Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- mbrown@athletics.pitt.edu
- Phone:
- 412-648-8350
Milan Brown is in his eighth season at the University of Pittsburgh after spending three seasons at the College of Charleston. He was elevated to associate head coach status prior to the start of the 2021-22 season. Brown has more than 25 years of coaching experience, including 12 seasons as a head coach.
Last season, Brown mentored the guard duo of Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe to help Pitt post its third consecutive winning season. Lowe and Leggett combined to average 32.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. The duo totaled for 53 double-figure scoring games, including 18 games with 20 or more points scored. Lowe earned Third Team All-ACC and Second Team NABC All-District (Mid Atlantic) honors after averaging 16.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
In 2023-24, a trio of guard newcomers helped propel the Panthers to another 20+ win season. The threesome of Carlton Carrington, Leggett, and Lowe combined to average 35.7 points,13.5 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game with 63 double- figure scoring games. Carrington and Lowe formed one of the best freshmen backcourts in the country, while Leggett showcased a strong all-around game en route to earning ACC Sixth Man of the Year accolades. Carrington burst onto the college scene with a triple-double in the season opener and went on to average 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, while making 65 three-point field goals. He garnered ACC All-Rookie Team and Honorable Mention All-ACC honors and was a five-time conference Rookie of the Week and two-time national Freshman of the Week selection. Carrington entered the 2024 NBA Draft and was selected No. 14 overall by the Washington Wizards. Leggett averaged 12.3 points per game to go along with team highs in rebounds (5.5 rpg.) and steals (41) to give Pitt the ACC Sixth Man of the Year for the second consecutive season. He also grabbed Second Team ACC All-Tournament Team recognition following a season-high 30-point effort in a quarterfinal win over Wake Forest.
Under the mentorship of Brown, Pitt’s guard play was a big reason for the team’s return to the NCAA Tournament in 2023. With a seasoned group of veterans in Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Nike Sibande, the Panthers were one of four programs with four or more players with over 140 games played. The backcourt quartet completed their careers with a combined 5,915 points in 596 career games. Burton garnered First Team All-ACC and USBWA District 2 honors after becoming just the fourth player at Pitt to average at least 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in a season. Cummings finished fourth in the ACC in assists (4.75 apg.) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.19:1), while also averaging 11.1 points per game and making 61 three-pointers. Elliott shot a team-high 41.6 percent (77-of-186) from three-point range, second best in the ACC among players with 2.0 made threes per game, while averaging 10.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Sibande grabbed ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors after starring in his role as Pitt’s top reserve. Brown was also the recipient of the 18th annual Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award from the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) and the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bradley Award is given annually to an ACC student-athlete, coach, administrator, or other personnel in men’s or women’s basketball who has overcome significant hardship to contribute to his or her team, or society as a whole.
During the 2021-22 season, Brown was instrumental in the development of transfer Jamarius Burton, while also holding together a backcourt that featured just one scholarship player for a period of time due to injuries and suspension. Burton averaged a career-best 12.4 points per game, while also finishing second in the ACC in free throw percentage (.880).
In 2020-21, Pitt guard rotation finished as four of the top six scorers on the team. Ithiel Horton led the team in three-point field goals (43), while averaging 8.9 points per game. Freshman Femi Odukale came on strong at the end of the season averaging 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game over the final five contests, while Nike Sibande delivered 15.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game over that same stretch.
In 2019-20, Brown mentored a backcourt that featured two of the top three scorers on the team. Sophomore Xavier Johnson was one of four players in the ACC to average at least 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, while also ranking among the league leaders in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and steals.
In his first season at Pitt, Brown was instrumental in the development of the Panthers’ young backcourt tandem of Johnson and Trey McGowens. The duo combined to average 27.1 points per game, 7.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game. Johnson started all 33 games and was the only player in the ACC to average better than 15.0 points and 4.5 assists per game, while McGowens posted a pair of 30-point games in ACC play and ranked among the league leaders in steals (1.94 spg.).
Brown joined head coach Earl Grant’s staff at the College of Charleston in the summer of 2015 and helped the program to a 68-32 record with two postseason appearances. The Cougars went 26-8 in 2017-18 and won the CAA regular season and tournament championships before falling to Auburn, 62-58, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. He was instrumental in the development of Jarrell Brantley, who went on to be selected with the 50th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.
