Overview

Brooks might lack prototypical height, but he proved during his senior season at Oregon that he was capable of being an efficient combo guard coming off the bench at the next level. Even though he played the point at Oregon, many scouts feel that his scoring ability will allow him to compete as a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association.

Brooks was a decorated prep star at Franklin High School, leading the team to the Washington Class 4A state championship as a senior. He earned McDonald's and Parade (third team) All-American honors and played in the McDonald's and EA Sports national all-star games. He was named the Gatorade, Associated Press, Seattle Times and Tacoma News-Tribune state player of the year his final campaign.

As a senior, Brooks averaged 24.3 points, seven assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as the Quakers went 25-2. As a junior, he averaged 18.7 points and 7.5 assists per game for Franklin and was named to the All-Kingco League first-team. He averaged 16.8 points and 6.7 assists per game as a sophomore and 7.6 points and 6.2 assists per game as a freshman.

Brooks was rated the 31st-best recruit nationally by ESPN.com (fourth-best point guard) and the 37th-best by TheInsiders-Hoops.com. He first played for Oregon coach Ernie Kent on the USA Basketball Junior National team that won the bronze medal at the 2002 qualifying tournament in Venezuela, and advanced the USA to the 2003 FIBA World Championships. He scored 8.8 points per game with 10 assists for the USA team.

At Oregon in 2003-04, Brooks earned Pacific-10 Conference All-Freshman honors, despite missing 10 games because of a broken bone in his right wrist. A real difference-maker when he was healthy, the Ducks averaged 16.7 turnovers per game while Brooks sat out with the injury. In the final 10 games with a healthy Brooks running the show, Oregon averaged just 13.2 turnovers per game. In 21 games (18 starts), he finished fourth on the team averaging seven points per game and ranked third in assists at 2.7 per game. He was also one of the Ducks' better free-throw shooters at 78.8 percent.

As a sophomore, Brooks was an All-Pac-10 honorable mention, as he started 26 contests. He was Oregon's leading scorer at 14.7 points per game (10th in the Pac-10) and also led in assists at 4.6 per game (third in the Pac-10). He led the team in scoring in eight games and was the assists leader 20 times. An excellent free-throw shooter, he hit on 94 of 110 attempts (85.5 percent) and ranked third in the league. He was named National Player of the Week by The Sporting News after he scored a career-high 34 points against USC, tying Ducks' great Ron Lee (vs. Washington, 1974) for the most points ever by an Oregon sophomore. It was also the third-highest single-game total by an Oregon point guard.

In 2005-06, Brooks had an uneven junior season -- his scoring average slipped from 14.7 points to 10.8. He led the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81-to-1), as he started 31 of 32 games and ranked second on the team, ranking fourth in the league in assists per game at 4.4. He was second on the team and seventh in the league in free-throw percentage (.807) and led the Ducks with 35 steals.

As a senior, Brooks was an All-Pac-10 Conference, USBWA All-District IX and NABC All-District XIV first-team selection. He scored a career-high 621 points (17.7 ppg), the seventh-best season total in school history and pulled down 149 rebounds (4.3 rpg), as he registered 149 assists (ranks ninth on the school season-record list) with 48 steals. He shot 46 percent from the floor and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line. He also blocked six shots.

In 125 games at Oregon, Brooks scored 1,511 points (12.1 ppg), the ninth-best career total in school history. His 500 field goals rank 10th in Oregon history, while his 127 steals rank sixth and 471 assists rank fourth on the Ducks' career lists.

