Men's Basketball | 3/2/2021 12:31:00 PM

 Listen to the podcast with director of athletics Darron Boatright on Isaac Brown's hiring.
 
 
Kerry Rosenboom pulled out a white piece of paper and wrote, just to make sure he remembered.
 
He started with Eddie Fogler, worked his way through Mike Cohen, Scott Thompson, Randy Smithson, Mark Turgeon and Gregg Marshall. 
 
Yep, that's the list of Wichita State men's basketball coaches he worked with as strength and conditioning coach. From leaky Cessna Stadium to new Koch Arena and from Steve Grayer to Tekele Cotton, Rosenboom helped them all with their weight-lifting, running, nutrition and team-building needs.
 
On Monday, he officially added Isaac Brown to that list and he couldn't be happier with the result. 
 
"It's a great fit for the program and the players here," said Rosenboom, who started at Wichita State in 1987. "Parents want to be comfortable with who their kids are going to be playing for and that the coach has their best interest in mind, on and off the court. That's IB to a tee. He wants, not just short-term, but long-term success for the players."
 
Wichita State announced Brown's change in status from interim to full status as head coach on Friday before practice to keep its name active in the NCAA Tournament chatter during an idle weekend.
 
It introduced him with a news conference on Monday afternoon. Brown spoke on the Koch Arena court, just up the tunnel and around the corner from the weight room where Rosenboom helped turn Graham Hatch into a workout monster and NIT Most Valuable Player, put up a hoop so Fred VanVleet could dunk and set the foundation for countless Shockers to show their work ethic and desire to improve.
 
Brown arrived in 2014 to work as an assistant under former coach Gregg Marshall.
 
"From the day he got here . . . (Brown) is just a very real person," Rosenboom said. "He is true to himself and true to the players. That trust is really what makes guys work harder and harder for him. He wants the best for them."
 
Rosenboom wrote out his list to see if he could identify similarities between Brown and his predecessors. He compares Brown's demeanor to Turgeon's personality. He sees some of Fogler's organizational skills and building a program. Brown, of course, borrows much from Marshall, on and off the court. Current assistant Billy Kennedy, who joined the staff this season, is also an influence Rosenboom notices.
 
"Coach Turgeon was very even-keeled all the way through," Rosenboom said. "I didn't see him raise his voice a lot, although his expectations were very high. I see IB with the same thing. With Coach Marshall, you see similarities in how he wants things done and the goals he sets."
 
Brown, 51, coached in high school and junior college. Wichita State is his fifth NCAA Division I stop. Director of athletics Darron Boatright viewed those experiences as a major plus.
 
"Sometimes those guys get a shot at 30 years old and they're not ready, and they get fired in three years, and we still don't know if they can coach or not," Boatright said. "Isaac has maturity. The people he has worked under and the programs he has worked for have set him apart in my mind."
 
Brown has turned "players-first program" into somewhat of a motto.
 
"I just want to be a good influence for the young people, the basketball players, the young kids in the community," he said. "We have such a rich basketball tradition. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be the head coach at Wichita State. I'm going to 110 percent every day. We've got a great staff and we're ready to get to work."
 
Rob Evans, former head coach at Mississippi and Arizona State. He became one of Brown's mentors when they worked together at Arkansas for four seasons under coach John Pelphrey. 
 
"He's come up the hard way," Evans said. "He's really earned the position. He will have success because kids respond to him."
 
Brown becomes one of the state's sport's trail blazers as the first Black head men's basketball coach in Kansas. He joins former Wichita State football coach Jeff Jeffries, former Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington and others as pioneers in the state's high-profile sports.
 
Evans, the first Black coach at Mississippi, says Brown's ascendance is significant for several reasons. Brown counts former coaches such as Evans, John Thompson (Georgetown) and John Chaney (Temple) as important influences.
 
"You're talking about a guy that's a long-time assistant coach that stayed . . . he stayed loyal," Evans said. "He got rewarded for it. Other young assistant coaches can see his path and say 'There's opportunities for me.'" 
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.