GoHeels Exclusive: Brooks A Quick Study

by Pat James

CHAPEL HILL—As a loose ball rolled toward midcourt in the early minutes of Friday's second half, Kenny Williams dove across the Smith Center floor in pursuit.

Already the winner of multiple 50-50 balls against Northern Iowa, Williams seemed poised to secure another. But he couldn't quite corral this one, as the ball slid underneath his outstretched right arm and continued bouncing farther away.

Garrison Brooks stood nearby. At one point during Sunday's round-robin jamboree of scrimmages, he didn't chase the ball on a similar play. Roy Williams promptly benched him. Brooks never returned.

Thus, as Friday's play unfolded, he knew what was required.

"I made sure in my mind, like, 'I don't want effort to be one of the reasons I do not play,'" said Brooks following the Tar Heels' 86-69 season-opening win. "(Roy Williams) said to us before the game, 'Every loose ball that's on the ground has UNC on it.'"

So there Brooks went, tossing his 6-foot-9, 215-pound frame onto the court without any hesitation. He produced a jump ball and some cheers and a fist pump by Kenny Williams. And he showed, at least in that moment, that he learned from his previous mistake.

The play didn't appear in the box score. But it was one of several highlights by Brooks in his Tar Heel debut, which he concluded with 14 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.

"Garrison is playing more minutes because he's making fewer mistakes," Roy Williams said. "You'd like to give a guy playing time because of the great things he does, but if his competition is not doing the great things, then the other way to go is with who's making the fewest mistakes.

"I think Garrison is doing that. He's boxing out more and he's running the floor more."

Brooks earned the start at center. And after picking up a foul on UNC's first possession, he scored the team's first points of the season on an offensive rebound and putback. He then made a turnaround baseline jumper on the ensuing possession.

Brooks admitted to being nervous in the Tar Heels' 91-80 exhibition victory over Barton College. But he said that didn't carry over to Friday.

"I just decided in my mind that, 'It's just basketball. Just go out and play and have fun,'" he said. "That's what coach (Hubert) Davis had told me the day before."

Entering halftime, Brooks had eight points on 3-for-3 shooting. He then added six more in the second half. His final two of the game came at the free throw line, where he went 4-for-4, and he finished with 14 total – the most by a freshman in the season's first game since Harrison Barnes scored 14 against Lipscomb on Nov. 12, 2010.

Brooks also flashed his ability as a passer in the second half. With about seven minutes left, he dribbled out of a double-team in the post and dished the ball to Luke Maye for a layup. On the following possession, he found Maye for another layup on a high-low pass.

In many ways, Brooks' debut couldn't have been more encouraging for a team that's looking to replace Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks. Yet, it still consisted of a few teaching moments.

Brooks committed a team-high three turnovers, two of which occurred on offensive fouls. He said Roy Williams also removed him from the game for the first time about five minutes in because he wasn't running the floor hard enough.

But Brooks recognizes his faults. And early on, he's displayed a commitment to fixing them.

"I try my best to listen and try to put a really big emphasis on if (Roy Williams) tells Sterling (Manley) something or Brandon (Huffman) something," Brooks said. "I really emphasize that because he doesn't want to go back and tell me again."

"Garrison is coachable," Theo Pinson said. "You tell him something one time and he does it immediately and he does it full speed. Coach loves that. He earned his position and he worked for it."

Brooks credited Maye, Pinson and Kenny Williams for how he's been able to acclimate to the college game so far. Kenny Williams, he said, is the one who demands the most of him.

"Throughout practice, he wants me to talk the whole time and be energetic and be just like him," Brooks said. "I wouldn't mind being just like Kenny energy-wise."

But for a single play Friday, Brooks showed he can be that. Perhaps he can be even more.

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Garrison Brooks

Luke Maye

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Kenny Williams

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