RALEIGH, N.C. -- Chucky Brown has done it all in the game of basketball. The former NC State star was a First Team All-ACC forward, won an ACC Championship, played more than 700 games in 13 years in the NBA, won an NBA Championship, coached at West Johnston High and St. Augustine's and built a career in the broadcasting world.
Now he'll return home to the Wolfpack on the sidelines, taking over as the play-by-play announcer, replacing Tony Haynes in the role.
"It means everything to me, man," Brown told Pack Pride. "It's a big deal to ask to do this, at least for me. I feel like I've got to come in and represent for guys that came before me, so I just want to do a great job and make everyone proud. Hopefully this will be a 10-15 year thing that I could do and make this home again in a new way."
Brown was a four-year lettermen at NC State who played in 128 career games from 1985-89. In his four years with the Wolfpack, NC State went to the NCAA Tournament all four seasons and won the 1987 ACC Tournament Championship as well as finishing first in the 1989 ACC regular season.
The 6-foot-8 versatile big man scored 1,357 career points, a total that still ranks 25th in school history, and shot 55.7 percent from the field in his NC State career, a mark that is fourth all-time in the program record book. He averaged 16.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a senior when he was an All-ACC First Team selection.
Following his career with the Wolfpack, Brown was a second-round pick in the 1989 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then went on to play for 12 different NBA teams -- now tied for the second-most in NBA history after Ish Smith passed him in 2022 -- and won the NBA Finals with the Houston Rockets in 1995.
But wherever Brown went in the NBA, there was no question where the New York native went to school.
"Everyone knew me by my NC State sweatshirt everywhere I went," Brown said with a laugh. "When one of my buddies found out I got the job, he asked if I was wearing an NC State sweatshirt when I got the call. I've always tried to represent the Wolfpack the right way everywhere I've gone. Keeping up with the Pack and making my family -- and NC State fans -- proud I think is what got me this opportunity."
When the job opened after Haynes announced he would be stepping away after serving in the role since 1998, Brown pounced on the opportunity. He now becomes just the second former NC State player to serve as a color analyst on the Wolfpack Radio Network, joining former teammate Chris Corchiani with that distinction.
After falling in love with the program during the 1983 National Championship run, Brown played four years under Jimmy V and remembers what the Wolfpack looked like at the height of its success and popularity. While he hasn't coached a game yet in the red and white, Brown sees similar traits in Will Wade that he's excited to discuss this season.
"It's a special time to start covering this team," Brown said. "Will Wade has bought some energy that we haven't seen in a while. I'm not trying to bash any of the past coaches, but he has just done things differently. I've sat around and watched the way he interacts with the fans and getting out in the public eye, that stuff is important. That's what you need to do when you come to NC State.
"Coach V was the last coach that I really saw do it like that and those qualities really remind me of him. That's the energy you need with NC State fans. I've been to a lot of colleges and the fan base here is just different. They want to see you, talk to you and feel you. He's done a great job of that even before coaching a game here."
After getting a practice run during the Wolfpack's 88-86 exhibition win over South Carolina in Greensboro, Brown is ready for the real thing on Monday night. When the Pack tips off at 7 p.m. ET against NC Central, Brown will join Matt Chazanow to embark on a new era of NC State basketball -- a "Red Reckoning," if you will -- he's hoping to bring the same passion Pack fans have for the program to the broadcast.
"I'm obviously nervous, but talking basketball -- especially NC State basketball -- is like second nature to me," Brown said. "I've been calling games for a while now, but I'm really passionate about this program. And I think I know what the fans want to hear and know about this team.
"Our fans are wild, they're crazy, but they're passionate. All fans are passionate, but -- and I'm not being biased here -- we have a different type of passion. I can't wait to be in that seat and convey that energy and passion on the radio."
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