The men’s basketball team at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) has a new head coach. I know what you’re thinking. The St. Louis College of Pharmacy has a basketball team? It’s a question coach Danny Brown has fielded often since taking the reins for the Eutectics on January 7, and with good reason.
Brown inherited a team that is currently in the midst of a 57-game losing streak. FIFTY-SEVEN. The last time the team notched a victory was November 1, 2014. It gets worse. Off to an 0-9 start this season, the team’s average margin of defeat is a staggering 49.4 points per game. With that type of track record, maybe it’s best that people were unaware the NAIA basketball program exists.
It was obvious that a change was needed for the program, prompting the school to make a midseason coaching change. STLCOP parted ways with former coach Brian Swift, who led the Eutectics for 12 seasons. The college’s coaching search led STLCOP Director of Athletics Jill Harter to Brown.
A Houston (Texas) native, Brown found his way to St. Louis in 2004 as a shooting guard for the Saint Louis University Billikens. He played four years at SLU as a sharpshooting two-guard under coaches Brad Soderberg and the late-Rick Majerus. Following his collegiate career, Brown spent several years playing professionally in Mexico, Venezuela, Cyprus and Spain. Eventually, he found his way back to SLU as an assistant on the staffs of Majerus and Jim Crews. Harter is confident that Brown has the tools to help the team discover a winning formula.
“Danny brings experience and perspective, and I know he will capitalize on our team’s talent and use it as a building block for the future,” Harter said in a statement. “We are looking forward to the impact he will have on the men’s basketball program now and in the future.”
Losing can become an infectious disease. However, there’s no FDA-approved pill, shot or serum Brown can concoct to lead the Eutectics to victory. The coach understands that if he wants to ensure a bright future for the program, habits and expectations must immediately improve. Initially, the coach expects the changes may be uncomfortable, but they are certainly necessary.
“My top priority is to change the culture,” Brown told The American. “I plan on coaching my players hard and holding them accountable as student athletes. I want them to be excellent on and off the court.”
It’s easy for people to desire excellence. However, excellence and sustained success often come at a steep price. Hard work. Sweat equity. Attention to detail. Brown believes that somewhere along the way, the STLCOP community not only began expecting the losses, but accepted them.
As a first-time head coach, Brown has high expectations for the entire program, including the players, coaches and STLCOP community. The highest expectations land on his own shoulders.
“I know what winning looks like. A winning culture is one that’s consistent, with winning habits on a day-to-day basis,” Brown said.
“At SLU we were very successful. We were a detail-oriented program built off championship habits. The St. Louis College of Pharmacy can get to that point as a program. We can get there fast.”
On the basketball court, proper timing can often be the difference between a make or a miss, an assist or a turnover, a win or a loss. It appears that Brown is joining the St. Louis College of Pharmacy at the perfect time.
The school is nearing completion on a new state-of-the-art student center, residence hall and recreation facility. The contemporary seven-story building is located in the Central West End at the corner of S. Taylor Avenue and Parkway Place in the heart of the college campus.
Currently, the Eutectics team plays its home games at St. Louis Community College – Meramec and practices at Saint Louis University High School.
The new building will make it much easier for athletes to access team facilities, such as the gymnasium and weight room. It will also enable easy access for STLCOP students to attend games. Those on campus will be just an elevator ride away from the team’s home games, which should give the team a true home-court advantage.
The school is also expanding its academic programs to include an extended seven-year program as well as a Bachelor of Science program. Those options should help to make the St. Louis College of Pharmacy a more attractive program to potential student athletes.
With his SLU pedigree, it’s no surprise that Brown expects that his Eutectics team to hang its hat on its defense.
“I want aggressive players, Brown said. “We’re going to be tough. We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to be a stingy defensive team.”
Most of all though, Brown wants and expects for the St. Louis College of Pharmacy to become a consistently successful basketball program.
“We want to win championships, and I truly believe that can be a short-term goal,” Brown said. “We have players who have never won a basketball game at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. I expect that to change.”
Watching Brown’s demeanor, it’s clear that he is confident he can achieve his lofty championship goals. In discussing STLCOP’s future, his knowledge, enthusiasm and energy are impossible to miss. The best insight on how he might perform as head coach might have come from the late Majerus.
According to a tweet from Brian Kunderman, when Majerus hired Brown as senior graduate manager in 2011, he said the following about Brown: “Danny will be a bright, loyal and driven coach because that’s the way he performed as a player.”
If Brown can follow in the footsteps of two his coaching mentors, Majerus and Crews, brighter days are certainly ahead for St. Louis College of Pharmacy athletics.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk.
