Maccabi Haifa signs Sherwood Brown

The Maccabi Bazan Haifa professional basketball team, the 2013 Israeli Super League champions, announced today the team has signed former Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) star Sherwood Brown for the 2013-14 season with a team option for the 2014-15 season.

Brown, 21, helped guide his #15 seed FGCU Eagle’s this past season to an amazing NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. Brown was dominate in the team’s Cinderella run in the tournament with wins over #2 seed Georgetown (recorded 24 points and 9 rebounds) in the second round and #7 seed San Diego State (posted 17 points and 8 rebounds), marking the first time a #15 seed reached the Sweet 16. In six postseason games at the A-Sun and NCAA tournament, Brown averaged 17.2 points and 8.0 rebounds, while shooting 50.7 percent from the field.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound shooting guard was named the 2012 -13 Atlantic Sun Conference Player after posting averages of 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 37.6 percent (73-194) from three-point range in 37 games played during his senior season at FGCU. Brown finished in double figures a team-best 32 times, reaching the 20-point plateau on eight occasions, while the Eagles went 14-4 in games he led them in scoring. He became the first player in FGCU history with 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds. Brown finished his career as FGCU’s all-time leading rebounder with 589 caroms as well as second in FGCU history with 1,241 points, while also ranking fourth in three-pointers made (157), second in offensive rebounds (179), and fourth in steals (120).

"We are excited to have Sherwood Brown join Maccabi Bazan Haifa as he is a strong rebounding guard who has a lot of potential," said Maccabi Bazan Haifa owner Jeff Rosen.

ESPN invited Brown along with the four other starters of the FGCU basketball team to the 2013 ESPY awards held in Los Angeles after FGCU’s upset of Georgetown was picked as one of four in ESPN’s ESPY award category for “Best Upset.” Voting continues until today, July 17, at espn.com/espys.

Brown, a native of Orlando, Florida, recently helped co-found Excelitrex, a business development and consulting firm.