Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired

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 and player and a current

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 2005.

Early life and career

Born in

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Dece ...

, Brown moved to

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

at age three and was raised there, living in a small apartment building without a telephone. Brown, an only child, has said that his father, Charlie, who worked at the shipyards, was a "demanding man." He graduated from St. Mary of the Assumption High School in 1951. While in high school, St. Mary won state championships in football, basketball and baseball. Hubie Brown played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

and baseball at

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. App ...

, graduating in 1955 with a degree in education. While at Niagara, Brown was a teammate (and roommate) of former

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

coach

Frank Layden Francis Layden (born January 5, 1932) is an American former basketball coach and executive of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz as well as former head coach of the Women's National Basketball Association's Utah Starzz. Coaching ...

, as well as Larry Costello and Charlie Hoxie, who would go on to star for the Harlem Globetrotters. After leaving Niagara, Brown joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

where he joined the Army's basketball team. After being honorably discharged in 1958, Brown briefly played for the

Rochester Colonels The Rochester Colonels were a short-lived franchise in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (the forerunner to the Continental Basketball Association) in the 1958-59 season. Playing its home games at Rochester War Memorial Auditorium, the fra ...

of the Eastern Professional Basketball League (the forerunner to 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 mi ...

) before they folded after just eight games. He averaged 13.8 points per game in his brief stint as a pro and was an excellent defender as a player. Brown also returned to Niagara to earn a master's degree in education as he looked to pursue a coaching career. Brown's defensive mentality would carry on into his coaching career, which began in 1955 at St. Mary Academy in Little Falls, New York where he coached both basketball and baseball. He spent nine years coaching at the high school level, including

Cranford High School Cranford High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Cranford, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, and operating as the lone secondary school of the Cranford Township ...

Cranford, New Jersey Cranford is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increase of 1,222 (+5.4%) from the 2010 census count ...

and Fair Lawn High School in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, and a bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 34,940, which constituted a 7.7% increase from 32, ...

, before becoming an assistant coach for one season at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

in 1968. The following season, Brown joined

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

as an assistant coach.

Milwaukee Bucks

Brown coached at Duke until 1972, when he joined the NBA as an assistant coach for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

under

Larry Costello Lawrence Ronald Costello (July 2, 1931 – December 13, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors, the Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA and the Wilkes-Barre Barons. ...

. Milwaukee made the NBA Finals in 1974 with future Hall of Famers

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

and

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...

, but fell in seven games to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, who were led by their own superstars:

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

John Havlicek John Joseph Havlicek ( ; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA championships, four of them coming in his first four seasons with ...

, Jo Jo White and future Bucks coach

Don Nelson Donald Arvid Nelson (born May 15, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335 (he held the record for most wins for almost 12 ...

Coaching career

Kentucky Colonels

After two seasons in the NBA, Brown was given his first professional head coaching opportunity with the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

. Brown led the Colonels to the 1975 ABA Championship. Brown continued as the Colonels' coach until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 when the Colonels franchise folded, one of two ABA teams that did not join the NBA (the

Spirits of St. Louis The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise based in St. Louis that played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter member in 1967 as the ...

being the other).

Atlanta Hawks

Brown then rejoined the NBA as head coach of the

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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, going 31–51 in his first season with the Hawks. But by the 1977–78 season, the Hawks had rebounded into a .500 team, finishing 41–41 and earning Coach of the Year honors for Brown. Two years later, in 1979–80, they won only their second division title since moving to Atlanta. However, after they tumbled to a 31-win season in 1980–81, Brown was fired with just three games remaining in the season.

New York Knicks

Brown joined the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

, succeeding long-time coach

Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...

. He stayed with the Knicks until he was fired in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

after starting the season 4–12. After reaching the playoffs in each of Brown's first two seasons, the Knicks plummeted to 24–58 in 1984–85 and 23–59 in 1985–86. But there were circumstances that were far beyond Brown's control that hastened the downfall. Star forward Bernard King suffered a devastating knee injury in March 1985 in a game against the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the olde ...

, not fully recovering for two seasons, while Patrick Ewing, the top overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, missed 32 games in an injury-plagued rookie season. Brown left the Knicks at the beginning of the 1986–87 season, succeeded by Bob Hill.

