Lelton Gerard "Rod" Brown (born September 9, 1978) is an American former professional
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. Born in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, he holds dual British-American citizenship.
Professional career
After graduating from
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...
in 2000, the
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 ...
joined English team
Greater London Leopards
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality
* ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
* "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014
*Greater Bank, an Australia ...
. When the franchise folded in 2003, Brown joined
Chester Jets
The Cheshire Phoenix are an English professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Founded in 1984, they are members of the Super League Basketball and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the ...
but walked out on the team during pre-season training before even playing a game, and subsequently joined Leopards' former rivals
London Towers
London Towers were a professional basketball team based in London, England. They enjoyed considerable success in the 1990s and early 2000s, collecting 3 titles in the British Basketball League (BBL) as well as regularly competing in European c ...
. In 2005, Brown moved to Spain to play for lower-league
CB Inca, and the following year made the step-up to the
Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...
– one of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
's top leagues – to play for
Menorca Bàsquet
Menorca Bàsquet, S.A.D. was a professional basketball team based in Menorca, Balearic Islands.
On July 5, 2012 the club announced its dissolution after it was forced to renounce to its third promotion to Liga ACB
The Liga ACB, known as Lig ...
.
In February 2007, he moved from Spain to Greece, and the
Greek Basket League
The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...
, where he signed for
A.E.L. Larissa and played out the remainder of the season. During the summer he signed for League-rivals
A.E.P. Olympias Patras who were also competing in the
FIBA EuroCup. In the continental competition, Brown averaged 9.3 points and 25.5 minutes-per-game, whilst domestically, he scored 6 points per game in 10 games. In January, midway through the
2007–08 season Brown returned to Spain to sign for
Bruesa GBC of the second-tier
Liga Española de Baloncesto
The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categories (the other two are the Segu ...
(LEB), helping the team finish as playoff winners and earned a second-place finish in the League and promotion to the Liga ACB. Brown remained in the LEB for the
2008–09 season after signing for
Cáceres 2016.
Brown spent the 2009–10 season playing in Italy's second division,
LegADue
Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with ...
, with
Udinese
Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...
. He averaged 10.4 points in 33 minutes-per-game, appearing 22 times throughout the season. In 2010 Brown joined
ETHA Engomis of Cyprus where he played just three League games and averaged just 4.3 points. After his brief period in Cyprus, the point guard returned to Spain again and signed for
Aguas de Sousas Ourense in the LEB Oro, for the remainder of the
2010–11 season. Ourense struggled throughout the campaign and finished bottom of the 18-team League with a 9–25 record. Brown played 15 games for the club, and averaged 8.9 points in 26.8 minutes-per-game.
In 2011, Brown moved to Switzerland and the
Lugano Tigers
The Lugano Tigers are a Swiss professional basketball club that is based in Lugano, Switzerland. The club competes in the Swiss Basketball League (SBL), the highest domestic tier. Founded as FN Lugano, the team was re-named to Lugano Snakes in 1999 ...
of the
LNBA where he enjoyed one of his most successful recent seasons. Tigers dominated the League, claiming the regular season title with a 20–4 record and winning the playoffs over rivals
Les Lions de Geneve, with a 3–2 series victory. Brown featured in 25 games throughout the campaign, and averaged 11.8 points and 6 assists in 31.7 minutes per game.
In January 2013, Brown returned to England to sign for British Basketball League side
Plymouth Raiders
Plymouth Raiders are a basketball team based in Plymouth, England, currently competing in Division 3 of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League.
Founded in 1983 through a merger between two local basketball clubs, ...
, replacing Raiders' former
League MVP Jeremy Bell who had just departed the club.
References
External links
FIBA Europe ProfileACB ProfileDraftexpress.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Rod
1978 births
Living people
A.E.L. 1964 B.C. players
American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland
American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom
Basketball players from Dallas
British Basketball League players
Club Ourense Baloncesto players
Liga ACB players
Lugano Tigers players
Menorca Bàsquet players
Olympias Patras B.C. players
Plymouth Raiders players
Point guards
Pratt Beavers men's basketball players
Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball players
CB Inca players
American men's basketball players
American expatriate sportspeople in England
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
ETHA Engomis players