CHAPEL HILL - The free throws haven’t always fallen this season for North Carolina junior forward Garrison Brooks, but that wasn’t an issue during the Tar Heels’ 85-79 victory over N.C. State on Tuesday night in the Smith Center.
Brooks helped snap a seven-game losing streak for UNC, finishing with a game-high 30 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes against the Wolfpack. The LaFayette, AL, native also went an impressive 14-for-16 from the free throw line, hitting 11 straight in the second half including six in the final 41 seconds to help seal the much-needed win.
“I did what I normally do, just shot it with confidence,” he said.
His second 30-point game of the season received high praise from his Hall of Fame head coach, who singled out Brooks’ free throw shooting down the stretch as a major catalyst for the victory.
“I’m very happy for our kids, really happy for Garrison,” Roy Williams said. “Eleven straight free throws in the second half, 14 out of 16 for the game.”
While Brooks is having his best season in a Carolina uniform averaging 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds, free throw shooting has been his Achilles heel. Brooks entered Tuesday’s game shooting just 59.8 percent from the line on the season, with a majority of his struggles coming in the month of February.
In a 15-day span from Feb. 1 to 15, which included last-second home losses to Boston College, Duke and Virginia, Brooks missed 15 straight free throws in the Smith Center and shot a combined 1-of-17 from the charity stripe at home. His only made attempt during that stretch came late in the second half against the Cavaliers.
The Tar Heels had two away games in that time period, including a six-point defeat at Florida State and a blowout loss at Wake Forest. Against the Seminoles, Brooks attempted just two free throws, making one of them.
He then injured his eye late against Duke forcing Brooks to wear protective goggles up until Tuesday’s game, yet he managed to sink 7 of 8 from the line at Wake. The struggles have largely been at home, aside from a 17-for-18 effort in a loss to Georgia Tech.
Tuesday night, however, there were no problems.
“I just shot them with confidence, didn’t think about them and they went in,” he said, following the win over State.
For graduate transfer guard Christian Keeling, Brooks’ resilience from the line after a tough two-week period is down to one simple thing.
“He’s a tough guy,” Keeling said. “Coach always says, if he wants somebody in the fox hole with him, he wants Garrison Brooks.”
Keeling went on to say even more about Brooks’ toughness, adding that his head coach has compared the junior forward’s competitive spirit and toughness to that of former UNC All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough. That comparison is huge praise from Williams, who has often called Hansbrough the toughest and most competitive player he has ever coached.
“I could go on about how tough Garrison is,” Keeling said. “He’s mentally tough, physically tough. The dude had the flu last game and came out and had 30 and whatever he had, hit a lot of free throws. The dude gets hit in the eye, busted nose… he’s our strength, he’s our foundation.”
Brooks stepped up big when his teammates needed him most against N.C. State, single-handedly helping UNC ice the game with his clutch free throw shooting in the final few minutes.
Not only that, but his shooting woes from the line appear behind him, which is certainly a positive heading into the final three regular season games of the regular season.
