| 23 April 2009
I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. It was draft night in New York at Madison Square Garden in 2007 and the Houston Rockets had just selected Aaron Brooks as the 26th overall pick. Not everyone was happy on that night.
Back then I was covering the Knicks and was working the NBA Draft with a couple of editors who had made the trip to New York – one of which covered the Rockets while stationed in Houston.
“What? No. I can’t believe they just made that pick for Brooks. They already have Rafer Alston, Luther Head and John Lucas,” he said vehemently.
“They don’t need Brooks.”
There was no use trying to convince him otherwise. So I didn’t. Instead, I simply rattled off how Brooks was a four-year starter for Oregon, was Pac-10 All-Freshman, was a finalist for the Wooden Award, All-Pac-10 and a third team All-American his senior year with the Ducks....just in case he wanted to know what Houston was getting.
A month prior I was also fortunate to attend pre-draft workouts in Orlando for guys projected as second round hopefuls, where Brooks dominated countless point guards who attended the weekend long camp including Florida’s Taurean Green (selected 52nd by Portland) and Nevada’s Ramon Sessions (56th to Milwaukee from Houston).
Heck, even Kevin Pritchard and Nate McMillan asked Brooks to take part in their draft workouts as the Blazers entertained a group of point guards, including Green whom they eventually selected.
We all know how that turned out.
Brooks was solid then. He’s even more legit now as a starter and as we flash forward to the playoffs against the Blazers. Gone is Alston. Gone is Head. Gone is Lucas. The Rockets belong to Brooks. No pressure there for a second-year point guard some didn’t even want the organization to take chance on in the first place (you know who you are).
"He's taken some heat because this is his team, because the ball is in his court so to speak,” Shane Battier told me recently for a HOOPSWORLD story I was doing on Brooks.
“When he plays well, we play well."
Game 1 proved that. Game 2 did too as Brooks wouldn’t stop launching from deep; and now with Houston heading home to entertain Portland for Game 3 and Game 4, go ahead and assume Brooks will remain poised in the most entertaining match-up out West in the first round.
They need Brooks.
Oh, and about that editor who was delusional and questioned the selection of the 6’0 point guard back in 2007 – he’s a big Aaron Brooks fan now.
Good call there cheif.
pic via: espn.com
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