A lot of players can dominate on offense OR defense, but when you find a guy who can get it done on both ends of the court you know that you have a special player. Darren Brooks played a whopping 2 games during his 1st year at Southern Illinois, then came off the bench in his 2nd year. In 2003 he led the conference with 62 STL, as a senior he led the league with 16.5 PPG, and in his final 2 years he was named both MVC POY and DPOY. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Darren about being a great defender and playing pro basketball. Today is Darren’s 40th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
You played several sports at Jennings High School: which 1 did you enjoy the most, and how close did you come to becoming a college QB and/or pro baseball player? I enjoyed basketball the most. I played football all of my life but just took a break once I got to high school. I picked it up again as a senior and had a good year, which gave me a chance to walk on at some big schools. I also played baseball all of my life and got some offers to play in the minors but I wanted to focus on basketball.
You played in 2 games during your freshman season at SIU before redshirting: what impact did that have on you either on or off the court? They gave me a few games to see how good I was. I really wanted to play but it was a good move to redshirt because it taught me what it takes to be a D-1 player.
In the 2002 NCAA tourney you scored 16 PTS in a 2-PT upset of #3-seed Georgia: how were you able to overcome a 19-PT 1st-half deficit, and how much of a home-court advantage did you have at the United Center? We just believed in ourselves a lot that year. We had a close loss to an Illinois team that was 1 of the best in the country so we believed that we could beat anybody and just kept plugging away against Georgia. We did not feel like we had a big home-court advantage.
In the 2003 NCAA tourney you scored 12 PTS in a 1-PT loss to Missouri and in the 2004 NCAA tourney you scored 25 PTS/5-5 3PM in a 1-PT loss to Alabama: how close did you come to winning either of those 2 games? I still remember the Missouri game: it was tied late and the ref called a blocking foul in the final seconds. I think the refs should let the players decide the outcome. Alabama was a crazy game as well: it also came down to the final possession.
In 2003 and 2005 you led the conference in STL: what is your secret for being a great defender? I just thank the Lord for giving me everything I needed. The key is good instincts and good reactions: you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
You won 4 straight regular season MVC titles from 2002-2005: how were you able to be so successful for such a long period of time? We just worked really hard. We were a blue collar team who put on our hard hats and had no excuses. We tried hard at every practice and gave it 100%.
In 2004/2005 you became the 1st player in MVC history to be named both POY and DPOY in back-to-back seasons: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors, and how were you able to balance your offense with your defense? It meant a lot to me because it was so unexpected. I never thought that I would win it once, let alone twice, but it showed that all of my hard work paid off. I did whatever I could to help the team win anyway we could and left it all out on the court.
In the 2006 D-League title game with Albuquerque you scored 11 PTS in a win at Fort Worth: what did it mean to you to win a title? It felt good. It was like college again with a bunch of guys who came together and competed hard and tried to win.
You played for several different teams overseas: what is the biggest difference between college basketball and professional basketball, and which country did you like the most? The biggest difference is that the players get paid. You work out and practice and play games but you get a salary instead of a scholarship. The players are good everywhere so instead of going to class you go to practice. Australia was a beautiful place: I wanted to take a 5-year deal but my agent told me to take a shorter deal. It had nice weather and great people.
In 2012 you created the Brooks Basketball Academy in order to help players reach their full potential: what makes your academy different from other programs? We are a faith-based program that tries to develop both the player and the person. We focus on education and being a well-rounded person and giving back to the community.