Brown has traveled the world and been part of numerous teams as a head coach and assistant during his time in the NBA, beginning in 1997. That included one other NBA Finals appearance, as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007. The Cavs were swept by the Spurs that year.
He was also an assistant coach on five teams that reached the finals, winning three with Golden State and one with the Spurs.
Brown’s basketball roots have a distinct Arizona connection. He spent two years as a player at Mesa Community College from 1988-90 before moving on to the University of San Diego.
Now, Brown is on the verge of winning his first NBA championship as a head coach for a Knicks franchise that hasn’t won a title since 1973. Game 5 is Saturday, June 13, at 5:30 p.m. MST, back in San Antonio. The game will be televised on ABC.
From Germany to Mesa
Brown graduated from Würzburg American High School in Germany, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force. It was there that former Arizona State basketball player Ron Johnson saw Brown play while Johnson was coaching the German national basketball team. He was instrumental in getting Brown to MCC.
“I went to MCC to play basketball and because Ron Johnson said it was good fit for me to play there and earn a scholarship to a four-year university,” Brown told the Mesa Community College Alumni Association, according to a 2021 newsletter posted on its web site. “And he had a lot of respect for Tom Bennett as a coach and a person.”
Bennett was the MCC coach at the time. Johnson put him in touch with Bennett,, who helped Brown secure a scholarship to MCC.
Brown helped lead the Thunderbirds to a 54-11 record during his two years at the college. In his second season, he led MCC to an Arizona Community College Athletic Conference and Region I Championship, going 22-0 in conference play. The team made an NJCAA Tournament appearance that season.
Former MCC classmate Jim Jarvis fondly remembers Brown, then a 6-3 guard for MCC.
“He was a true student athlete, smart and funny. What you see on the sideline today is how he was back then,” Jarvis said.
“I also remember our basketball team was ranked number one during the season and he was the point guard on that team. There was a write up in the paper about one of his games in which his game was described as being a field general in battle,” Jarvis recalled.
“I pointed that out to him in class, he thought it was funny and started pointing his finger around like he was directing troops. Given his work ethic, not surprised at his success, just wish the Suns would have looked at him.”
MCC athletic director John Mulhern is among those familiar with Brown’s time at MCC.
“One of the two stories that stuck out to me about him [Brown] was one where Mike became friends with the nighttime custodian,” Mulhern told The Republic. “He would help the nighttime custodian clean his area so that he would allow him to shoot baskets late into the night.”
Mulhern, who has been with MCC for more than two decades, helped arrange for Brown’s induction into the MCC Hall of Fame in 2022. He later helped present the award to Brown when the college surprised him while he was head coach of the Sacramento Kings, who were in the Valley to play the Phoenix Suns in February of 2023.
Brown left impression on MCC coach
Brown’s commitment to the game made him stand out to Bennett, Mulhern said.
“I will tell you that rarely can coach Bennett speak about Mike Brown without his voice cracking. He goes ‘I remember when Michael this, and I remember when Michael that,’ and he always refers to him [Brown] as Michael.”
Those qualities have been evident on the biggest stage in basketball, as well as elsewhere in his career. He coached the Nigerian national team from 2020 22, including an appearance in the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. The team defeated Team USA in a pre-Olympic exhibition game.
“I thought about it, and talked to people I trusted,” Brown told the MCC Alumni Association. “I was drawn to the opportunity to help a country like Nigeria and the continent of Africa as well as being head coach of an Olympic team. Also, I liked the vision the president of the federation spoke of and where he wanted the program to go. It was an experience it would have been hard to pass up.”
Mulhern isn’t surprised that Brown has made it to the pinnacle of the NBA.
“Coach Bennett always referred to Michael as the consummate team player, pro, hard worker, dedicated student-athlete that had vision,” Mulhern said, noting Bennett would often get choked up talking about Brown.
“And that’s why he has such a hard time speaking about him in front of people, it’s those qualities.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Knicks coach Mike Brown’s basketball roots included Arizona
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
