CHAPEL HILL – Assuming there’s a public address announcer at North Carolina’s home basketball games this season, as the COVID era continues to affect the sports landscape, don’t be surprised to hear this bellow throughout the Dean Dome from time to time:
“Garrison Brooks for threeeeee.”
In other words, UNC senior forward Garrison Brooks spent all offseason trying on a new hat, and from all accounts, it fits. Brooks, UNC’s primary big man the last three seasons, is stepping his game away from the basket some, and may even become a regular threat on the perimeter. At least that’s the plan.
“I’ve been working hard by myself and trying to get a lot of reps up and a lot of good reps and make a ton of shots throughout the day,” he said.
Hard work has never been a foreign concept to Brooks. He arrived at UNC as the No. 123 overall prospect in the class of 2017, and that he turned himself into a second-team All-ACC player a year ago is a testament to that grind.
As a junior, he averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 53.5 percent from the field. 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 6-foot-9, 235-pound LaFayette, AL, native scored 30 or more points twice, grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 13 games and finished with 12 double-doubles.
But with one eye on earning a living at the next level and another on how he best fits a team that includes sophomore big Armando Bacot and a pair of highly touted freshmen – 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler and 6-foot-10 Day’Ron Sharpe – Brooks sees extending his game as a way of helping the Heels, too.
“My guess is I will be sticking to the four,” Brooks replied, when asked where he will play given the influx of talented bigs on the UNC roster. “Those guys are much bigger than me and I think they can play the five and they’re going to do well.”
So, the quest to gain comfort shooting the ball outside. That effort is paying off.
“Progress as how I see myself and how confident I feel in my shot, seeing a bunch go in,” Brooks replied. “The coaches and the rest of the team see that I make a lot of shots, perimeter shots in particular, and they seem to be impressed with it, so it’s good.”
Brooks was just 2-for-7 from 3-point range last season, but it should be noted none of his attempts came late in lopsided games and only one, toward the frantic end of an historic home loss to Clemson, came in a rushed situation.
He never attempted more than one three in a game and it took a while before he trusted himself enough to let anything fly from the perimeter. His first three came versus Ohio State in the eighth contest and the next was versus Pittsburgh in the 15th game. Then, beginning with that shot, in which he converted, Brooks attempted a three in five of six games, but just once following a win at NC State on Jan. 27.
His teammates know what Brooks looked like shooting from the outside a year ago in games and otherwise, which he did quite a bit of in warmups before each game, and they see him doing it now. Junior Leaky Black gives his older teammate and buddy a seal of approval.
“I feel confident in him shooting the three much more than last year,” Black said. “Every time I’m in the gym with coach (Hubert) Davis, I see him at the other end working on his shot, too. He doesn’t hesitate to shoot it, it’s just repetition at this point. He’s confident in his jumper and we’re confident in it, too.”
Brooks likely won’t hang out on the perimeter enough to channel his inner Luke Maye, but knocking down enough shots to create mismatches and open things inside for the other bigs will make the Tar Heels a much better offensive team than they were a year ago. It will also help Brooks’ push for the next level, something he openly discusses.
And, from UNC’s perspective, it will simply make Carolina a more complete and competitive team. And that, above all else right now, is his mission.
