Aaron Brooks (basketball)

Infobox NBA Player
name = Aaron Brooks


caption =
position = Point guard
nickname =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 160
league = NBA
team = Houston Rockets
number = 0
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1985|1|14
birth_place = Seattle, Washington
college = Oregon
highschool = Benjamin Franklin (Seattle)
draft = 26th overall
draft_year = 2007
draft_team = Houston Rockets
career_start = 2007
former_teams = Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2007)
awards = 2007 Third Team All-American. 2007 All-Pac-10 Team
2005 All-Pac-10 honorable mention
2004 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team.

Aaron Jamal Brooks (born January 14 1985, in Seattle, Washington) is an American basketball player who was selected 26th overall in the 2007 National Basketball Association Draft by the Houston Rockets. A point guard, he had a college basketball career at the University of Oregon.

High school

Brooks, a high profile recruit out of Franklin High School in Seattle, "earned just about every honor possible" while leading his team to the Washington 4A State Championship as a senior. In that championship game, Brooks went head-to-head with future Gonzaga Bulldog turned Charlotte Bobcat, Adam Morrison. Brooks finished with 38 points in the 67-55 win. Morrison finished with 37 in the loss but was still named Tournament MVP after matching the then four-game scoring total.

College

Brooks finished his college career at the University of Oregon in 2007. He was a four-year starter for the Ducks, and finished his career with 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. In his first year at Oregon, Brooks took over the starting point guard role previously occupied by current NBA guard Luke Ridnour. Despite missing 10 games with a broken bone in his wrist, Brooks earned Pac-10 All-Freshman honors. Brooks was named honorable mention all-Pac-10 for his efforts as a sophomore, a season which included a 34 point effort against USC. After a disappointing junior year at Oregon culminating in a suspension during a game against Washington, Brooks rebounded to become one of the leading candidates for Pac-10 Player of the Year. He led the Ducks to a number of key victories, including game winners over then #1 ranked UCLA and then #10 Arizona in Tucson. Brooks scored a team high 31 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in an overtime road win against then top 25 ranked Washington State, helping to hand the Cougars their first home loss of the 2006-07 season. At the half-way mark of Pac-10 conference play, Brooks was averaging 19.1 points and 4.5 assists per game in leading Oregon to a top 10 ranking and a 19-2 overall record. The Ducks went on to finish in a tie for third place in the Pac-10, and won the Pac-10 Championship tournament following an impressive three day romp over Arizona, Cal and USC. Oregon advanced to the Midwest Regional Final where they lost to defending champion Florida. On March 5, Brooks was announced as one of 22 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, which is given to the top college basketball player in the nation. On March 28, Brooks was one of 10 players named to the Wooden All-American Team. He won the men's three point shootout on March 29, 2007, to finish off his NCAA career, [http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/SPORTS06/703300474] but lost the "battle of the sexes" to Katie Gearlds of Purdue University. His major was political science.

NBA

On June 28, 2007, Brooks was taken 26th overall in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets.

Awards (college career)

*2007 AP All-American (First Team)
*2007 John Wooden All-American Team
*2007 NCAA 3-Point-Shootout Champion
*2007 All-Pac-10 Team
*2005 Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Team
*2004 All-Pac-10 Freshman Team

References

External links

*NBA-profile|aaron_brooks|Aaron Brooks
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=15304 ESPN Player Profile]
* [http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4297&SPID=235&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=22260 Oregon Ducks Player Profile]
* [http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/aaronbrooks.html NBA Draft.net Player Profile]
* [http://www.clutchfans.net/players/aaron_brooks/ ClutchFans.net Aaron Brooks Profile] - Houston Rocket Fan Site