Hall of Fame
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Brooks is the only player in Valley history to win both the Larry Bird Trophy, awarded to the league’s top men’s basketball student-athlete, and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor two times, sweeping the awards in 2004 and 2005.
While he was at Southern Illinois (2001-05), the Salukis won four-straight regular-season Conference titles, made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and won three NCAA Tournament games, including a Sweet 16 run in 2002 (defeating Texas Tech and Georgia as an 11 seed).
Brooks finished his career ranked fifth in all-time scoring at SIU with 1,761 points; he remains the school’s career steals leader with 258, and he ranks fourth in career assists with 410, eighth in career 3-pointers made with 156 and 12th in career rebounds with 673.
He was a two-time AP Honorable Mention All-American (2004, 2005), a three-time member of MVC All-Defense team (2003-05) and a two-time member of MVC All-Tournament team (2004, 2005).
Brooks is a member of both the SIU All-Century Team, announced in 2013, and the Missouri Valley Conference All-Centennial Team, announced in 2007. He is a member, too, of the Saluki Hall of Fame.