, and a son, Sam. His task is to take the Australian team to the as a replacement for .
[] High school
Brett was a star basketball player at South Portland High School in South Portland Maine. His father, Bob Brown, A New England Basketball Hall of Famer was the coach of his high school team. His father now coaches Cheverus High School which is one of the premier destinations in Maine to play high school basketball
Brett Brown Named Head Coach of Australia’s Men’s Basketball Team
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Brett Brown.
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Basketball Australia has announced that has been selected as Head Coach of Australia’s men’s basketball team, the Boomers, through to London 2012.
Brown, a 48-year old American, has been an Assistant Coach with the famed San Antonio Spurs in the NBA for the past six years and has extensive experience with the Boomers program and the National Basketball League.
He recorded 132 games as an Assistant Coach of the Boomers between 1995 and 2003 including representation at the 1998 FIBA World Championship and the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games.
Formerly an assistant coach with Lindsay Gaze’s Melbourne Tigers, Brown was Head Coach of the North Melbourne Giants from 1993 to 1998 and the Sydney Kings from 2000 to 2002. He has been named NBL Coach of the Month on five occasions and was the NBL’s Coach of the Year in 1994 when he led the Giants to an NBL Championship victory over the Adelaide 36ers.
“The Basketball Australia Board is extremely proud of the performance of the Boomers in Beijing and recognizes the positive building blocks that have been put in place by Brian Goorjian for the Boomers’ future,” BA Chairman David Thodey said.
“But as we have done in the past we opened the door to the possibility of change after two Olympic cycles and with our sport moving forward in an exciting new direction we decided to utilize Brett Brown’s fresh energy and new ideas.
“We hope that he will propel the Boomers to great success on the international stage.” Former San Antonio Spur Andrew Gaze, who was on the three-man selection panel, said Brown's global connections and focus were a big factor in his appointment.
"I think his vision of how to incorporate his role with the Spurs and the NBA to assist in the development of our players and provide international opportunities with the summer league camps that they're involved in, is one that is great for their development but I think is also exciting for the players to be involved in," Gaze said.
Goorjian, who was Head Coach of the Boomers for 120 games between 2002 and 2008 (77 wins – 43 losses), including representation at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games and the 2006 FIBA World Championship, has a long history with Brown.
“I’ve known Brett for a long time. He’s a great coach and a good person and I wish him every success with the national program,” Goorjian said.
Goorjian’s endorsement mirrors that of Boomers Captain Matt Nielsen and star player Andrew Bogut as well as legendary Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich.
“Brett Brown has been paramount to the success of the San Antonio Spurs over the past decade and I am confident his technical and people skills will be well received by the team and organization. He is both a top-notch coach and person,” Popovich said from Texas in the United States.
“I spent three years with Brett at the Sydney Kings and I’m very happy for him to get this opportunity to show himself again to the Australian people and I’m excited to work with him.” Nielsen said on the line from Valencia in Spain.
“I am eager to start working with Brett and I hope we can all continue to get better as a basketball nation and hopefully one day get that elusive medal at an Olympic Games,” Bogut said from Milwaukee in the United States. Brown will continue working with the San Antonio Spurs as the NBA season (October to June) does not conflict with the international basketball season (July to September).
After opportunities for Australia to play in the NBA Summer League and with invitations to tournaments in Argentina and Brazil, Brown’s first major test will come in August when the Boomers take on New Zealand at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship.
Brown is married to an Australian, Anna, with three children, Julia, Laura and Sam.
"Our 1996 Atlanta backcourt of Shane Heal and Andrew Gaze was the most dynamic scoring combination of any in the 1996 Games. We had an unusual balance of backcourt fire power and frontline physicality. That team to me personified what we want for Australian basketball. We had world class shooters, size, and an inherent Aussie toughness that almost allowed us to grab a Bronze medal."