Faces: Albany Coach Recalls Miller Place Days

When Will Brown says there was a family atmosphere at , he means that literally.

Brown, now the head men's basketball coach at the University of Albany, played hoops for his father, William, Jr., at the school.

"It was a real family place at Miller Place," the younger Brown said. "I grew up for years at that high school. They are great people.

"The opportunity to play for my father was a highlight for me. You bump heads when you are younger; I am not sure I would want my son playing for me, but looking back I wish I could have played longer for my dad."

Brown's father was a long-time coach, athletic director and teacher at Miller Place. His father now lives close to him in the Albany area, where Brown has been the head coach since the 2001-02 season.

"I am an only child so my parents retired and moved up to be close to my wife and children," Brown said. "They live about five miles away."

But Brown said his father follows the fortunes of Miller Place.

"He is very in touch with what they are doing," he said.

Will Brown, a native of Miller Place, averaged more than 35 points per game as a high school senior and was first-team Class B all-state and all-Long Island. He was a three-time all-Suffolk County player and was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

He and his wife, Jamie, have two sons, Jackson and Landon. Brown graduated with a degree in marketing from Dowling College. His father was the head basketball coach at Miller Place High for 17 years and his team won three Suffolk County League VII titles.

This is the 11th season for Brown as the head coach for the Great Danes, who were 16-16 last season and are now 2-3 overall after a 66-46 loss on Tuesday at George Mason in Northern Virginia.

His team missed nine of its first 10 shots and shot 26.2 percent from the field in the game against Mason, which advanced to the Final Four in 2006 under Bronx native and head coach Jim Larranaga. He is now the head coach at Miami and the first-year coach at Mason is Paul Hewitt, the former head coach at Siena who grew up in Queens.

"We missed so many shots. We had so many great looks at the basket," Brown said after Tuesday's loss at George Mason in the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off consolation round.

The best season for UAlbany under Brown was in 2006-07, when the team was 23-10 overall. Brown was the New York State Basketball Coaches Association coach of the year in 2006 when he lead Albany to its first America East crown.

The Great Danes also appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2007.

Brown has become settled in the capital region and is the longest-tenured coach in the America East Conference. And what of his days at Miller Place?

"I don't miss the traffic, but I do miss the people and I do miss the pizza places and the delis," he said, with a smile.