Lower Merion Product Sam Brown Powers Davidson Past St. Joe’s

Davidson junior guard Sam Brown grew up in Lower Merion, the son of Brett Brown, who coached the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013 t0 2020. He spent the first two years of his college career under Steve Donahue and Joe Mihalich Jr. at Penn: the duo now serve as Saint Joseph’s head coach and general manager, respectively.

Brown played a starring role in Davidson’s come-from-behind win over the Hawks on Saturday, Jan. 3, posting a game-high 13 points and making three of five three-point shots, including the dagger with 32 seconds left that gave the Wildcats a commanding 58-54 lead. True to his status as an NBA coach’s son, Brown said he didn’t think about the greater context of his performance, making the right plays at the right times in front of an audience with plenty of people he knew.

Locked In

“I don’t even think of it in that way. My dad always talks about being present and having a clear mind. I suppose now in hindsight it is pretty cool, but in the moment that’s not where my head is at,” Brown said.

“It’s great being back home, especially with being coached by coach Donahue for two years, and Joe Mihalich who’s now the GM, it’s special seeing them. I had teammates from Penn, personal trainers, their families, people from Lower Merion. I played like an eight minute drive down the street, I live three minutes away, it’s great. It is great to be back and see those people.”

Brown said he had a chance to catch up with Donahue during his time back in the City of Brotherly Love.

“Yeah I did, a bit,” Brown said. “I love him, he’s a great dude.”

Brown made his first two three-point shots in the first six minutes, helping the Wildcats survive an early shooting slump. His contributions extended to the other side of the ball, where Brown said the Hawks’ play calls jogged his memory after two years in Donahue’s system.

“I’m very familiar with that offense,” Brown said. “I won’t say the play call names just for coach Donahue’s sake but I hear some names and there’s something in my subconscious that just lights up like “I know what that is.” and I tried to yell it out to some of the guys.”