Brandon Brooks

1/31/02: "Brandon Brooks, the 6-foot-1 point guard originally from Portland (Ore.) Jefferson, committed to USC, and then reportedly de-committed and committed to Iowa State. The latest is he has now told various sources that he's again committed to USC. Brooks, who was playing at Centerville (Iowa) Indian Hills JC, committed to USC last fall. But just a couple of weeks ago, reliable reports had Brooks de-committing from USC and committing to Iowa State. An Indian Hills assistant coach even confirmed as much at the time. Brooks has since left Indian Hills and returned to Portland, where he is reportedly attending JC glasses but not playing basketball, intending to retain the year of eligibility. Then, a week ago, Brooks attended a USC home game where he told a local Los Angeles reporter that he was committed to USC. He said that he actually hadn't committed to Iowa State, and had returned home to a great degree because there was pressure on him at Indian Hills to attend Iowa State. Brooks tore his ACL last year after averaging 16 points and nine assists as a freshman JC point guard, but has since recovered from the injury." - CNN SI

1/15/02: "Last fall, Indian Hills guard Brandon Brooks committed to Southern Cal but didn't sign the papers. On Tuesday, he committed to Iowa State." - Insiders Hoops

12/16: "guard Brandon Brooks of junior college powerhouse Indian Hills (IA) CC will redshirt after playing in six games this season. He is not fully recovered from offseason knee surgery and will sit out the season and have three years of eligibility remaining. He committed to USC but did not sign with the Trojans in the early signing period. Brooks is averaging 4.8 assists per game. He was expected to play at Arizona State out of high school, but academic woes sent him to Ottumwa, Iowa." - Chris Monter

12/12/01: "Although a final decision has not been made, Indian Hills PG Brandon Brooks will likely miss the remainder of the 2001-02 season so that he can qualify as a medical redshirt and have three years of NCAA eligibility. The 6-0 Brooks, who averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 points as a freshman last season, has not yet fully recovered from offseason knee surgery. Brooks struggled early this season but appeared on the road back, scoring 14 points in a 74-70 loss to Three Rivers (MO) on Nov. 27 (the only loss for the 11-1 Warriors this season) and 17 points in a 108-57 rout over Elgin (IL) on November 30. However, he has missed the last three games for IHCC, the preseason #1 team that is ranked #6 in the latest NJCAA poll." - Big Apple Sports

11/17: "We also have confirmed that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Indian Hills (JC) IA has committed to Southern California, although he still has some things to do academically in order to be able to player for the Trojans next year." - Big Apple Sports

11/14: "Looking to replace senior starting point guard Brandon Granville, Southern California has secured a commitment from one of the top point guards in the JC ranks, Brandon Brooks. Brooks, a 6-0, 170 pound point guard from Indian Hills C.C. in Ottumwa, Ia., told JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com that he picked Southern Cal this fall after considering overtures from Michigan State, Oklahoma and others." - RivalsHoops

11/13: "Southern California has a reported commitment from Top 50 junior college guard Brandon Brooks of Portland, Ore./Indian Hills CC, Iowa." - ESPN

http://www.socalhoops.com/prep01/1101/brandoncommitstousc1112.htm

11/12/01: HoopScoop is reporting the Brooks has verballed to Henry Bibby's USC program.

11/12: "Scott Wolf of the Daily News, who regularly covers all things Trojan for the paper, reported this morning in his story...that Brandon Brooks (6-0" PG) from Portland, Ore., has given a verbal commitment to the University of Southern California. Wolf writes that "it's too early to say Brooks will enroll next year because he has not met academic requirements." Wolf adds that "Brooks, a 6-foot sophomore from Portland, faces a steep climb before being admitted to the university." Those who know Brandon, (like we do), will remember that he had trouble qualifying after committing and signing a National Letter of Intent to play for Arizona State out of Portland Jefferson high school, and ultimately went the JUCO route. Brandon is now attending Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, according to Wolf. Brooks played club ball for a Pump N Run team which was coached by Howard Avery, and which coincidentally also featured Errick and Derrick Craven. We've written a lot about Brandon over the years, and if you do a "search" of SoCalHoops archives, you'll come up with quite a bit, including this profile of Brandon we wrote back in June, 1999. For some more recent updates, the "BearcatNews.com" website has a sort of running-profile of what others have written about Brandon for the past few years, including some of the local scribes in Ottumwa, Iowa who have been able to observe Brandon for the past year." - SoCal Hoops

11/8/01: "They (UC) are looking at both Westley and Brooks..."

