JERSEY CITY, NJ (www.NJCUGothicKnights.com)...MARC BROWN, who led New Jersey City University's men's basketball team to two ECAC post-season appearances as interim head men's basketball coach in his first three seasons at the helm of the program and mentored a pair of New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year selections, has been appointed to the position in a permanent capacity following a coaching search. Brown will begin his fourth overall season with NJCU in 2010-11.
Brown, the 10th head coach in the illustrious history of the men's basketball program, was appointed to the position permanently in July 2010.
In his first three seasons as head coach, Brown has directed NJCU to two post-season berths, reaching the ECAC Division III Metro quarterfinals in 2007-08 and again in 2009-10. During his tenure, he has mentored two D3hoops.com Preseason All-Americans and recruited eventual New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year selections in back-to-back seasons in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
“It's a relief to be permanent now and a dream-come-true to be at one of the top Division III programs on the east coast and a place my dad coached. We had a good recruiting year and the key is to continue to be successful. Going into my fourth year, we have team goals of going to the conference playoffs and NCAA Tournament and those are the first two goals we're trying to achieve this year. The coaching staff is set and I think being here interim three years has given me the experience I needed to continue and hopefully to be successful.”
In all, NJCU has received two All-NJAC selections, 15 NJAC Rookie of the Week and two NJAC Player of the Week nods during his tenure. The Gothic Knights have had two .500 or better seasons—finishing 14-12 in 2008 and 13-13 in 2010—and a combined record of 37-40 with a 21-14 home mark.
In his first season in 2008, he contributed to the national media campaign for All-NJAC and All-Region standout Dana John, whose life story was chronicled by such major news outlets as ESPN and ESPN The Magazine.
In addition to coaching responsibilities, Brown serves as the advisor to NJCU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and oversees most of the athletic department's community outreach initiatives.
Brown, the youngest son of retired NJCU basketball coaching icon Charles Brown, succeeded his father as head coach after retiring as an active player in 2007. The younger Brown, who had coached during the off-season throughout his professional playing career, enjoyed 16 standout seasons on the court from 1991-2007 in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and in various major professional leagues in Europe and South America, most notably the French A League and Brazilian Pro League.
Siena's all-time leading scorer with 2,284 points in a four-year career that spanned 1987-91, Brown, a 1998 inductee into the Siena Athletic Hall of Fame, was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 1991, and a Division I Honorable Mention All-American by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) that year. He was also named Honorable Mention All-America in 1989 by The Sporting News.
He was also selected First-Team All-MAAC in 1990, and was a two-time First-Team All-North Atlantic Conference (NAC) pick in 1988 and 1989 before Siena joined the MAAC. He was named to the MAAC All-Tournament Team in 1990 and 1991. Brown was tabbed Second-Team All-East by Eastern Basketball in 1991 after earning Honorable Mention status from the publication in 1990. Basketball Times named him Honorable Mention All-East in both 1990 and 1991, and he was a 1990 United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District 2 choice.
He also finished his career as Siena's all-time leader in assists (796, 6.5 apg) and three-pointers made (224) and led the school to the quarterfinals of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 1991. He still holds the single-game school record with 15 assists vs. Army on February 3, 1990. The three-pointer and assist records have since been broken, with the latter mark holding the test of time for nearly 20 years before being eclipsed in 2010.
At the time of his graduation, he was one of only three players in Division I history to score over 2,000 career points and accumulate at least 750 assists, joining Syracuse's Sherman Douglas and potential future NBA Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton, of Oregon State.
But what he may most be remembered for as a collegian came in the opening round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament when he scored a then-career-high 32 points and converted two free throws with three seconds remaining to help orchestrate #14 seeded Siena's stunning 80-78 upset of #3 Stanford University—among the biggest upsets in college basketball history. His teams held 1-1 records in the NCAAs and 2-2 in the NIT.
Brown, known by the nickname “Showbiz,” because of his flashy play-making ability at the point guard position, finished his overall career averaging 18.6 points per game, tallying 2,284 points, 796 assists, 372 rebounds, 221 steals and 11 blocks in 123 games. He was a career .481 shooter and .784 from the line.
In 2009, he was inducted into his second hall of fame when he was enshrined in the Columbia High School Athletic Hall of Fame in Maplewood, NJ.
Brown, 41, currently resides in Union, NJ with his wife, Marisa, and their five-year-old son, Marc, Jr.
—www.njcugothicknights.com—
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
- Head Coach, New Jersey City University, 2007-present
- Led NJCU to two post-season (ECAC) appearances in three years
- Recruited back-to-back eventual New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year selections; 2009 and 2010
- Players on his team has received numerous honors: (2) two preseason All-America; (2) two NJAC Rookie of the Year; (2) two All-NJAC; (2) two NJAC Player of the Week and 15 NJAC Rookie of the Week selections
- The point guard played 16 seasons as a professional from 1991-97 in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and in major professional leagues in Europe and South America, most notably the French A League and Brazilian Pro League
- Siena College's all-time leading scorer with 2,284 points in a four-year career that spanned 1987-91 and No. 2 in assists (796)
- 1991 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year
- 1991 Division I Honorable Mention All-American by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI)
- 1989 Honorable Mention All-America by The Sporting News
- At time of graduation, was one of only three players in Division I history to score over 2,000 career points and accumulate at least 750 assists. Collegiate nickname was 'Showbiz'
- Hit winning free throws in #14 seeded Siena's 80-78 upset of #3 Stanford in opening round of 1989 NCAA Tournament
- Led Siena to quarterfinals of 1991 National Invitational Tournament (NIT)
- Ranks No. 1 or among the all-time leaders in 37 categories at Siena
- Led Siena to 1989 NAC Championship
- Paced Siena to 1988 and 1989 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) regular season title and 1991 MAAC regular season crown
- First-Team All-MAAC in 1990 and 1991
- First-Team All-NAC in 1988 and 1989
- MAAC All-Tournament Team in 1990 and 1991
- Second-Team All-East by Eastern Basketball in 1991; Honorable Mention All-East in 1990
- Basketball Times Honorable Mention All-East in 1990 and 1991
- 1990 United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All District 2
- 1998 inductee into Siena College Athletic Hall of Fame
- 2009 inductee into Columbia High School Athletic Hall of Fame
