Andre Brown (basketball)
Andre Brown | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 12, 1981 United States |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player (retired) |
| Years active | 2004–2014 |
Andre Devon Brown (born May 12, 1981) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. He competed collegiately at DePaul University and pursued an international basketball career spanning Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, the National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. Brown also represented the USA Basketball World Youth Games team for two years, earning a gold medal in 1998 and a bronze medal in 1999.
High school career
Brown started his high school basketball journey at Brother Rice High School in Chicago as a freshman. For his sophomore year, he transferred to Leo Catholic High School, where he led the team to downstate competition and was honored with Class A All-State recognition—the only sophomore to receive this distinction. When Leo advanced to Class AA the next year, Brown continued to excel, becoming the first athlete to be named All-State in both Class A and AA. During his senior season (1999–2000), with Leo returning to Class A, he contributed to securing the Catholic League championship and was selected as a McDonald's All-American.
College career
In his first year at DePaul, Brown distinguished himself by becoming one of the earliest freshmen since 1992 to achieve a double-double in his debut game, tallying 18 points and 11 rebounds against Lewis University. He posted a season-best 19 points along with eight rebounds against Marquette. Over 30 appearances (including six starts), he averaged 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds while playing 22.6 minutes per game.
As a sophomore, Brown led DePaul in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocked shots—a feat not accomplished since Stanley Brundy in 1988–89. He ranked second in Conference USA for rebounds and set a single-game conference record with 27 rebounds versus TCU, marking the second-highest total in DePaul’s history. Across 26 games (25 starts), he averaged 14.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and one block per game in 31.8 minutes.
In his junior campaign, Brown received Preseason All-Conference USA honors and recorded several double-doubles, including an impressive performance with 20 points and 11 rebounds against UNLV. He appeared in 28 games (starting 18), averaging 9.4 points and 9.0 rebounds over 30.5 minutes per contest.
During his senior year, Brown earned second-team All-Conference USA accolades along with two C-USA Player of the Week awards and was named to the Spartan Coca-Cola Classic All-Tournament team. Starting all 23 games that season, he averaged 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds while logging 32.2 minutes per game.
By the end of his collegiate tenure, Brown ranked fourth all-time in Conference USA for total rebounds with 855 and became one of only eight DePaul players to surpass both 1,000 points and 800 rebounds. Additionally, he was selected to the All-Tournament Team at the 2004 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, where he averaged 18.3 points (ranked fourth) and 10.7 rebounds (second).
2004–05 season
After going undrafted in the 2004 NBA draft, Brown participated with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2004 NBA Summer League. On October 4, 2004, he signed with the New Jersey Nets, but was released on October 20. The following month, Brown inked a deal with Italy’s Sedima Roseto for the remainder of the 2004–05 season. In February 2005, he moved to Montenegro to join Budućnost Podgorica for the rest of that season. By April, Brown had signed with the Philippines’ Barangay Ginebra Kings, appearing in seven games before departing late May.
2005–06 season
In July 2005, Brown participated in the NBA Summer League with the Seattle SuperSonics. By October, he had signed with the Daegu Orions in South Korea for the 2005–06 campaign. In February 2006, he was traded to the Incheon ET Land Black Slamer.
2006–07 season
Brown competed in the 2006 NBA Summer League representing the San Antonio Spurs and subsequently signed with the Atlanta Hawks on September 29, 2006. However, he was released on October 26. Shortly after, on November 2, Brown was chosen second overall by the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the 2006 NBA Development League Draft. He earned D-League Player of the Week honors on December 18 after leading Sioux Falls to a 3–0 start with three straight double-double performances. Over 16 games, he posted averages of 22.8 points and 10.8 rebounds.
On January 5, 2007, Brown secured a 10-day contract with the Seattle SuperSonics. After a second 10-day deal on January 25, he signed for the remainder of the season.
2007–08 season
Although Brown joined the Indiana Pacers for Summer League activities, he did not appear in any games. On July 20, 2007, he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies. During the 2007–08 season, Brown appeared in 33 contests, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds across 8.7 minutes per game. Notably, in the final four games following playoff elimination, he averaged an impressive 13.0 points and 11.5 rebounds while playing nearly 28 minutes per game.
2008–09 season
Brown inked a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats on September 28, 2008, but was waived after four appearances on November 19. On December 3, he joined the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League and played in 17 games before parting ways on January 22. Shortly thereafter, he signed with Turkish club Banvit Bandırma to finish out the season.
2009–10 season
In July 2009, Brown took part in the NBA Summer League with the Dallas Mavericks. On December 3 of that year, he committed to play for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls for the remainder of the 2009–10 CBA season.
On April 1, 2010, Brown signed with Puerto Rican team Leones de Ponce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, appearing in one game before moving to Syrian side Al Jalaa Aleppo on April 22 to conclude their season.
2010–11 season
Brown participated in the NBA Summer League with the Golden State Warriors in July 2010. He then signed with the New Jersey Nets on September 24 for a second stint but was waived five days later prior to training camp. Subsequently, he agreed to a one-year contract with Greek club Panellinios B.C. competing in the Greek Basket League, featuring in six league matches and three EuroCup games before his release on January 6, 2011.
On January 13, Brown joined Australia's Perth Wildcats in the NBL as a short-term injury replacement for Matthew Knight. Following co-captain Shawn Redhage's season-ending injury on January 23, Brown's contract was extended through to the end of the 2010–11 NBL season. The Wildcats secured fourth place but were defeated by the New Zealand Breakers in the semi-finals. Across 15 games, Brown averaged 9.3 points alongside 6.7 rebounds per contest.
2011–12 season
On July 7, 2011, Brown inked a deal with Huracanes del Atlántico to compete in the 2011 LNB season. Subsequently, on November 10, 2011, he transferred to Iran’s Shahrdari Gorgan for the duration of the 2011–12 campaign.
2012–13 season
Brown secured a contract with South Korea’s KCC Egis on October 14, 2012, joining them for the 2012–13 season.
2013–14 season
On November 14, 2013, Brown signed with Uruguay’s Club Atlético Atenas but exited after participating in two games. Later, on January 24, 2014, he joined Japan’s Sendai 89ers, though he departed within a week due to a family-related issue. He then committed to Bahrain’s Al-Ahli on February 26 to complete the remainder of that season.
Regular season
|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Seattle | 38 || 0 || 7.1 || .568 || .000 || .600 || 1.9 || .1 || .2 || .1 || 2.4 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Memphis | 33 || 1 || 8.7 || .500 || .000 || .449 || 2.8 || .2 || .2 || .1 || 3.0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Charlotte | 4 || 0 || 10.3 || .143 || .000 || 1.000 || 3.0 || .3 || .3 || .0 || 1.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 75 || 1 || 8.0 || .516 || .000 || .500 || 2.4 || .1 || .2 || .1 || 2.6