10/3/01: "One of the top juco point guards in the nation is Brandon Brooks, a 6-1 PG from Indian Hills (IA) CC. Brooks is an explosive, offensive-minded point who loves to use his quickness to get to the rack, and his jumpshot to punish those who back off him. Not surprisingly, he's a high-major all the way. "Brandon is being recruited by DePaul, (Southern Cal), Oklahoma, Cincinnati and Iowa State," Indian Hills assistant (and former Iowa hoopster) Kenyon Murray told PrepStars.com. Chances are that the Bearcats and Cyclones are out, however; they both have landed point guards from the Class of 2002. Brooks is a native of Portland, who signed with Arizona State as a high school senior in the spring of 2000. He put on a scoring show at some postseason all-star games that spring, causing his stock to rise just before he made his decision." - PrepStars.com (4 to 1)

8/31: Listed as the best JUCO PG in the USA. - Future Stars

8/19: Indian Hills has a new coach, previous Asst Coach Lorenzo Watkins.

8/1/01: Listed as the 8th best Juco Soph in the country. - NBA Draft Report

6/26/01: "Brooks helped his junior college (Indian Hills) finish 4th in the nation, and he is now headed for the Univ of Cincinnati." - Portland Tribune (3 to 4)

3/23: "At the guard spot, Jerome Harper and Brandon Brooks have matured an awful lot in a rather short period of time. The two freshmen are running the show in the backcourt, and have been showing nothing but improvement. If these three freshmen (including forward JK Edwards) continue to grow, this is going to be an Indian Hills team that will not only claim the crown this year, but will also be heavily favored to do the same in 2002" - Ottumwa Courier

3/21: "Indian Hills advanced to play Georgia Perimeter on Thursday in an elite eight matchup at Hutch. Brandon Brooks collected 18 points and eight assists in the contest, much of which came during the decisive final six minutes. Jerome Harper played unselfishly for the Warriors, registering 15 points and 10 rebounds to aid the second half comeback." - Juco Junction

2/19: Brooks is averaging 35% from the trey line, and 8 assits per game. His 14.4 ppg avg puts him at 4th in the league.

2/8/01: "The Warriors were without standout freshmen 6-6 Jerome Harper and 6-0 Brandon Brooks, who did not make the trip. Harper re-injured a knee he hurt earlier in the season while Brooks was being fitted with a brace to protect knee damage which occurred during the January 24th Moberly game with Moberly." - Monter Draft News

1/17/01: "Brandon Brooks scored 16 of his season-high 24 points in the second half and the Warriors outscored Clinton (5-10) 73-39 in the final 20 minutes to pull away for a 111-79 victory" - Ottumwa Courier

8/4/00: "We also have confirmed that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who signed with Arizona State last spring, is heading to junior college at Indian Hills (JC) IA, where he will join 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC. Obviously, we'd rather have Duke's Jason Williams and Chris Duhon or Arizona's Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas, but can you think of another guard duo that will be any better in college basketball next year than Brooks and Harper?" - HoopScoop

7/27/00: "Arizona State made up for the loss of ineligible signee Brandon Brooks by getting a commitment from Jason Braxton out of Moreno Valley, California. Brooks, a 6 foot PG from Jefferson High in Portland, will play at Indian Hills (Iowa) JC next season." - ESPN and Carl Patterson

4/19/00: "Brooks Headed To ASU. Arizona State head coach Rob Evans landed himself a gem. Brandon Brooks signed his letter of intent with the Sun Devils. Brooks led his team to a state title this season and he should make an impact at Arizona State." - Rivals100 Hoops