Brown spent the previous 12 seasons as the head coach at Holy Cross (2010-15) and Mount St. Mary’s (2003-10), compiling a 164-203 record with three postseason appearances and a trip to the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
In 2014-15, Holy Cross upset No. 25 Harvard in non-conference play to mark the program’s first win over a ranked team since 1977. The Crusaders’ top player, Malcolm Miller, graduated and played with the Boston Celtics’ summer league team before NBA G-League stints with the Maine Red Claws and Raptors 905. Miller signed with Toronto for a second time in 2019 and went on to win an NBA Championship with the Raptors that year.
During the 2013-14 campaign, Brown led Holy Cross to a 20-14 overall record en route to its first 20-win season since 2007. The Crusaders placed third in the Patriot League with a 12-6 conference mark and received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Holy Cross’ 68-65 victory at Brown in the first round of the 2014 CIT was its first in a national postseason tournament since 2005.
Holy Cross compiled an overall record of 15-14 and a fourth-place finish in the Patriot League with a 9-5 mark in league play during the 2011-12 season. Brown’s team led the league in three-point field-goal percentage defense (30.5 percent) and blocked shots (4.4 blocks per game).
During his first year with the Crusaders, Brown led the squad to a third place finish in the Patriot League.
Prior to his time at Holy Cross, Brown spent seven seasons as head coach at Mount St. Mary’s. During his final three years with the Mountaineers, he led his squad to three consecutive winning seasons and a pair of postseason appearances. Brown’s teams posted a 54-44 record (.551) during those three years, including a 35-19 mark (.648) in Northeast Conference play.
Defense was a staple of Brown’s squads, as the Mountaineers allowed 64.7 points per game over a three-year span from 2007-10, while holding their opposition to under 70 points in 72 out of 98 games.
In 2009-10, Brown’s Mount St. Mary’s team posted an overall record of 16-15 and finished third in the Northeast Conference with a 12-6 mark. The Mountaineers posted an 11-game winning streak from Jan. 28-March 4, the second-longest streak in the school’s Division I history, and advanced to the semifinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament.
A year prior, Brown’s squad went 19-14 overall and 12-6 in the NEC, placing second in the league. The Mountaineers advanced to the NEC championship game and was selected to play in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
During the 2007-08 campaign, Brown led the Mountaineers to their first winning record in 11 seasons, posting a 19-15 overall mark. Mount St. Mary’s finished the regular season fourth in the NEC with an 11-7 league record before running off three consecutive victories to claim the NEC Tournament title. The Mountaineers then took down Coppin State (69-60) in the NCAA opening round for the first NCAA Division I Tournament victory in school history.
Brown took over as the head coach at Mount St. Mary’s in 2003-04 and led his team to its first NEC Tournament appearance since 1999 during his inaugural campaign. By his third year 2005-06, the Mountaineers finished fourth in the conference with an 11-7 record – their highest finish in the league since 1996-97.
Following the 2005-06 campaign, Brown was selected as the Northeast Conference’s Coach of the Year by College Insider.
Before his head coaching stints, Brown twice served as an assistant under Jim Phelan. He was the associate head coach at Mount St. Mary’s during the 2002-03 campaign and an assistant coach from 1997-2000. During the 1998-99 season, Brown helped lead the Mountaineers to the NEC Tournament crown and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
From 2000-02, Brown was an assistant coach at William & Mary under Rick Boyages. He previously served as an assistant under Jeff Capel II at Old Dominion from 1995-97, helping lead the Monarchs to a combined record of 40-24 over two seasons. In 1996-97, ODU won both the CAA regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Brown began his coaching career in 1994-95 as an assistant at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Va., where he helped lead the team to a 23-7 record and the state championship.
A 1993 graduate of Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Brown earned All-MEAC honors his senior year after averaging 13.1 points and 4.4 assists per game. He still ranks second on the Bison’s all-time career list for assists (445) and scored 1,102 points in his career.
Brown led Howard to the MEAC regular-season and tournament titles during the 1991-92 season, earning All-MEAC Tournament honors. He was then named the CBS Player of the Game for the Bison’s contest with Kansas in the 1992 NCAA Tournament. Brown had his number retired at Howard in December of 2005.
The son of Charles and Pamela Brown, he is the oldest of three children. His brother, Morocco, played football at NC State and is the Director of College Scouting for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. His other brother, Marseilles, played basketball at both Richmond and Hampton, advancing to the NCAA Tournament at each school. He is now the owner of Hoops & Life Pro Skills Training in Columbia, S.C.
Originally from Hampton, Va., Brown and his wife, Tina, are the proud parents of two daughters, Nyla and Sanaa.
