Ricardo Brown (basketball)

Ricardo Vidal Brown^[1] (born May 22, 1957), also known as Ricky Brown, is a former Filipino American professional basketball player. He was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 3rd Round of the 1979 NBA Draft. Brown played college ball at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he was All-West Coast his Junior and Senior years, and Southern California Player of the Year in 1979. He played for the Philippine National team-Northern Cement coached by Ron Jacobs in the 1980 Jones Cup in Taiwan, where the Philippines won the championship defeating Taiwan, Sweden, Italy, and the United States. Brown also played for the De La Salle Green Archers in 1982.^[2]

After his stint with the amateur Northern Cement national training pool then owned by Eduardo Cojuangco and De La Salle Green Archers, he moved on to play professional basketball in the Philippine Basketball Association, where he became the first-ever Filipino-American to play as a 'local' in the PBA. Brown was the 1983 Philippine Basketball Association Rookie of the Year and 1985 Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player. He was also in the Philippine Basketball Association Mythical Five in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988. He played for the Great Taste Coffee Makers and the San Miguel Beermen, where he won a total of 7 championships during his PBA career. His ability to evade his defenders and score as well as pin point assists made him one of the best point guards in the Philippine Basketball Association. His moniker then was "The Quick Brown Fox". He holds the All-time PBA career scoring average (23.1 ppg) and PBA All-time Best Assist Average (7.3 per game).

Ricky also made a movie with the great comedian, Dolphy, in 1987 titled 'Action Is Missing: Crack Platoon', which previewed in the 1987 Manila Film Festival. In 2000, Brown was named a member of the PBA's 25 Greatest Players. In October 2009, Ricky was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame along with former teammates Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, and Hector Calma.

The year of San Miguel's Grand Slam—3 championships in the same year—Ricky was an integral member of a powerhouse starting five on a San Miguel team that included Hall of Famers Hector Calma, Samboy Lim, and Ramon Fernandez. Many feel this was one of the greatest teams put together in Philippine basketball history. ^{[citation needed]}

Brown is now the Principal of Ross Middle School in Artesia, California,^[1] and is the first ever Filipino-American Principal to be named in the prestigious ABC Unified School District. Ricky's Mother, the former Connie Vidal, is from Santa Cruz, Manila. Ricky is married to the former Lorma Sahagun, a Filipina from Ilocos Norte, and has two sons, Justin and Kevan. Kevan was born in Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan, Greenhills, an affluent suburb of Metro Manila.

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