Lavon resident Robert Brown recently signed a contract to play professional basketball for the Goldcoast Wallabies in Switzerland. Courtesy Robert Brown
By David Wolman
For Lavon resident Robert Brown, resilience, being a team player, and defense may be the best way to describe the 6-foot-9 forward.
Brown played basketball at two high schools in Texas and California, three colleges and, starting this August, will be competing for his fifth professional team: the Goldcoast Wallabies, who play in the Swiss NBL He wanted to play for the Wallabies this season, but because of issues with his visa, he couldn’t make the trip to Switzerland. He will have to wait until next season to begin the next stop of his professional career.
Brown most recently played for the Aschaffenburg Baskets, a team that plays in the Regionalliga fourth-division league in Germany. He averaged a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds per game and finished fourth in the league in blocked shots. He previously played basketball for teams in West Virginia, Canada and Mexico.
Coaches for Aschaffenburg told the Wallabies about Brown and said that he would be a good fit.
“An agent of mine had seen film on me and sent it to them,” Brown said. “I researched the Wallabies a little bit. Their coach is a nominee for the coach of the season award.”
After playing high school basketball for Prime Prep from 2013-16 and for Cathedral Prep in Los Angeles from 2016-17, he played for one year at New Mexico State, sat out the 2017-18 season, transferred to Iona College in 2019 and also played at Texas Wesleyan.
Brown dealt with injuries throughout his college career. He tore the labrum in his left shoulder during his freshman season at New Mexico State and suffered a torn ACL in December 2020 while at Iona. He played six games at Iona prior to the ACL injury.
Injuries and all, Brown wasn’t ready to give up on basketball. He was determined to get back to playing the game that he loves.
While at Iona, Brown learned from legendary head coach Rick Pitino. Pitino, who led Kentucky to the NCAA title in 1996, replaced Tim Cluess. Cluess resigned because of health reasons. But Brown said that learning basketball from Pitino was one of the best experiences of his life.
“That was a surreal moment,” Brown said. “He was very respectful but blunt at the same time. He knew exactly what he was doing. He taught me a lot.”
Brown said that learning German was difficult but became more comfortable with the language after one month of living in Germany. The Lavon resident said he is excited to learn Swiss and learn more about their culture.
“I think that it will be different and it is very expensive to live there,” he said. “I’ve researched grocery stores and will figure out how to save money when the time comes.”
To read the full story, stay informed and support your local community newspaper, subscribe to The Wylie News.
0 Comments