Ira Demon Brown (born August 3, 1982) is a Japanese-American professional basketball player for the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japanese B.League. He had also spent three years with the Hirachi/Shibuya Sunrockers, as well as two years with the Toyama Grouses during his career in Japan.
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| No. 33 – Hiroshima Dragonflies | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | B.League | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | August 3, 1982 Corsicana, Texas | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Japanese | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Willis (Willis, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NBA draft | 2009: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2009–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Coras de Tepic | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Asociación Española | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | San Miguel Beermen | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Lagartos UAN de Tepic | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | Toyama Grouses | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Sunrockers Shibuya | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Ryukyu Golden Kings | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2023 | Osaka Evessa | ||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Chiba Jets Funabashi | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Hiroshima Dragonflies | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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| Ira Brown | |
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| Pitcher | |
| Born: August 3, 1982 Corsicana, Texas | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Early life
editBrown grew up in Corsicana, Texas, in a three-bedroom house along with "roughly 15 relatives."[1][2] The house burned down in a fire, forcing him to relocate to another home, though he often stayed with friends.[1] When he was 14 years old, Brown moved in with his former youth baseball coach, Earl Mitchell, in Conroe, Texas.[1] He was eventually adopted by Mitchell.[1]
College career
editBrown began his college career at Phoenix College before transferring to Gonzaga in 2007.
Professional career
editIn 2010, Brown earned league all-star honors as a member of the Coras de Tepic of the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA).[3]
On October 2, 2024, Brown signed with the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the B.League.[4]
The Basketball Tournament
editBrown played for Team A Few Good Men in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. In two games, he averaged five points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game on 40 percent shooting. A Few Good Men made it to the Second Round before falling to Team Gael Force.[5]
National team career
editHe became a Japanese citizen after extensive language testing and a waiting period which took two years. As of 2018, he resides in Okinawa.[6]
He was a member of Japan's national basketball team at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in Tehran, Iran, where he recorded the most rebounds, steals and blocks for his team.[7]
He played 3x3 basketball for Japan in the 2021 Olympics.[1][2]
Baseball career
editBrown was drafted in 2001 by the Kansas City Royals, and played in the minors for five years.[8]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Toyama | 52 | 52 | 30.6 | .475 | .323 | .625 | 6.3 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 12.7 |
| 2012–13 | Toyama | 50 | 48 | 31.8 | .537 | .254 | .658 | 9.1 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 16.5 |
| 2013–14 | Toyama | 52 | 52 | 34.2 | .523 | .419 | .650 | 10.0 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 16.8 |
| 2014–15 | Hitachi | 54 | 45 | 27.8 | .503 | .364 | .651 | 7.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 13.7 |
| 2015–16 | Hitachi | 54 | 50 | 29.3 | .506 | .214 | .667 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 13.2 |
| 2016–17 | Shibuya | 57 | 44 | 29.3 | .517 | .358 | .597 | 8.3 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 13.7 |
| 2017–18 | Ryukyu | 60 | 58 | 28.7 | .490 | .409 | .614 | 7.0 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 11.2 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Meehan, Jim. "Former Gonzaga forward Ira Brown charts unique path to Olympic Games". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ a b "Meet the Texas native who beat the odds and is trying to help Japan's 3x3 basketball team do the same". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ "Circuito De Baloncesto De La Costa Del Pacifico (2010)". Latinbasket.com. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "#33 アイラ・ブラウン 選手契約合意（新規）のお知らせ". 広島ドラゴンフライズ. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Former Zags excited to play in TBT during Hoopfest". krem.com. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
- ^ From Texas To Tokyo: How Ira Brown Found Family In Basketball Abigail Leonard (wbur.org), 10 March 2017. Accessed 8 May 2017.
- ^ FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, FIBA.com, accessed 2 May 2017.
- ^ "Ira Brown Stats & Scouting Report - Baseball America". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved 2022-06-09.