Greg Brown (November 26, 1972 – June 14, 2024) was 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 (appro ...

player and high school coach. He was known for his standout college career at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

, where he was

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC)

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

in 1994 and won the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

as the nation's best player under six feet tall. Brown, a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

from

Albuquerque High School Albuquerque High School is a public high school near Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is a part of the Albuquerque Public Schools district. Enrollment at AHS stands at 1,741. AHS was named the 43rd best high school in the st ...

, played collegiately at

New Mexico Junior College New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) is a public junior college in unincorporated Lea County, New Mexico, near Hobbs. History and campus New Mexico Junior College first opened in the fall of 1966, with a current enrollment of 3,375. The campus ...

from 1990 to 1992. He moved to his hometown

to play for coach

Dave Bliss David Gregory Bliss (born September 20, 1943) is an American basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Oklahoma, Southern Methodist, New Mexico, and Baylor of the NCAA Division I, as well as Southwestern Christian of t ...

from 1992 to 1994. Brown led the Lobos to consecutive NCAA tournament berths in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. As a senior in 1993–94, Brown averaged 19.3

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

and led the Lobos to their first regular season conference championship in 16 years. At the end of the season, Brown was named the WAC player of the year and nationally was awarded the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, given to the top senior in the nation under six feet tall. Brown was the head coach of his former high school, Albuquerque High School. In 2022, Brown was fired as head coach from Albuquerque High School, as they, "wanted new leadership in the boys basketball program." Brown died in an automobile collision on June 14, 2024, at the age of 51.

References

External links

UNM Hall of Fame Bio
* 1972 births 2024 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Albuquerque, New Mexico High school basketball coaches in New Mexico New Mexico Lobos men's basketball players NMJC Thunderbirds men's basketball players Point guards 20th-century American sportsmen {{1970s-US-basketball-bio-stub