Cedric Brown enters his 2nd season as the head coach of the Lake Land College men’s basketball team in 2008-2009 with mild success and plenty of experience from a year ago.

In his inaugural season, the Lakers posted a record of 14-18 overall and 7-9 in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.  Brown led the Lakers to a Region 24 semi-finals appearance with a 77-70 victory over #3 seed Kaskaskia College and a 81-71 loss to #2 seed and Region 24 Champions Southeastern Illinois College. 

The successes on the court took a back seat to the success the Lakers had in the classroom.  The Lakers had an overall team GPA of 2.81 and saw all of its sophomores move on to four-year schools to further their education. 

Before he took over the sidelines in Mattoon, he was an assistant coach at Trinity Valley Community College (Athens, TX) for former GRAC head coach Pat Smith.  In his one season at TVCC, Brown helped the Cardinals to a 19-11 overall record, a 3rd place finish in the East Texas Athletic Conference, and a Region 14 #3 seed.  Known for his ability to develop players, Brown coached several Cardinal players like Cavel Witter (Creighton), Jonathan Clark (Louisiana Tech), Jay Smith (Eastern IL), and Marlon Cloudy (Tarleton State) who moved on to DI and DII programs to further their education and playing careers.

Prior to the 2006-2007 season in Texas, Brown spent 3 seasons at Chicago State University.  In three seasons with the Cougars, Brown was instrumental in helping recruit the talent that led the Cougars to a Mid-Continent conference championship appearance during the 2005-2006 season. 

At Chicago State he coached current NBA center Deji Akindele (Charlotte Bobcats), Euro League guard Tony Weeden (Slask – Poland), and IBL guard and 2007 NCAA Slam-Dunk participant Royce Parran (Gary Steelheads).

Before Brown brought his coaching and recruiting skills to Chicago State University, he worked for Champaign Centennial’s Scott Nagy as a graduate assistant at South Dakota State University, where he received his Master’s degree in Sports Pedagogy.  The Jackrabbits flourished to a school record 27 wins with only 7 losses and enjoyed being nationally ranked in the top five for over half of the 2003-2004 season.  Brown was helpful with the transition of the program from the Division II to Division I level with his evaluating and recruiting skills, which assisted Coach Nagy in compiling one of his most talented recruiting classes.

At the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year, Brown joined the Parkland Community College staff as the Recruiting Coordinator and Assistant Coach.  During his second of two seasons at Parkland, Brown helped Head Coach Chris Warren lead the Cobras to a 24-10 record and a Region XXIV championship appearance with his initial recruiting class.   Brown’s knack for recruiting local talent paid dividends for the Cobras when he helped land Monticello’s Aaron Thais who helped lead that team to its record victories. 

An original native of The Bronx in New York City, he graduated from Herbert H. Lehman College in the top one-third of his Recreation Education program with a bachelor’s of science degree.  During the 1999-2000 season, Brown was also voted the Most-Outstanding student-athlete.  While at Lehman, he enjoyed successful junior and senior seasons with the Lightning Men’s Basketball program as a two year starter and team captain.  In two seasons, he averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists with two Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) appearances. 

Coach Brown has enjoyed success at every level of college basketball.  He is known to his colleagues as person with a passion for education, a tireless worker, a dedicated teacher of the game, and a relentless recruiter with excellent recruiting skills.   

Aside from his coaching duties, Brown teaches Education and Physical Education courses.  Coach Brown resides in Charleston with his wife Elizabeth Anne and their two sons Quentin (5), Isaac (3), and a newborn baby girl due in December of 2008.  Coach Brown also has an older son Angelo (15), who plays football and basketball for Greenwood High School (IN).