Brownlee played college basketball for North Carolina (1981–1983) and Texas (1984–1986).
Brownlee played his first two years of college basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In his sophomore season, however, he played 33 games and averaged 1.3 points per game as the designated back up to center Sam Perkins as the Tar Heels won the 1981–82 NCAA Men's Basketball championship.
[2] Brownlee was selected in the fourth round (78th pick overall) of the 1986 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.
[3] During rookie-free agent camp, Brownlee suffered an injury when he dislocated his little finger during scrimmage.