Bio

Isaac Brown

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (1988-1990) / Basketball
Pascagoula, Miss.

Isaac Brown accepted a scholarship to play on Coach Bob Weathers’ 1988-1989 team. He played very little in that 17-8 season. His second season, 1989-1990, was a different story. As one of the few returning sophomores on this mostly freshman team, he became the team’s Most Valuable Player. In Weathers’ words, “You wouldn’t believe how much he’s improved since he got here. He was our leader on the floor. He was in control of the team.” Averaging 16.4 points, 7.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, Brown proved this point well.

In the game against Clarke College at Newton on Feb. 3, 1990, he scored 19 points and had 13 assists in a 94-66 victory. He contributed 29 points to the 92-72 defeat of Southwest on February 15, 1990. In the opening game of the South Division playoffs at Wesson on Feb. 19, he posted 11 assists and 19 points in the 84-66 trouncing of archrival Pearl River. Next, Brown scored 25 points and had six assists in the 80-75 defeat of Co-Lin on February 21. Then, the Bulldogs lost the South Division to rival Hinds on Feb. 22 and fell to Northeast in the state championship final on February 26.

So, having lost both South Division and Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges titles, the Bulldogs limped into the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 23 tournament at Mississippi College. On March 5, Brown racked up 22 points to lead the Bulldogs to victory over Bossier City. On March 7, Co-Lin fell by one point, 82-81, with Brown making 14 of those points. The next night Brown racked up 31 points, helping to smash Delgado 90-84 to take the NJCAA Region 23 title.

Winning Region 23 set MGCCC for a battle with Region 22 champion Snead State of Alabama for the right to compete in the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Bulldogs lost 100-89 to Sneed on March 13, 1990, though Brown put 20 points on the board in the game. This defeat ended MGCCC’s dreams of national glory for the year. At the close of this stunning season, Brown was selected to the NJCAA All-Region 23 Team, named NJCAA Region 23 All-Tournament and MACJC South Division All-Star, MACJC All-Star Most Valuable Player, and MACJC First Team All-State.

Brown spent a season at Texas A&M and finished his collegiate career at Louisiana-Monroe, where he helped the team to a Southland Conference title and NCAA Tournament bid. He began his coaching career at Pearl River Community College in 1997, then was an assistant Pascagoula High School, his alma mater for two seasons. He moved back to the junior college ranks at Okaloosa-Walton Community College, where he recruited and coached Kedric Brown. Brown became the first junior college player selected as an NBA lottery pick.

He moved next to South Alabama, where he was an assistant from 2002-07. He spent three years at Arkansas before becoming associate head coach at Arkansas State in 2010-11. After three years as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, Brown moved to Wichita State, where he was an assistant before being named interim head coach before the 2020-21 season.