Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Brooks Prepares For The Next Level
04/15/2005 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
April 15, 2005
By Scott Mees
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Darren Brooks will go down as one of the greatest Salukis of them all. The graduate student embodies everything a coach could possibly want or need from a basketball player.
The Saluki guard consistently displayed such a wide array of skills that it could have been taken for granted. People just expected Brooks to do everything night after night.
And he did.
"I've always been a winner, and that's my number one thing," Brooks said. "I don't really care much about all that other stuff. I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help my team win whether I've got to score 20 points, get 20 rebounds or get 10 steals.
"That's how I've always been, and that's how I always will be."
The
"I don't think there's a lot of well-rounded players like myself anymore, at least there's not as many," Brooks said. "Nowadays a lot of guys just want to score a lot of points. They don't want to do the dirty work as far as rebounding, playing tough defense on the best offensive player, and doing all those things.
"Anything a coach needs me to do I feel I can do it."
Brooks said he has talked with "10 or more" NBA teams but declined to name which teams in particular. He scored 16 points in the title game at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament -- a camp for college seniors only -- and ripped off a game-high six steals in his second game of the tournament.
SIU head coach Chris Lowery made the nearly 900-mile trek to
"It was real nice," Brooks said. "He (Lowery) shows support for me, and I appreciate it. I was glad to see him out there."
Graduate school is still a priority for Brooks -- he already earned a degree in health education -- but with the NBA Draft coming in late June, things can get hectic.
"I've been trying to go back and forth," Brooks said. "It's been kind of hard because I've been training, going to camps and stuff. I've been working out a lot."
The Chicago Pre-Draft Camp (June 7-10) is on Brooks' radar because it is more important than the PIT, and some of the nation's best prospects will attend. Although, the players expected to be lottery picks usually neglect the camps in favor of individual workouts for specific teams. Brooks said he did not know when he would find out if he has been invited to the
Leaving college and entering the "real world" often brings a mixture of enthusiasm and self-doubt to graduating seniors. However, things are different when a player has a future in professional basketball as well as a degree in his back pocket. This is certainly a turning point in the life of the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
"It kind of feels like I'm about to hit that corner," Brooks said. "I feel myself really about to start making some money. That's going to be the good thing about it.
"Everything is happening so fast, and I'm just trying to run with everything, trying to keep up with it."
The events of the next couple of months have Brooks "excited" and "anxious" about what is going to happen for him at the next level of basketball. Brooks said that even if he is not drafted he should still be participating in the NBA summer leagues.
"I'll still have a good chance at making a team," Brooks said. "So, I'm not worried about that."
Former Saluki standout Troy Hudson was not drafted and he worked his way through several NBA teams before finding a home with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
For now, Brooks will continue working out and taking guidance from his agent, Keith Kreiter, as his time at SIU winds down and his professional career begins to take shape.
The SIU Men's Basketball Banquet, which took place April 12, was probably the last official athletic function for Brooks as a Saluki. Coach Lowery gave a glowing tribute to the guard, and he will not be forgetting that evening for a long time.
"It was pretty sad for me," Brooks said. "I just thought about all of the banquets I've been to and this is my last one. It was real emotional for me just knowing that I won't be there anymore."
Brooks credits the Saluki coaching staff for paving the way so the team could capture the kind of success it has achieved over the last few years.
"They really pushed us hard and set the standard," Brooks said. "It was either do it this way or no way."
It is a fairly safe bet that no one will ever wear the #1 on the SIU men's basketball team again. Brooks has not only achieved individual greatness, but more importantly, he made all of his teammates better in addition to coming out on the winning side of more than 100 basketball games.
