Herbert Brown (born March 14, 1936) is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
and the brother of Hall of Fame coach
Larry Brown. He is the former head coach of the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
(1976–78).
Career
Brown succeeded
Ray Scott when he was promoted from assistant to head coach of a
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...
team that was at 17–25 on January 26, 1976. The 39-year-old Brown went 19–21 in his
first season with the Pistons who won 10 of their last 11 games of the regular season. He then guided the team into the second round of the NBA playoffs where the Pistons lost to Golden State, four games to two.
The following season, the Pistons went 44–38 under Brown, before losing in the first round of the playoffs to the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
.
The Pistons fired Brown on December 15, 1977, after a 9–15 start to the 1977–78 NBA season, replacing him with the team's 32-year-old general manager,
Bob Kauffman
Robert Kauffman (July 13, 1946 – July 25, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Kaufmann was a three time NBA All-Star.
Early life
Robert Alan Kauffman was born July 13, 1946 in Brooklyn, N.Y., to LeRoy and Anne Ka ...
, who went 29–29 as head coach.
In 1978, Brown was named head coach of the Tucson Gunners, a franchise in the newly formed
Western Basketball Association
The Western Basketball Association was formed in 1978 and played for one season during 1978–79. Organized by Larry Cregar, a former assistant coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and real ...
(WBA). He was named WBA Coach of the Year after guiding the team to a 32–16 record and the league championship, where Tucson beat Reno (which was coached by
Bill Musselman
William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death ...
), four games to three.
Brown was head coach of the
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
Coquis of the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
(CBA) from 1983–85, going 28–16 and 27–21, in 1983–84 and 1984–85, respectively. He earned CBA Coach of the Year honors following the 1983–84 season. He also coached the Cincinnati Slammers of the CBA in 1985–86.
In June 1990, Brown was named head coach and vice president of basketball operations for the
Baltimore BayRunners
The Baltimore Bayrunners were a professional basketball team in the International Basketball League (IBL) from 1999 to 2000. The Bayrunners were the first professional basketball team in Baltimore, Maryland since the Bullets re-located to Washingt ...
of the International Basketball League (IBL). He was fired after going 10–20 in the team's inaugural season. The BayRunners won just seven more games after firing Brown to finish the season at 17–47.
The Bobcats are Brown's third team on which he has served under brother Larry. Together, they helped coach the Pistons to the
NBA championship in 2004, and led the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
to the
2001 NBA Finals
The 2001 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2000–01 season. The defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers took on the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 7 ...
.
Brown has also served as an assistant coach for several teams, including the
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
,
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...
,
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
,
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
, and
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
. He also coached overseas, most notably in Spain in the early 1990s.
At the college level, Brown was head basketball coach at
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
from 1964–69, earning Coach of the Year honors following the 1969 season.
Brown served as head coach at C.W. Post (of
Long Island University
Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...
) from 1972–74, going 21–5 and 13–12 over two seasons.
On September 3, 2014, Brown was named an assistant coach at
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
.
Head coaching record
College
NBA
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Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
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Conf. Semifinals
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Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
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First Round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, -
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Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
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WBA
CBA
IBL
Personal life and education
Born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, Brown is a graduate of the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
. The author of three books about basketball, he runs a Basketball Academy in the summer at the New Jersey Y Camps. In 2006, he was inducted into the
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports.
Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...
.
Brown now lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife. He has two children—in Charlotte and Atlanta—and two stepchildren.
References
External links
NBA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Herb
1936 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches
Basketball players from New York City
Basketball coaches from New York (state)
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Charlotte Bobcats assistant coaches
Chicago Bulls assistant coaches
Continental Basketball Association coaches
Detroit Pistons assistant coaches
Detroit Pistons head coaches
Houston Rockets assistant coaches
Indiana Pacers assistant coaches
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish men's basketball players
Joventut Badalona coaches
Liga ACB players
LIU Post Pioneers men's basketball coaches
Saski Baskonia coaches
Sportspeople from Brooklyn
Phoenix Suns assistant coaches
Portland Pilots men's basketball coaches
Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches
Stony Brook Seawolves men's basketball coaches
Vermont Catamounts men's basketball players
Valencia Basket coaches
Western Basketball Association coaches
International Basketball League (1999–2001) coaches
21st-century American Jews