4/14: "he now says that Cincinnati is out and Oklahoma is among the three finalists. Why was Oklahoma substituted for Cincinnati? "Kenny Satterfield, the Cincinnati point guard, decided he was staying," Brooks said. "So I wouldn't be able to come in and get as much playing time as a freshman." - PacWest Hoops

4/8: "...a jet-quick 5-11, 160 pound point guard from Jefferson H.S. in Portland, OR, told us he has had two great visits -- UNLV and Arizona State. He also plans on visiting Cincinnati and UCLA. He has qualified academically." - PacWestHoops

4/7: "..Ariz St had an in-home visit Thursday night with 6-0 SR Brandon Brooks, Portland (Ore.) Jefferson. ASU head coach Rob Evans and assistant Tony Benford made their latest pitch to Brandon and his family. "I like them," Brandon said, referring to Arizona St. "My three are UCLA, Cincinnati and Arizona State." Neither UCLA nor Cincinnati has in home visits set up with Brandon at this time, and that he still might take a visit to UCLA and Cincinnati. "Man it's a tough decision, it's where you gonna be for awhile" said Brandon. Reliable sources, though, indicate that UCLA is not recruiting Brooks aggressively. - PacWest Hoops

4/5: "..was the MVP of the Northwest Shootout, the annual All-Star game that pits high school stars from Oregon against stars from Washington. The Oregon team dominated, winning 127-96, led by Brooks, who finished with 28 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals - PacWest Hoops

4/1: "..scored 28 points in Team Oregon's 127-96 victory over Team Washington last night in Portland (OR). He was named the game's MVP. Brandon is the top remaining available point guard according to All-Star Report. He is still considering Arizona State, UNLV, UCLA, Cincinnati, and a host of others. Brooks recently visited the Arizona State campus, and is expected to set up other trips in the near future. - All Star Report

3/28: "..told us he had a great visit this past weekend to Arizona State. They are coming for in home in April. He plans on visiting Georgia and Oklahoma soon. There are no dates yet according to his family. He had visited U.N.L.V. a few months back. -- Insiders Report

3/23/00: Visiting Arizona State this coming weekend.

3/20/00: "Brandon Brooks is strongly considering the Bearcats, but the issue is if he wants to leave home. Ernie Kent has done a great job building up the Ducks, and Brooks likes them, as well as several other schools in the Pac-10. Also, does Brooks want to sit on the bench on the year, which he'll do if Satterfield and Johnson do not leave." - AllStar Report

3/10/00: "turned in another great performance last night, scoring 22 points in a 68-53 quarter-final victory over Lake Oswego in the Oregon Class 4A tournament. Nationally ranked Jefferson remains undefeated at 24-0. The 5-11 Brooks has seen his stock go up over the past few months due to his consistent play on the court. All Star Report has Brooks rated as the best available point guard who is still undecided. Arizona State has shown a lot of interest lately, and a host of others such as UNLV, Oklahoma, and Georgia continue to monitor his progress." - AllStarReport

3/3/00: Said he has qualified academically. His team is currrently 22-0. "...averaged 19 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals as a junior. A terrific penetrator who is extremely hard to defend when he has the ball, Brooks' shooting stroke tends to be very streaky and his shot selection is sometimes debatable. Even so, his quickness and tenacity help mask his shortcomings." - InsidersReport

2/29/00: "We spoke with Brooks and he told us that he has narrowed his list of schools to six. UNLV (the perceived leader), Arizona St, UCLA, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Cincinnati. According to Brandon, all of those schools have extended scholarship offers. Brooks said that he'd be eliminating schools rather than adding them to the list, but mentioned in passing that he'd be interested if "somebody really good," contacted him. -- AllStar Report

2/24/00: "Brooks is a quick playmaker with great passing skills and a nice mid range jumper". -- Midwest Hoops

2/13/00: Brandon's team, the Jefferson Democrats, are 20-0 ranked first in Oregon and #4 in USA Today.