So what do Robert Brown (203-F-1998, college: TxWes) and Stanley Whittaker have in common? Not much other then that both are basketball players overseas. Brown hails from Texas while Whittaker from Pennsylvania. Brown is just at the start of his overseas career while Whittaker has carved out an incredible career having started in low leagues and reached the top leagues in Germany, Italy and Turkey. Brown on the other hand is also in a very low league called the Regionalliga in Germany which is the fourth division. However both have one similarity. Both played for legendary coaches. Whittaker played for Rollie Massimino at Keyser (NAIA) while Brown played for Rick Pitino at Iona (NCAA). Brown didn´t play a big role at Iona, but he took full advantage being able to learn from the ex Kentucky head coach every day during his 2 seasons there. According to http://www.ionagaels.com, Rick Pitino had said this about him. “Robert is a good shot blocker and rebounder with excellent potential. I look forward to developing his skills both on the perimeter and on the inside.” “Rick Pitino helped me with my confidence and making sure I would believe in myself even if I didn’t play. He still made sure I worked out and put in the work to keep my confidence up”, stressed Robert Brown. Both Whittaker and Brown played for legendary NCAA coaches and the question is will a Brown be able to also follow the same kind of a path as Stanley Whittaker and move up the ranks overseas? Robert Brown just keeps grinding with heart as he is starting at the bottom in Germany with Regionalliga team Aschaffenburg Baskets. “The grind was very difficult. There were some days where I wanted to get give up, but I knew one day my time will come so I just kept working. It’s been days where I didn’t get any call and felt like I was doing this all for nothing but I kept my head high and kept working towards my game to get noticed”, warned Robert Brown.

Robert Brown who lists Deandre Ayton as his toughest opponent in the NCAA and who witnessed Brown giving him a double double in high school was born on December 18th, 1998 in Dallas Texas. He got a lot of early basketball experience at different schools like Prime Prep Academy, Advanced Preparatory International and Cathedral High School in Los Angeles. He then departed for New Mexico State University (NCAA) in 2017 was red shirted and then played only 14 NCAA games from 2018-2020. “It was a shock coming out of high school. I’ve played at the highest level in high school with top players in the country such as, Terrence Ferguson, Billy Preston, and Trevon Duval coming into college humbled me but I kept working throughout the times I barely played and showed good spirits even though my time was yet to come”, stressed Robert Brown. His best moment there was scoring 10 points against CS Northridge. “That game showed me that I can play at any level despite my situation on playing time I made the best of it and it made me even play harder in practice because I know if I keep working it will pay off”, said Robert Brown. Somehow injuries were always an issue as was his shoulder in New Mexico and then at Iona, it was his ACL. “It was very hard after tearing my ACL. I lost confidence for a little bit but as I stated before I kept working knowing my story would somehow turn out great in the end but I also learned a lot throughout my years at Iona”, commented Robert Brown. He only played 8 games at Iona, but his fortune finally changed at his last stop at Texas Wesleyan University (NAIA) where he averaged 8.1ppg, 3.1rpg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 54.0%, FT: 62.5%. Was this the best basketball decision in his life? “It was the best decision I’ve made after all the years I been through with the previous college my coach took a chance on me with half a season and I’ve played some great games we had a lot of great players on that team”, remembered Robert Brown. He had some good games there scoring 19 points against WAU and 18 points against Langston. “The WAU game was my first game back since playing real minutes I didn’t take those games for granted at all those were some of the best times of my life”, expressed Robert Brown. There he had a trustworthy coach in Brennen Shingleton who always believed in his abilities. “He helped me a lot with my confidence and said it’s going to work out for me. He made sure I was in the gym 24/7 to reach my goal I couldn’t thank him more enough he believed in me when no other coach did ! I thank him so much for welcoming me home and let me express myself when it comes to game time”, remembered Robert Brown who remembered having dog fights in 1-1 in practice with Lamine Komara.

The Texas native who lists Jabari Rice, Berrick Jeanlouis, Terrell Brown, AJ Harris, and Josh Duach as his 5 best teammates of all-time has finally made it overseas playing with the Aschaffenburg Baskets in the fourth division. He has previous pro experience with the the West Virginia Grind (TBL) and played at the ESL Camp (Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas). Aschaffenburg is a pretty old city along the Main river and surely a lot different than the high paced life in Dallas. “My experience here has been great! New place to call home ! Met a lot of great people here very different from back home in Dallas as far as the culture and how everybody is really nice here and the time zone is a big difference for me but overall I was welcomed here with open arms”, smiled Robert Brown. Has it been a tough adjustment coming from the play in USA to the Euro game? “It’s been quite an adjustment way different than playing in the U.S. The pace of the game is way faster than I thought ! More physical for sure but other than that I am adjusting really well”, said Robert Brown. Even if he is a rookie overseas, he is one of the oldest on the team. “Most of the team is young I feel like I can help these guys get better everyday in practice and in games in certain situations they don’t understand and I feel like they can help me as well I can be the leader of the team by playing hard every game just setting the example every time I step on the court”, added Robert Brown.

The forward who lists Lebron James as his GOAT and Kevin Durant, LeBron James, James Harden, Paul George, and Magic Johnson on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore is a 203cm forward that likes to compare his game to a Tim Duncan. “My touch around the rim is very unique I think that’s what separates me from most bigs”, said Robert Brown. Scoring the ball and hauling down rebounds aren´t his only strengths. I can also block shots and defend talking on defense making sure my teammates and myself are in the right spots ! But I feel like my strength is defending the low post”, stated Robert Brown. In Europe it is beneficial for bigs to be versatile and that includes having an outside game. Rick Pitino noticed early that Brown had potential with a three pointer. “I’ve been working on my outside game ever since I graduated at Iona, Coach Pitino put a lot of confidence in me to play more outside because he said my game can transfer in Europe I’ve been working on my midranges and three pointers for the time being”, stated Robert Brown. He doesn´t just want to be a solid defender, but a shot blocker that teams won´t want to face. “I can defend the low post and cover ball screens. I’m starting to time my blocks in the game I want to become an elite shot blocker”, warned Robert Brown. He continues to work on his three pointer and building more confidence in his face up game. Some Americans will play-2-3 years in low leagues while others will play a decade before heading home. Has he set a time table about how long he will play overseas and stay if things don´t work out? “I have no set time table on how long I want to play but I also want to have a great career overseas and enjoy it as much as I can my support from my family and friends will always be here for me no matter what”, warned Robert Brown who believes that they should have left the classic Coming to America alone. It will be interesting to see where Robert Brown´s journey will go in the next years. He definitely will need really good stats with Aschaffenburg and winning won´t hurt either. Brown´s grind continues in Germany, but he will keep going as his heart navigates how far he will go.