Former Utah Jazz Guard Dee Brown Retires From Basketball

Former Utah Jazz guard Dee Brown.

by Keith Allison, licensed under

Creative Commons ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Cropped from original image.

Although his time with the Utah Jazz was brief, point guard Dee Brown left an impression on fans. Now, the former University of Illinois star and 2005 Sporting News National Player of the Year is looking to make an impact on student athletes at his alma mater.

After a professional career that spanned nearly a decade, the 31-year-old Brown is retiring as a player to become special assistant to Fighting Illini athletic director Mike Thomas. Brown spent time with the program previously on a temporary basis.

Words to describe this feeling....humbled, blessed, grateful, appreciative! I'm very excited thank you for the support and love. Go Illini
— Coach Dee Brown (@deebrown11) September 9, 2015

Brown played 49 games for the Jazz during the 2006-07, averaging just under two points and two assists per game in limited action. He was also party to what was arguably the greatest moment in television history–

In addition to his year with the Jazz, Brown played with the Washington Wizards and the Phoenix Suns before taking his game overseas. This past season, Brown helped PBC Lukoil Academic win the Bulgarian League championship, averaging 14.3 points, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.

The former Jazzman told Scott Richey of the Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette that the decision to forego another season in Europe didn’t come lightly–

"“I was still training like I was going overseas, but in my mind it was a possibility that I may stay. It was a tough decision. It was mostly family based. I wanted to be around my family. I’m still playing good basketball, still competitive. I still want to play basketball, but it just came down to timing and family.”"

While Brown was reluctant to transition from the hardwood to the Illinois athletic department, he’s looking to attack his new gig with the same passion he showed on the court as the winningest basketball player in Illini history and the Batman to Deron Williams‘ Robin.

From the school’s announcement–

"“I can’t think of a better situation than to be able to be around my family more while working for the school I love, the University of Illinois. The opportunity this summer has only strengthened my feelings for Illinois; it’s exciting to be back on campus assisting my alma mater.”"

As an active follower of his exploits on Twitter, I can’t think of anyone who would bring more positive energy to Illinois athletics. Brown will be a major asset to the school, their recruiting efforts and the athletes enrolled there.

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Photo by Keith Allison, licensed under Creative Commons ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) Cropped from original image.