WILEY BROWN’S SUCCESS
As a sophomore, Brown helped Louisville win
the 1980 NCAA Championship. He started all 36
games for the Cardinals, playing alongside fellow
legends Darrell Griffith, Scooter and Rodney
McCray, Derek Smith and Jerry Eaves.
“We’re still close to this day,” Brown said. “We
keep in touch all the time. We always make sure
we rally around each other, stay in touch and
keep up with each others’ lives. We have stuck
together even today.”
During his time in college at Louisville, Brown
and teammate Derek Smith are credited for
“inventing” the high five. Let him explain.
“I tell all the youngsters, ‘I know you all weren’t
alive when I played, but just go and look up who
invented the high five,’” Brown said. “They always
look it up and then say, ‘Coach, I can’t believe
you invented the high five.’ That’s a crazy story,
and I’ll go to my grave still telling (it). I tell my
son that his father helped invent the high five.”
Brown explained further: “We would always do
the low five in practices, of course, but Derek Smith,
my best friend, said one time, ‘Give it up high,’ and
from then on we generated all that excitement and
momentum throughout everywhere we played.
So, the high five was invented just from a moment
in practice when we were slapping hands. You
gotta understand it was me, a 6-foot-8 guy and
another 6-8, so why would we do the low five?
So, we just said, ‘Let’s throw it up high,’ and that’s
exactly what happened.
“We played on national TV all the time, and then
you saw a lot of other teams start doing it, too. It’s
something to be proud of. I’m absolutely proud
we started something that caught on throughout
the nation. It goes down in history. We still do the
high five today.”
After Louisville, Brown returned to football.
Then, Dick Vermeil and the Philadelphia Eagles
came calling.
Brown was a pioneer for college basketball stars
switching to the NFL. What is now more common
place – guys like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates,
Jimmy Graham and WKU’s George Fant – was
remarkable in the 1980s when Brown was under
contract for two seasons with the Philadelphia
Eagles.
After the NFL, Brown spent time playing
professional basketball in Spain, France and Italy.
But when it came time to settle down, Brown came
back “home” to the Kentuckiana area.
“This area has embraced me, and I love this
area, too,” Brown said. “That’s what I hope happens
with the guys at Louisville now, too. I know the
fans will embrace these players at UofL now and
treat them like family like they have always treated
me like family.”
“ IT DOESN’T
MAKE A
DIFFERENCE IF
IT IS AN NCAA
CHAMPIONSHIP
OR A NAIA
CHAMPIONSHIP,
BEING NO. 1
MEANS YOU
ARE NO. 1
EVERYWHERE
YOU GO.”
- WILEY BROWN
Of all the accomplishments in Brown’s life
story – the NCAA title, the high five, the NFL, pro
basketball and coaching success – he was quick
to say what he is most proud of: his four children
(Nina, Breauna, Wiley Jr. and Caleb) and getting
his degree.
“When we walked across that stage, it was
special,” Brown said. “It was an amazing feeling.
My top highlights: getting my degree, having my
kids, winning that championship. ... I tell my guys
all the time, ‘Please don’t take this for granted.
Please focus on getting your education. It can take
you a long way, a lot further than this basketball
game will.’ “
Brown made the UofL honor roll twice and
graduated with a degree in communications,
health education and Pan-African studies in 1992.
“It is very, very important to me that they get
their education,” Brown said. “It was instilled in
me at a young age by my grandmother. And then
when I got to Louisville, to see an All-American
graduate in four years like Darrell Griffith did, that
spoke volumes. It really did. Derek and I, when
we went off to our professional careers, we came
back and got our degrees. ... I want all my players
to get their degrees.”
Glover said he values Brown’s focus on
academics: “The thing that I believe sets him
apart is he truly looks at all those players like
they’re his sons. He goes to bat for them and it’s
really not just about basketball. It’s more about
life and making sure these young men succeed
and get their degree.”
Brown has led IUS to success on the court and
off, but he’s not done yet.
“I got a taste of the Final Four a few years back,
but I want more. I want a national championship
here,” Brown said. “I’m telling you, I can hear this
ringing in my ear. When we won our national
championship, Darrell Griffith was on that stage,
and he said, ‘We won the national championship.
But that also means we are No. 1 in Bulgaria
and Sweden and everywhere.’ It doesn’t make
a difference if it is an NCAA championship or
a NAIA championship, being No. 1 means you
are No. 1 everywhere you go. No one else is the
NCAA champion that year. No one else is the
NAIA champion. I would love to win a national
championship here.”
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