Memphis Grizzlies

Sixteen years removed from his previous NBA coaching job, Brown was again tapped to be a head coach in the NBA 2002–03 season by

Jerry West Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability ...

of the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, who fired coach Sidney Lowe after an 0–8 start. The Grizzlies' choice of Brown was quite controversial at the time; Hubie Brown was the oldest coach in the NBA at the age of 69. Brown finished the season with a 28–46 record with the team, at the time the team's record for wins. However, the team underwent a complete turnaround for the 2003–04 season, finishing 50–32 and making the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

for the first time in team history. Brown was again named the NBA's Coach of the Year. However, by the 2004–05 season, there were again concerns about Brown's health and age. Brown was given medical clearance to start the season, but was forced to delegate much work to his assistant coaches, including his son, Brendan Brown. This led to an incident between Brendan Brown and Jason Williams when Williams snapped at Brown during the fourth quarter of a game early on in the season. Williams eventually apologized, but the Grizzlies were beginning to struggle during the season, starting 5–7. Brown then unexpectedly resigned from the Grizzlies on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

, November 25, 2004. In a statement, he cited "unexpected health-related issues...

hat were A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

absolutely nonexistent at the beginning of the season." Details of the specific "health-related issues" were not announced. Shortly afterward Mike Fratello was announced as the new Grizzlies coach, marking the second time in his career that he had succeeded Brown at an NBA head coaching position. Soon after Brown's unexpected departure, it was reported by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis ''

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, als ...

'' that a combination of negative attitudes among James Posey, Jason Williams, and Bonzi Wells led to his leaving. Brown coached his team with a 10-man rotation, which meant that players got smaller amounts of playing time.

Broadcasting career

Brown began broadcasting after being fired by the Hawks, working for

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

's coverage of the NBA, including playoff games as well as CBS before being hired by the Knicks. During the 1985 NBA playoffs, Brown lent his services for CBS once again while still coaching the Knicks, who were not in the playoffs, teaming up with

Brent Musburger Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN). With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...

. Following his dismissal from the Knicks, CBS hired Brown full-time as a broadcaster in December 1986, and served alongside Verne Lundquist as the third team during select regular season and playoff games, promoted to the second team the next season. When asked in 1988 how long he will remain involved with the game of basketball, Brown responded "I will stay involved in some capacity until the day Verne Lundquist dies." In 1988, CBS named Brown to replace Billy Cunningham as its lead analyst alongside play-by-play man

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV. ...

. Brown remained with CBS until the end of their NBA coverage following the

1990 NBA Finals The 1990 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1989–90 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The series pitted the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference playoff champion De ...

, then worked on the local broadcasts for 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 Ea ...

and 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 L ...

before joining TNT in the early 1990s. Brown continued anchoring TNT's basketball coverage through the 2001–02 season, in which he was paired with various announcers such as Bob Neal,

Ron Thulin Ron Thulin is a sportscaster who currently handles play-by-play for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA, Panther City Lacrosse of the NLl and college basketball. He was formerly with Turner Sports. Biography Thulin has called play-by-play for college foo ...

, Pete Van Wieren, and his old CBS partners Verne Lundquist and Dick Stockton. Shortly after his departure from the Grizzlies, Brown signed with ABC as their top NBA analyst. Brown worked with

Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster currently working as the play-by-play announcer for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on n ...

and Mike Breen on some regular-season and playoff games, including the 2005 NBA Finals and 2006 NBA Finals, before he was replaced as lead analyst by

Mark Jackson Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. A point guard from St. John's University, he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah ...

and

Jeff Van Gundy Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator for ESPN and former basketball coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his ten ...

. Brown currently calls games on ABC and ESPN working alongside such play-by-play announcers as Mark Jones and Mike Breen. He also contributes to

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN ...

's coverage of the NBA playoffs and

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

. Brown was nominated for a Sports Emmy in 1994 and 1999.

Halls of Fame

(class of 2005 as a contributor). * National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame (class of 2022 as a broadcaster)

Personal life

Brown and his wife Claire have three daughters (Molly, Virginia, and Julie) and a son (Brendan), a former NBA scout and assistant coach who has worked for the New York Knicks as a radio analyst. Brown also has four grandchildren.

Head coaching record

ABA and NBA

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Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

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, align="left" , , 84, , 46, , 38, , .548, , align="center" , 4th in ABA, , 10, , 5, , 5, , .500 , align="center" , Lost in

Semifinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

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, align="left" , , 82, , 24, , 58, , .293, , align="center" , 5th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed Playoffs , - , align="left" ,

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References

External links

*
Basketball-Reference.com: Coaching Record – Hubie Brown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Hubie 1933 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks head coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from New Jersey Basketball players from Pennsylvania College basketball announcers in the United States Duke Blue Devils men's basketball coaches ESPN people High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in New Jersey High school basketball coaches in New York (state) Kentucky Colonels coaches Memphis Grizzlies head coaches Military personnel from Pennsylvania Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees New York Knicks head coaches National Basketball Association broadcasters Niagara Purple Eagles baseball players Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball players People from Hazleton, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches