Former Illinois great Dee Brown leaves basketball program

Former Illini basketball great Dee Brown has resigned as director of player development and alumni relations for the men's basketball team after five months on the job.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman says former Illini basketball great Dee Brown has resigned as director of player development and alumni relations for the men's basketball team after five months on the job.

Whitman said in his Monday news release that Brown is leaving ''for reasons that are personal to him,'' bit did not elaborate.

On Twitter, Brown said he is leaving during ''a difficult time for my family right now.'' He did not offer further explanation and asked that fans respect his privacy.

Brown took the job in May after spending a year as a special assistant in the athletic director's office.

Brown was part of the 2005 Illinois team that lost the national title game to North Carolina. He played professionally for 10 years.