Although Jule Brown completed his collegiate basketball career in February 2019, the NYU student plans to help turn his lifelong love of basketball into a career after he graduates this May with a bachelor’s degree in social science. He has already interned with two media companies and seeks to find a career in marketing professional athletes.

“Athletes are such a big part of our lives. I want to stay in sports, and help the men and women get the most exposure they can as well as help them find their passion outside of the game,” Brown explained. 

BROWN’S HERO: KOBE BRYANT

There was never a question who Brown’s role model was in athletics, particularly given that he and the late Kobe Bryant both attended Lower Merion High School in the suburbs of Philadelphia. “I got to see his evolution as a human being and his life after basketball is what I covet,” he remarked. “When you play, you try not to think too much about what you will do after, but I saw the roles Kobe took on as a mentor, coach, father, philanthropist, and author.” 

Playing basketball in the Lower Merion School District, Brown was always aware of Bryant’s accomplishments growing up and followed his career closely. “In middle school, I went out to his camp in Santa Barbara and he came back to support our team in our state title run in high school,” Brown said.

Brown has regularly volunteered with Philadelphia Youth Basketball, a non-profit organization that places an intense focus on using basketball, engaging academic modules, leadership development, and remarkable coaches and mentors to empower young people in the city of Philadelphia as students, athletes, and positive leaders in their communities. The program includes middle school mentorship and tutoring, weekend basketball tournaments, and local leaders empowering young girls. “The CEO Kenny Holdsman has been so supportive of me. It is incredible to be part of the work they do. We definitely wanted to get on Kobe’s radar. When he visited in one of our middle schools in March, it was the most special moment.”

No one could imagine that less than a year later, Bryant and his daughter Gianna would tragically lose their lives in a helicopter crash. The news hit Brown hard. “I was out in Brooklyn, checking out the area and taking advantage of being in New York City,” he remembered. “There were a lot of messages in a group text so I figured the Sixers were making a trade or something. I went to Twitter and saw the headline about the crash. There was the initial shock that this can’t be.”

“I took the rest of the night and tried to process it as best I could,” Brown continued. “It hurts. The next three days were very tough. I thought about how he shaped the Lower Merion program. To lose him set a lot of people back. If there is anybody you want to keep pushing for, it is him. Life is short.”

DESTINED TO PLAY BASKETBALL

From the time he was young, Brown always played basketball and his focus on his favorite sport never wavered. “It was just always ingrained in me. My mother took a photo of me in the crib with a Scottie Pippen jersey on and a plastic hoop on the crib,” he chuckled. “My grandfather worked for the (Philadelphia) 76ers for 20 years. I was born in 1996, the year Allen Iverson came to the Sixers and my family had season tickets.”

He grew up off City Line Avenue in Philadelphia before his grandmother moved the family to the Ardmore area when Brown was entering the first grade. He had another passion besides playing basketball. “I always liked to read books and accumulated a lot of them over time,” he recalled. “I started writing short stories in the first or second grade. Writing was always something I was interested in. I knew school was important, but I believed it could also be fun.”

Starting in the sixth grade at Welsh Valley Middle School in the Lower Merion School District, Brown and Corey Sherman would spend nine years together as teammates. “We played together in travel leagues, AAU, middle school, and then we both went to Lower Merion (high school). We were linked together as ‘Jule and Corey’ because we were the only freshmen to make the varsity team as ninth graders,” said Sherman, the 2019 Brandeis University graduate.

Their bond was strong through high school, though Sherman does recall one particular event that didn’t go Brown’s way during their freshman season. “I was driving into the paint against our first-string players and attempted to dish the ball to Jule for a layup. I thought the pass was pretty good as it was on target but perhaps it was a bit too hard,” he laughed. “The next thing I knew, Jule’s ring finger was basically dangling as it dislocated. The practice continued as if nothing happened. I later apologized in the training room and let him know I would take the turnover on that one!”

Brown and Sherman were sophomores on the 2013 Lower Merion team that won the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class AAAA championship. The Aces defeated two-time defending champion Chester, which had won 29 consecutive playoff games and defeated 78 consecutive Pennsylvania opponents, in the final.

In addition to all the success they had together on the court, Sherman remembers Brown as the quintessential teammate. “Jule was a great teammate. Everybody loved him from students to coaches, faculty, and parents. He was a tremendous competitor, but always had a knack for keeping everyone loose around him, particularly in stressful scenarios as our team was routinely in high-stake playoff games,” Sherman described. “On the court, he never wanted it to be ‘his show.’ He loved to be a facilitator and to get everyone involved, especially me. I think many times because of his athletic frame and stature, he had external pressure to be a selfish player. I admire the fact that he always stayed true to himself and never tried to be someone he wasn’t.”

THE WINDING ROAD TO NYU

Brown was scouted by NCAA Division I institutions and had even committed to playing at University of Pennsylvania before those plans fell through. Instead, he took what he called a “last-minute” chance to attend Division III Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. “I am really thankful for that opportunity. They welcomed me with open arms and I needed to be there,” he commented. “It would have been different if I had gone to a Division I school where the primary focus would be basketball. Because of the balance at Dickinson, I was able to experience things I would not have at Division I.”

