William J. Brown (born October 8, 1971) 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. 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.

Playing career

Born in Miller Place, New York, Brown played collegiate basketball at

Dowling College Dowling College was a private college on Long Island, New York. It was established in 1968 and had its main campus located in Oakdale, New York on the site of William K. Vanderbilt's mansion Idle Hour. Dowling also included a campus in Shirley, ...

, 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.

Coaching career

Brown began his coaching career at

The College of Saint Rose The College of Saint Rose is a private Roman Catholic college in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a women's college. It became fully co-educational in 1969; the following year, the college a ...

, serving as an assistant coach for three seasons. He then became the head coach at

Sullivan County Community College SUNY Sullivan is a public community college in Loch Sheldrake, New York. It was founded in 1962 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and funded in part by Sullivan County, New York. It is accredited by the Middle States C ...

, 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. In his fourth full season on the job, Brown led the Great Danes to their first-ever America East conference regular season and

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

championship, as well as its first Division I NCAA Tournament appearance. With the help of two-time America East Player of the Year

Jamar Wilson Jamar J. Wilson (born February 22, 1984) is an American-Finnish professional basketball player for Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the LNB Pro B. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. High school career Wilson attended Our Savior New Am ...

, the team won the America East conference tournament title in 2007 and returned to the NCAA tournament in 2007. 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. His fifth conference tournament title tied

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

for the highest total in America East history. In 2019, Brown earned his 300th career victory as the coach of the Great Danes when the team defeated

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

. 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. On October 27, 2021, the

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

of The Basketball League announced that the team had hired Brown as its head coach and general manager for the 2022 season. In his only season with the Patroons, Brown guided the team to a 29–4 record as well as a

The Basketball League The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bask ...

Eastern Conference and regional conference title before stepping down from the position on December 17, 2022.

Head coaching record

Junior college

College

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

References

External links

Albany profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Will 1971 births Living people Albany Great Danes men's basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York (state) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Dowling Golden Lions men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Point guards People from Miller Place, New York Saint Rose Golden Knights men's basketball coaches Albany Patroons coaches