A night billed as a celebration of the greatest player in Siena men's basketball history was shared by thousands as New Jersey City men's basketball coach Marc Brown had his legendary No. 4 jersey retired on Monday, Dec. 13 at the Times Union Center.

Brown, simply known by Siena fans as 'Showbiz', was honored by the school he helped put on the Division I basketball map from 1987-91 when his jersey was unveiled in the rafters during a halftime ceremony as part of a doubleheader of hoops that featured his NJCU Gothic Knights meeting RPI, followed by host Siena against Florida Atlantic.

In his remarks to the crowd of 6,730 that packed the Times Union Center, Brown said: "First of all, I just want to thank everyone for showing up and supporting Siena throughout the years and supporting me throughout my career. You guys are the reason I stayed here, competed, graduated from Siena and became the student-athlete I became. I love you all, and thank you for your support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Siena edged Florida Atlantic in the nightcap, 72-69, but Brown's Gothic Knights dropped their fifth close game of the season—all by a combined 15 points—in a 69-67 setback to RPI in the opener.

Regardless of the outcome of the games, the Siena faithful celebrated the accomplishments of the school's all-time leading scorer (2,284 points, 18.6 ppg), and whose 796 career assists stood as a Siena record until last year. His 6.5 dishes per game remains the program standard and at the time of his graduation in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing, he was one of only three players in Division I history to score more than 2,000 career points and accumulate at least 750 assists.

"This is an honor, this is unbelievable," Brown said in a press conference prior to the ceremony. "I'm just pleased that the program and the people in the area think enough of me to obviously come out and support this night and to retire my number."

"This has been a blessing that the program feels the way they feel about me—that it respects me enough to retire my jersey means a lot.  You know, when I was here, I played hard for 40 minutes every game and that's what I'm trying to instill in my guys. Basketball is a game you have to play with passion and play for 40 minutes and that's the key."

Among his long list of honors, Brown was the 1991 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a 1991 Division I Honorable Mention All-American by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). In 1989, he was selected Honorable Mention All-America by The Sporting News. A four-time First-Team All-Conference selection, he was enshrined in the Siena Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

In 1989, his play established Siena as one of the top mid-major programs in America — a fact that was cemented when Brown hit the winning free throws in a 32-point outburst as the No. 14 seeded Saints stunned No. 3 Stanford in the opening round of 1989 NCAA Tournament. He also helped Siena reach the NIT in 1988 and 1991; the 1991 NIT run ended with a two-point overtime loss to UMass in the quarterfinals.

Brown, after his talented NJCU squad dropped a tough, two-point decision to RPI due to a late turnover, was asked about the differences in the game today and about his experiences having made the successful transition from star player to collegiate head coach.

"A lot of young players now have a lot of talent and ability, and they're athletic, but they don't think. It's tough to lose this one [the NJCU/RPI game]. This is one of the most frustrating parts about coaching for me, because I can't go out there and do it myself. There's only so much you can do on the sidelines. But my guys play hard for me, I'll give them that."