As it turned out, he would be joining his longtime teammate and friend at Dickinson. “He and I thought we had our college plans mapped out after Lower Merion,” Sherman stated. “When my plans fell through, I reached out to several other schools that had pursued me, one of which was Dickinson. I decided to go there and the coach inquired about Jule as well. I told Jule to go for it so we both ended up there.”

“Dickinson was a huge part of my life in terms of friends and connections,” Brown remarked. “In my freshman year, we had some strong upperclassmen and then we almost won our conference final against Swarthmore in the second year.”

After his sophomore year, Brown was focused on what he wanted to do after basketball and wanted to make a change. “The game will stop at some point and you need to set yourself up for a better future. I was interested in New York City,” he explained. “I knew I wanted to be in sports, possibly working for an agency, and I knew there would be no better place than New York and NYU.”

“After two tough, but worthwhile years at Dickinson, we both decided to leave,” expressed Sherman, who headed to Brandeis. “Our friendship turned into a brotherhood during this period. We were both facing a lot of adversity and we leaned on each other a lot for guidance. We wanted to see each other succeed and knew the respective routes we were taking were for the best.”

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES AT NYU

“I wanted to take on the challenges of New York City,” described Brown, who came to NYU in the middle of construction of a new building to replace the Coles Sports Center, where the Violets played basketball since 1981. “When I first got there, we were playing pick-up in the Palladium, while sharing a lone court with the rest of the school. It was not ideal to kick the rest of the community off the court.”

The Violets played their home games at Hunter College and practiced in various locations. “We were taking our uniforms back and forth from Hunter. Then there was a coaching change after my first year (when longtime head coach Joe Nesci retired),” Brown recounted. “It was all part of what I signed up for, to face all those challenges and learn from the hardships. That was crucial to my development. I knew NYU was right for me so I knew to stick it out. We could have had more rest (without traveling to a ‘home court’) and won more games, but I really enjoyed my experience with the team.”

When former NYU assistant coach Dagan Nelson took over the helm of the program after Nesci’s retirement, he was happy to have Brown as a senior leader. “Jule has a heart of gold. He was always about the team and always led, whether verbally or by his actions,” Nelson said. “Because of the personnel we had that season, we had to play him out of position, including sometimes as our point guard. Jule embodies everything that is good about Division III athletics as a scholar, teammate, and player.”

Brown’s leadership role began as soon as he arrived at NYU, according to junior Jaden Narwal. “We came to the team at the same time. We only had one senior so Jule took on a big leadership role,” he recalled. “He was someone who introduced me to working hard all the time because of how hard he was always working at practice. He was always competitive and vocal about the team.”

For the first time since the sixth grade, Brown and Sherman were no longer on the same sideline. “Playing against him in the UAA was fun. However, it just didn’t seem right to be in different uniforms,” Sherman explained. “I love that guy. He is my brother and we have a great story together. We are both starting a new chapter and I can’t wait to see how this unfolds. He has unlimited potential. He is so dynamic, confident, and polished. That truly makes him unique. Things haven’t been easy for him, but he never uses excuses.”

While playing in the UAA, Brown not only connected with old friends, but also made new ones. “He becomes friends with anyone he talks to,” Narwal stated. “He makes a tremendous impact on everyone he meets. He was one of the first people I connected with in the city and he commands a lot of respect.”

One of the friends he made was 2019 Emory graduate Gebereal Baitey, who is now playing professionally in Australia. Brown’s first game in Atlanta was perhaps his best collegiate performance, totaling 20 points (hitting 8-of-12 field goals, including four of six from 3-point range), six assists, and three rebounds. “I remember G saying, ‘Hey, number 11, I like you.’”

Baitey laughed when reminded of that comment, which he recalls distinctly. That helped spark their friendship. “Before we played them, I was intrigued to finally match up against this new 6’7” guard with a nasty step-back that I kept hearing about. His reputation proceeded him both on and off the court,” expressed Baitey, who learned about Brown’s on-campus persona from longtime friend Jordan Harris, who was now Brown’s teammate. “That familiarity bubbled over into some friendly chatter and eventually into some more detailed post-game discussions about the UAA, hoops, mutual friends, and just about anything else you could think of.”

Still being at the school even though his playing eligibility has ended has also given Brown the opportunity to remain close to the team. “He still communicates with the guys and sees everything from a different perspective now, which is incredibly helpful,” Nelson remarked. “People gravitate toward him. He has a high intellect and level of humility. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is very caring and compassionate. Jule is going to be successful in whatever he does.”

Brown’s continued dedication to academics was rewarded in his senior year when he earned UAA All-Academic honors (as a transfer it was the only time he was eligible for the award) and received NYU’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Student-Athlete Award, honoring him for this academics, community service, and athletics.

“He made me not just a better player on the court, but such a more well-rounded and better person and leader,” Sherman said. “More importantly, Jule is one of the best people you will ever meet.”

“What I’ve come to know and admire about Jule more and more is that he is as genuine as they come and that he’s a certainly a man of great conviction,” Baitey stated. “Above all, what jumps out at me is the fact that he’s always willing to go to bat for anyone who is lucky enough to call him a friend.”