The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540860
48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER PACK PAST BY TIM PEELER A s Charles Barkley once asked, "Who is Chucky Brown?" Only one of the most beloved players of NC State basketball's Jim Valvano era. So, the announcement on Oct. 10 that Brown would become the new ra- dio color analyst for NC State men's basketball brought smiles to the faces of anyone who remembers an accom- plished player and big personality from one of the most successful decades of Wolfpack athletics. And it gives the Wolfpack Sports Net- work's broadcast crew the distinction of having one of the youngest announc- ers and most basketball-experienced announcers in all of college athletics. At the age of 14, Brown knows a lot of basketball for someone so young. Yeah, yeah, yeah … most places list Brown at 57, but Pack fans who remem- ber the playing career of the jangly jointed forward from New York by way of Navassa, N.C., know he is one of the most successful athletes in any sport who was born on Feb. 29. (NC State has another Leap Day star, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Cullen Jones.) Brown, who won NC State's Jon Speaks Award for being the best team- mate his senior year, has always been a good guy to play with and a crowd fa- vorite. During the late 1980s, his loping gait was instantly recognizable walking across the Brickyard, especially when the weather turned cool and he began wearing his trademark knit hat. A former Mr. Basketball in North Carolina, an All-ACC honoree, and an NBA and CBA champion, Brown was the perfect Valvano player: underrated by the experts, just kooky enough to be called a "character," and coachable enough to earn first- team all-conference honors on a team that won the 1989 ACC regular-season title. Professional Success A letterman for four years, Brown played 128 games f ro m 19 8 5 - 89 a n d we n t Chucky Brown Set To Bring Personality, Perspective To NC State Basketball Broadcasts Brown ranks 25th in Wolfpack history with 1,357 career points. One of the stars of the Jim Valvano coaching era, he'll be teaming up with play-by-play announcer Matt Chazanow to call NC State men's basketball games this season. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS