Brendan John Brown

Born in Durham, NC at Duke University, Brendan and his family followed his father’s basketball career living in various places such as Milwaukee, Louisville, Atlanta and Livingston, New Jersey. He was a member of the Elks and St. Teresa’s R.C. Church, Summit, NJ.

Brendan attended St. Jude the Apostle Catholic School and then Marist School both in Atlanta, GA; Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J, where he was Class President; and Northwestern University in Chicago, IL graduating with a B.A. from the Medill School of Journalism. He was a proud alumnus of all schools. While at Delbarton, he played varsity basketball for three years, doubles tennis and managed the soccer team. While at Northwestern, Brendan was the Men’s basketball team manager in charge of television for four years. Brendan was a camper at the world famous Five-Star Basketball camp where he later became a counselor/coach working alongside the greatest coaches in the history of the sport. Brendan valued his time and friendships with his Five-Star family. He served as the Knicks ball boy during games at The Garden. After college he went on to have an extraordinary career in basketball wearing many hats. He served as an Assistant Basketball coach at Wake Forest under Dave Odem when they won the 1995 ACC Tournament with Tim Duncan. He went on to work under John Calipari for the NJ Nets as the Head Video Coordinator and was then promoted to their Advanced Pro Scout. From there he was also the Advanced Pro Scout for the Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies and the NY Knicks. While with the Grizzlies he was promoted by Jerry West and became an Assistant Coach for three years alongside his father and Hall of Famer, Hubie Brown. During the 2003-04 season they won 50 games, which earned the Grizzlies their first playoffs in franchise history and eventually to the Western Conference Championship. This was a proud moment in Brendan’s career. While with the NY Knicks, he served as the radio color commentator and filled in on TV taking over for John Andariese. During his time with the Knicks, he enjoyed working alongside Spero Dedes and Mike Crispino. He also loved talking with everyone involved with the Knicks including the coaches, players, media friends and as he called them, “the guys in the truck.” He enjoyed his time being interviewed by Mike Francesa. More than this, he loved bringing his wife and daughter to The Garden, introducing them to everyone and watching his daughter’s face light up during the games.

Recently, Brendan was working for Mitch Kaufman at Hoop 1 Video as the Director of Marketing, while also appearing on SNY podcasts with Ian Begley and NBA radio.

He had the ability to evaluate athletic talent and apply/create sabermetric formulas before sabermetrics became a common term. He was able to keep statistics in his head on players from professional sports down to Little League going back to the 1970s. Brendan was always available to help friends call plays or scout young players from elementary school through college. He volunteered his time as the public address announcer for football games at St. Mary’s of Rutherford, which he enjoyed equally as much as his job with the Knicks. You could always find him watching film and writing reports for anyone who needed them.

Brendan loved his family, friends, pets, summers in Sea Girt and basketball although he was well-versed in almost every other sport there is. Despite all of his interests, his greatest passion was whatever Sydney (his daughter) was doing, whether it be softball, field hockey, Irish dance and all other activities in-between.

He is survived by his wife of 11 years, Kathleen “Kate” Brown (nee McMorrow); daughter Sydney Brown; father Hubert Brown; sister Molly Smith (Bob), niece Sarah Smith; sister Virginia Foster, niece Grace Foster and nephew Timothy Foster. He is predeceased by his mother Claire Brown (nee Manning) and sister, Julie Brown. He will be missed by all who knew and worked with him.

Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation on Monday, November 11, 2024, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Doyle Funeral Home, 106 Maple Ave. Morristown, NJ.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at St. Mary’s Abbey (Delbarton School), 230 Mendham Rd. Morristown, N.J.

Please visit www.doylefh.com for additional information, and to leave a tribute to Brendan or a message to the family.

Brendan developed an appreciation for St. Jude’s during his time working for the Memphis Grizzlies. In lieu of flowers, the family asks to make donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. www.stjude.org