Scouting Report

Positives: Has excellent quickness and leaping ability (39 1/2-inch vertical)...Flies past slow defenders to easily gain separation when slashing to the basket...Has a nice array of hesitation moves, pump fakes and stutter-step action to force his opponent to commit rather than face up when operating along the perimeter...Outstanding free-throw shooter with a high arc and quick release...Efficient shooter along the perimeter with valid NBA 3-point range...Sets his feet well and shows good form elevating to get off his jump shot...Shows the hand agility to keep the ball on the floor long, pull up and fire off the dribble before his man has a chance to get into position to defend...More of a rhythm passer, but when he starts connecting, he can be terrific...Gets pushed around at times by bigger opponents...Is a scrappy defender with the lateral burst to get into the passing lanes to steal the ball...Might get pushed around on the boards, but is slippery enough to get under his man when fighting for the rebound...Has improved his passing ability and shows good timing getting the ball to the open outlet with precise tosses to beat the double team...Has good patience as a passer but needs to show that same characteristic as a shooter (sometimes gets too selfish with the ball)...Likes to push the ball up court quickly and has the timed speed to lead an up-tempo attack...Does a nice job pulling up and firing in transition, as he compensates for an inability to drive into the paint with a keen eye and quick release shooting from the perimeter...Favors the right when shooting, but has a nice floater that he executes with consistency coming off the cut...Better passer from the baseline on dish-and-drive plays.

Negatives: Lacks size, bulk and strength needed to compete as a shooting guard at the next level, but is not a true point guard...He lacks the playmaking ability to consistently distribute and tends to have a "shoot first" mentality when he gets the ball into his hands...Does not have the NBA-quality wing span (6'4") and struggles to compete for the ball vs. the taller opponents...Taller guards have had good success posting up vs. Brooks due to his lack of size and length...Shows good court vision to create his own shot, but gets bounced out of the lanes often by the bigger opponent, yet, he will still try to attack the paint or drive inside, taking off-target shots that fail to connect too often...Will go through long stretches where he feels that the ball belongs in his hands rather than looking for the open outlet...Must work on improving his shot from the left side, as he tends to drive often from the right side, making his shot selection predictable for the opponent...Lacks the reach to poke the ball away when defending on the perimeter and will play out of control on defense trying to attack the ball, leading to costly fouls...Must learn to stay in front of his opponent when playing face-up defense...Can be outmuscled anytime he tries to drive to the rim...Tries too hard at times driving to the basket, getting his body out of control and the result has been a high amount of charging calls.

Compares To: NATE ROBINSON, New York. Like Robinson, Brooks doesn't have prototypical height. Brooks' lack of size and strength cause him to take punishment when driving to the basket. He is an efficient passer, but plays with a shoot-first attitude that you usually associate with a shooting guard. He is strictly a right-handed shooter with a weak left hand, but gets excellent elevation on his jumper. He is a dangerous shooter along the perimeter and excels when playing at the charity stripe. He is best suited as a combo guard, but with his power and height deficiencies, he is likely to get just a few minutes off the bench rather than being the team's floor general.

Orlando Pre-Draft Camp Measurements:

6-4 Wingspan...7-10 Standing Reach...2.7 percent Body Fat...39 1/2-inch Vertical Leap...185-pound benchpress reps: 6...10.57 Lane Agility...3.2 Court Sprint (3/4).

High School:

Attended Franklin (Seattle, Wash.) High School, playing basketball for head coach Jason Kerr...Led the team to the Washington Class 4A state championship as a senior...Earned McDonald's and Parade (third team) All-American honors and played in the McDonald's and EA Sports national all-star games... Named the Gatorade, Associated Press, Seattle Times and Tacoma News Tribune state player of the year his final campaign...As a senior, Brooks averaged 24.3 points, 7.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as the Quakers went 25-2...As a junior, he averaged 18.7 points and 7.5 assists per game for Franklin and was named to the All-Kingco League first-team...Averaged 16.8 points and 6.7 assists per game as a sophomore and 7.6 points and 6.2 assists per game as a fresh-man...Rated the 31st-best recruit in the nation by ESPN.com (fourth-best among point guards) and the 37th-best by TheInsiders-Hoops.com.

Personal

Political Science major...First played for Oregon coach Ernie Kent on the USA Basketball Junior National team that won the bronze medal at the 2002 qualifying tournament in Venezuela, and advanced the USA to the 2003 FIBA World Championships. He scored 8.8 points per game with 10 assists for the USA team...Son of Alvertis Brooks, Sr., and Bernardean Hampton...Brother, Alvertis, Jr., played basketball at Seattle University...