ALBANY — About three weeks ago, College of Saint Rose athletic director Lori Anctil tapped former University at Albany men’s basketball coach Will Brown on the shoulder at an AAU basketball event at Gavin Park in Saratoga Springs.
Brown’s son, Landon, and Anctil’s daughter, Madilyn, were playing in separate games.
After a little small talk, Anctil asked Brown if he was interested in becoming her new women’s basketball coach. Brown didn’t think Anctil was being serious.
“No, I did not,” Brown said Friday. “And it’s a running joke between Lori and I because I chuckled right away and she said, ‘Well, that’s not the response I was hoping for.’ And I said, ‘You serious?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And I’m like, ‘Nobody’s ever asked me that question before and I’ve never done it before.’ ”
He’s about to do it. After Anctil asked him to give it more thought and Brown did some homework, he decided to accept her offer to succeed Whitney Edwards as the Golden Knights’ women’s basketball coach. He was introduced at Friday’s news conference.
Edwards left last month to become associate head coach at Northeastern University.
Brown, who won 315 games and went to five NCAA Tournaments with the Great Danes men from 2001 to 2021, will try to raise the Saint Rose women to heights not seen since Curt Bailey led the team to dominance in the 1990s. Brown was a Golden Knights men’s assistant then from 1995 to 1998.
Brown first met his wife, Jamie, a Saint Rose graduate, at the school.
“(Anctil) was really patient,” Brown said. “I love this place. I’ve got a special place in my heart for Saint Rose and I wanted to make sure that it was something that I thought I could do and that I thought I can do well.”
Anctil said she has always respected Brown’s work and thought he was a tremendous coach. After becoming…
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