North Carolina State University Athletics
Haynes' World: Brown Keeps Hangin' Around
6/18/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
One of the great inventions of modern history is a television remote control. It amazes me how I survived those early days when you actually had to get up and walk across the room to change the channel on the TV set. But those days are now long gone. It's 2001, a time when a light touch to any number of tiny buttons can get us from Leave It To Beaver to The O'Reilly Factor faster than a Nolan Ryan fastball.
Of course, remote controls aren't infallible. It is possible to punch up the wrong channel, in which case you may land, for instance, on an NBA game. With Magic, Bird and Jordan now gone, it has become necessary for the networks to dress their coverage of NBA basketball up with gimmicks. Instead of halftime analysis, we now get a special presentation of the "Weakest Link," featuring such NBA favorites as Bill Walton, Snapper Jones and Baron Davis. Just who is the "Weakest Link" of that trio? Good question. It is worth noting that Walton is a self-proclaimed "Dead Head."
Occasionally, however, something refreshingly surprising and wonderful pops up on the screen upon an accidental landing on an NBA game. Earlier this season, I came across a WTBS game at the very same instant that Chucky Brown was shooting a free throw.
You've gotta love Chucky Brown. Since his senior season at NC State, the 6-8 forward has repeatedly found a way to keep a uniform on his back and hefty paychecks flowing to his bank account. It wouldn't be a reach to say that Brown has signed more one-year contracts than former Dodgers manager Walter Austin.
Since becoming the 43rd pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, Brown has played for, in order: Cleveland (89-90), Cleveland (90-91), the LA Lakers (91-92), Cleveland again (91-92), New Jersey (92-93), Dallas (93-94), Houston (94-95), Houston (95-96), Phoenix (96-97), Milwaukee (96-97), Atlanta (97-98), Charlotte (98-99), San Antonio (99-00), Charlotte again (99-00), Golden State (00-01) and then back to Cleveland (00-01).
Along the way, he also had short stints in the Continental Basketball Association and Italy. Should this guy be the spokesperson for Samsonite luggage or what?
Given the name of Clarence when he was born in New York, Brown experienced the first of many travel odysseys when he moved to North Carolina as a youngster. His mom must have known that guys named Clarence don't last very long in New York.
Between 1986-89, Brown was a steady, reliable forward for the Wolfpack. And--get this--he actually played for the same team for four straight years. Since then, he hasn't worn the same jersey in more than two consecutive seasons.
Now 33 years of age, Brown is planning for a life after basketball. Not surprisingly, he's been lured into the broadcast booth as a radio analyst for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting. Speaking from experience, I just hope he's done a good job of putting that NBA money away because those paychecks for doing basketball on the radio won't qualify anyone for a spot on the Fortune 500.
If he's lucky, maybe a TV job will present itself somewhere down the road. When or if it does, we might touch the button on one of the greatest inventions ever and find him standing next to Marv Albert with a microphone in his hand.
One way or another, Chucky Brown will find a way to keep hangin' around.
