#MizzouMadeMonday: John Brown
3/25/2019 1:55:00 PM | General
Brown's jersey hangs in the Mizzou Arena rafters after its retirement this year
John Brown, Missouri basketball great, returned to Columbia earlier this month as he became the most recent to have his jersey number retired. His jersey, marked with his iconic No. 50, officially joined six others in the rafters of Mizzou arena when he was honored at halftime of the basketball team's final home game on Saturday, March 9.
Brown, a man with a long list of career accomplishments and honors, turned to his wife during the ceremony and apologized.
"Honey, I'm sorry," he said. "But this is the greatest thing to ever happen to me."
One of six kids and raised by a single mother, Brown grew up about 90 miles from Columbia in the small town of Dixon, Missouri. His family did not grow up with a lot of money and he credits basketball as his saving grace. He began playing at a young age, and spent the majority of his younger years practicing. He was heavily recruited by other universities, including Kansas State, but opted to remain at home in Missouri. He was legendary Coach Norm Stewart's first high-profile recruit, and many credit Brown with changing the way that the nation looked at Mizzou Basketball.
"Most high school players are fairly arrogant and think they can conquer the world," Brown said. "I wasn't really sure until I got here. That's when I realized that yes, I can play at this level."
And that, he did. During his time at Missouri, from 1969-73, Brown established himself as a dominant player. His junior year, he averaged 21.7 points a game and helped the team finish 21-6. This was the program's first 20-win season, and they were nationally ranked for the first time under Coach Stewart. He earned a spot on the All-Big Eight team his senior year, again leading the team to a winning season and an NIT appearance.
NCAA regulations at the time kept him from playing as a freshman, but he still managed to put himself atop the program's leading scorer list, logging 1,421 points in his three seasons. That record held for almost 12 years before it was broken by another Mizzou great to see his number retired this year; Derrick Chievous.
Brown credits Coach Stewart with shaping him into a better player and a better person.
"Without a father at home, there really wasn't the male discipline that I think is really important for young guys … I think that Coach Stewart really turned me from a boy into a man. He helped me to be able to have the self-discipline to be a great basketball player, to be a good student, and also to help me decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life."
Brown earned a spot on the 1972 US Olympic basketball team following his junior season. However, due to an unfortunately timed injury, he was kept home and didn't get the chance to play with the team in Germany. Following his successful college career, Brown was selected as the No. 10 overall NBA draft pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1973 draft. He played a total of ten years of professional basketball, both in the NBA and overseas in Italy.
Reflecting on what it meant to have his jersey retired, Brown told the story of receiving the phone call from Athletic Director Jim Sterk.
"[He] called me about a month ago and I said, 'Jim, now I can die and go to heaven.' I was so happy, I was so excited. The Olympic team was cool, being a first round draft choice was cool, but this was better. I look at this as being way better."
Brown was joined at the ceremony by his family and looked out into the crowd at more than 100 friends and family who had traveled to Columbia for this event.
"There's only seven names up there in those rafters. There's been a lot of Olympians, there's been a lot of first round draft choices. To me - living in this state, growing up in this state, and still a fan today – I live and breathe for this university. To have my name up there, it just does not get any better for me."
