CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina senior forward Garrison Brooks met with the media Monday afternoon to discuss his game, his teammates and the season, which begins Wednesday versus College of Charleston at the Smith Center.
Brooks is coming off an excellent season in which he was second-team All-ACC after posting terrific numbers: 16.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 53.5 percent from the field, 2-for-7 from 3-point range, 64.1 percent from the free throw line and 1.9 assists.
Over the final 18 games he played (spanning UNC’s final 19 contests), Brooks averaged 19.9 points and 10 of his 11 games scoring 20 or more points occurred during that span. Brooks also won the ACC’s Most Improved Player award.
The turning point in his season personally came in a home loss to Georgia Tech. Feeling the need to carry his team, Brooks erupted for 35 points and 11 rebounds. Up to that game, which was UNC’s 14th on the season, he was averaging just 12.3 points per outing.
The 6-foot-9, 235-pound LaFayette, AL, native scored 30 or more points twice, the career-high versus the Yellow Jackets and 30 in a home win over N.C. State. He grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 13 games and finished with 12 double-doubles. He was named second-team All-ACC, as well.
Above is the full video of Brooks’ presser and below are notes and pulled quotes from what Brooks had to say:
*So, as the Preseason Player of the Year, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that Brooks has lofty personal goals for this season, but as a leader, he also added team stuff when asked about his personal ambitions for the winter.
"Be the best player in our conference, of course that would be my goal, and just win a national championship,” Brooks said. “I think that's pretty much all the goals that we need for a team. That's something we've dreamed of since the beginning when we started practicing workouts."
*That said, Brooks has received plenty of attention so far. He’s gone from the No. 123 player in his class nationally to the face of a fabled program.
"I'm excited about it of course, it's a huge honor, but I don't pay it any mind,” he said. “It's all preseason and I've got to come out there and perform myself."
*COVID is affecting everyone, including college basketball players. As a senior, Brooks has been forced to deviate quite a bit from what had been previous academic and basketball routines. But he has adapted and is rolling along with this like most everyone else.
"I'm good. I'm done with finals, so I'm happy,” he said. “I think it's a challenge because, with our team having different finals at different times, it's kind of tough scheduling everything. But I think it's going well. We're handling it."
*After Brooks’ production exploded last January, UNC Coach Roy Williams said it was more about confidence and Brooks trusting his game than it was about his development during the season. So where is his confidence now and what kind of player does he think he can be in the ACC this season?
"I think I can be really good,” Brooks replied. “Of course, I think the part that sets me up different from last year is just the unwavering confidence from day one to always be aggressive and believe in myself and I think that's pretty much the only difference."
*Freshman wing Puff Johnson didn’t have to introduce himself to the Tar Heels when he arrived this past summer. He’d already been hanging around the program for a few years. As the younger brother of former Heel Cam Johnson, Puff knew the Smith Center like the back of his hand and the player knew him.
Yet, UNC fans may not know much about Puff yet, and Brooks says he’s quite different from his older brother.
“Very different. Puff is a really hard worker, very aggressive on the offensive boards,” Brooks said. “It seems like he’s going to dunk a lot more balls than Cam because his hands are bigger. But I think that he’s a really hard worker. He can potentially be like Cam with his hard work and dedication.
“It’s weird because I didn’t se Cam as a freshman, I only saw him as a 30-year-old man.”
*The Tar Heels are coming off a 14-19 record, which is the second worst season in program history. This year’s team has much more talent, size, depth and right now has confidence. Brooks knows what really good Carolina teams look like because he played on two of them as a freshman and sophomore and he thinks this team can be like those clubs were.
“I like how competitive we are day in and day out,” he said. “We can eb a great rebounding team, I like the way we play with pace and I think we’re very unselfish, also. So I think that’s a characteristic of a really great team.”
*Jacob Turner contributed to this report.
