After 25 seasons, nearly 500 wins, Steph Curry’s prep coach in Charlotte steps down
The guy who coached Steph Curry in high school is stepping down.
After 25 seasons as the boys’ basketball coach at Charlotte Christian, Shonn Brown is stepping down from the job. Brown, 51, became head coach in 2000 and became upper school principal in 2017. He will remain in the latter role.
“You want to have the ability to look back and know you’re walking away with no regrets,” said Brown, 51, “and you’ve got your health and strength and can impact you family in other ways. Basketball has been awesome, and we’ll still be able to scratch that itch with other things, if I ever decide. But the high school is the largest it’s been in the history of the school and I’ve been blessed to be able to do both (be principal and head coach) at the same time.
“People say, ‘How does he do that?’”
Early in his career, Brown got to coach Curry, a 2006 Charlotte Christian graduate who would go onto become an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors after leading Davidson to a memorable NCAA Tournament run.
The two have remained close friends as Curry became a four-time NBA champion and Brown went onto win 486 games, 10 conference championships and one state title.
“It was great to coach him,” Brown said, “and it opened up so many other things that a high school coach never thought he would be a part of, like being a part of (Curry’s) select camp (in California), or being sponsored by Under Armour, a legit sponsorship for the team. I can’t give you the number of podcasts we’ve done or how many times I’ve been blessed to go to NBA playoff games. He was gracious to do that and continues to.”
Brown coached 33 players who played in college and 10 who played professionally, including three current NBA players: Steph Curry, Seth Curry (Hornets) and Anthony Gill (Wizards). But Brown said he remembers, and loves, all of the guys he’s coached in his time at the school.
“Just to have a host of guys who have impacted their communities, or if married, impacted their families in a great manner,” Brown said. “Those things, I can sit back and watch and be forever grateful for whatever role I was able to play in their lives.”
Gill said Brown had a major impact.
“Coach Brown helped to give me a foundation as a player, but most importantly a man. He has loved me through my ups and downs, giving me a true example of what a real man is called to be,” said Gill, a 2011 Charlotte Christian graduate. “He has made a big difference in my journey as a player and I will always be grateful for the time and love he continues to invest in me.”
Last year, The Observer named Brown one of the best boys’ basketball coaches from Charlotte in the past 40 years.
He said, however, that the grind of coaching was beginning to get to him and he wanted to spend more time with his family. He and his wife of 26 years, Allycia, have two children.
Son Terrell Brown, who played football and basketball at Charlotte Christian, has become a social media influencer and works as director of global sports marketing for a firm in Portland, Oregon. Daughter Morgan is a senior on Baylor’s women’s acrobatics and tumbling team, which has won nine NCAA championships in a row.
“Our whole schedule, for a six- or seven-month period, has been built around basketball,” Brown said. “When your kids are there, it’s great. They’re always involved. But that’s changed now. You have beginnings and endings, man, and while you’re healthy and able to do other things, you want to do that. So instead of playing in a tournament in North Myrtle Beach over the holidays, we can go to Portland in December.”
Charlotte Christian has named former student and player Luke Boythe as Brown’s replacement.
Boythe graduated from Christian in 1998 and was a two-year captain on the basketball team. He was part of a state championship team in 1997, as a junior, and was on a state runner-up team as a senior. Boythe later played at UNC-Greensboro on teams that made the 2001 NCAA Tournament and the NIT in 2002.
From 2014-17, Boythe coached Charlotte Christian’s girls’ team, compiling a 45-40 record. His girls’ teams made two state semifinals.
Boythe was also an assistant coach, under Brown, from 2008-14 and 2020-22. He was most recently director of basketball operations at Elon from 2022-23.
“Luke will do a great job,” Brown said. “He’s been a part of the family for a long time. He left for a little while but he came back. We’re lucky to have him.”
Charlotte Christian head of school Barry Giller said the Knights have been lucky to have had Brown in charge for so long.
“Over his career, Coach Shonn Brown has won an abundance of games, tournaments and accolades; however, what is most important is the impact he has had on his players,” Giller said. “Coach Brown modeled a vibrant Christian faith while instilling in his players the love of the game and their teammates but most importantly how to succeed once their players careers are over. Charlotte Christian School is grateful for Coach Brown and his years of dedication and excellence.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 9:17 AM.
