Brooks' Game Climbing Toward Select Company

CHAPEL HILL – Over the last month, Garrison Brooks has been compared by teammates or respected media to Luke Maye, Brice Johnson and Tyler Hansbrough.

That’s high rent district right there, and it’s a distinction the North Carolina junior is earning. Brooks’ numbers, which do not lie, suggest he’s climbing toward their perches as some of the most productive, and perhaps best, UNC big men to play for Roy Williams.

Nobody is saying Brooks is quite there, yet, nor is he at their level ofo of some other prominent bigs to play for Williams at UNC, but the trajectory of his improvement and the ranges his game has grown this season indicates that in time, Brooks could walk in similar paths.

His teammates say Williams often references Hansbrough’s work ethic, but it’s usually when complimenting Brooks’ dedication to all things basketball and getting better. With respect to Maye, it’s Brooks’ ownership of N.C. State this year and how his game has exploded as a junior, just like his former teammate experienced. And regarding Johnson, it’s not just the plethora of double-doubles but some similarities in how the numbers are accumulated.

Now, Johnson was longer, leaner, had more of a spring in his step and could change the light bulbs atop the Smith Center. Brooks trails him in those areas, but the well-roundedness of his game, his hoops IQ and fundamental approach are making him a near-equal to the consensus first-team All-America in 2016.

“It means a lot being mentioned with those guys,” Brooks said. “Those guys are great players and I think it’s one of those things you have to realize you have to keep working to try and be better than them.”

Again, the numbers don’t lie: As the Tar Heels enter the ACC Tournament, Brooks is averaging 16.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and is shooting 53.6 percent from the field. In his last six games, however, the 6-foot-9 native of Alabama has been at another level averaging 24.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, has handed out four or more assists three times and shot 57.9 percent from the field.

In Carolina’s last four contests, he's been even better, as Brooks has averaged 26.8 points, 10.8 boards and converted 37 of 45 free throws, good for 82.2 percent. He was at 56.4 percent for the season prior to his recent run. In fact, Brooks missed 15 consecutive free throws at the Smith Center in one stretch beginning in January, yet he fought through the rough spots and has elevated every element of his game.

UNC guard Christian Keeling says Brooks' mindset enabled him to work through that difficulty.

“He’s a tough guy. Coach always says if you want someone in the foxhole with him, you want Garrison Brooks,” Keeling said. “I could go on about how tough a guy Garrison is. He’s mentally tough, he’s physically tough.”

Williams recently enjoyed regaling a story from last year’s NCAA Tournament when Brooks lost a tooth and another was busted that required a trip to the dentist following UNC’s second-round win over Washington. The visit took place before the Tar Heels left Columbus, OH.

“A lot of guys wouldn’t make it back out, but he came back and played the whole second half,” Williams recalled. “But he looked terrible. Blood everywhere, eight stiches or something crazy.

“Last year and this year, he’s the one guy that’s stepped up when he’s had some aches and pains and put it behind him and still played.”

The desire to get back out there and compete is ingrained within Brooks. He loves the game, plays it the right way, as sons of coaches usually do, and he has embraced something assistant coach Steve Robinson told him not long after Brooks arrive in Chapel Hill.

“Coach Rob always told me ‘You’ve got to hang your hat on something,’ and I hang it on coming in and working hard every day,” Brooks said.

And for him, it means grinding but also being patient, something Brooks exercised during his first two seasons as older teammates, including Maye, garnered the bulk of the scoring opportunities.

So, he waited his turn but got better in the process. Brooks knew his time would come provided he worked for it.

“It wasn’t very hard because I realize you get everything within a certain time,” he said. “You get things when you deserve them not when you want them, so I just had to realize it… I thought it would come but never knew when, so I just had to keep working.”

Working for Brooks isn’t just a who-can-sweat-more deal, it’s about being smart and making the effort to smooth over the rough edges. That requires a deep understanding of the game, which isn’t an issue for Brooks.

His father, George Brooks, is currently in his 10th season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State and has taught his son well.

George Brooks played for the Bulldogs in the early 1990s but wasn’t the player his son is, yet he learned the nuances of the sport and has passed them along to Garrison. And it shows.

“I credit my dad a lot,” Garrison said. “My dad couldn’t play a lick, that’s the funny part, but he knows the game. He told me he was never able to physically do the stuff. He knew what he was doing and always taught me to be fundamentally sound with footwork, how to go about everything.

“I credit it a lot to him… To have him as a coach, he sees things that most people don’t see.”

Footwork and the fundamental stuff were obvious attributes of Brooks’ when he was a freshman. His defensive qualities have often been praised by Williams, but he’s now putting the whole package together.

His array of offensive moves start on the block and from the 12-15 feet away on either side of the basket. Facing up, drop steps, spin moves, and feeling defenders, often using his hip, have served Brooks very well this season.

His hip, perhaps more than anything else, has become a particularly effective weapon. Brooks owns defenders when he gets them on his hip. He says there’s more to it, though.

“It’s not so much having him on your hip, I think it’s where his feet are and what your feet are going to do,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing.”

Despite UNC’s season not going as planned, Brooks’ feet are squarely heading in the right direction. He’s been a constant for a team that has bounced around like a pinball and gives the squad a needed anchor.

The season isn’t over yet, as the Heels will face Virginia Tech on Tuesday at the ACC Tournament. They are the bottom seed for the first time in program history, but they do have their best player soaring at the top of his game.

“I’ve called him this before, he’s a beast, he’s a grown man,” Cole Anthony said. “It’s awesome having that dude down there who can just dominate the low post, dominate the paint, he’s going to rebound and is just a really good basketball player.”

And the Tar Heels have the player who’s become their heart and soul.

“Coach tries to compare him, the competitiveness and toughness to Tyler (Hansbrough) – but he loves Tyler, so he’s not going to get up there,” Keeling said. “But he’s played through anything. He’s our strength, he’s our foundation.”

And Brooks is getting better and better. Just like those Heels he’s compared to did when they donned the Carolina blue.