About Me
Aaron Jamal Brooks, leading point guard for the Houston Rockets is truly a success story. However, Aaron went through multiple factors of hindrence that caused a delay in realizing his dream.
It started in the bowling alley where his parents met, he never expecting that was where he would learn the key elements to perfecting his overall game in any sport. Although he grew up in a single parent household Aaron always had the full support of both his parents as well as other family members, community leaders and his fellow peers. Aaron took an interest in basketball at the young age of six when he first tried out for the local community center basketball team. Surprisingly, neither Aaron nor his older brother AJ made the team, they were both cut. A person’s character may be innate but his support system gave him the motivation and self belief to achieve things that he never thought possible. Aaron’s mother, one of his major supporters, was shocked that a program would cut children so young. So she decided to make a team out of all the cut players. That team went on to win the championship. This tended to be trend throughout his life. Aaron was continually cut from teams, partly due to his height. His support system was there every time. In middle school a group of parents created a team called The Click. Coached by Aaron’s first cousin, Prince Moore, this team was also made up of children who had been cut from other teams. The Click soon became the best team at its age group in the City of Seattle, qualifying for the AAU National Tournament every year it competed.
In the years preceding high school, Aaron was a four sport athlete. Participating in track (competed in the Junior Olympics), football (his jersey was retired), basketball and bowling. When it came time for high school, Aaron had some choices to make. Although he enjoyed football and track, Aaron decided to focus solely on basketball. Freshmen year started off with a bit of a challenge. When his coaches learned that Aaron’s grades made him ineligible to play. He was at a standstill and was not even allowed to enter the gym during tryouts. Aaron decided not to give up, he pulled up his grades halfway through the season and showed the coaches that he was not only an amazing athlete but very intelligent as well. His persistence, hard work, and determination proved that he deserved a place on the team. Mid-season he became a starter for Junior Varsity at Franklin High School and shortly after he moved up to Varsity where he played the remainder of the season with his older brother AJ. Sophomore year he became a starter for the varsity team and by his senior year he led his team to the Washington 4A State Championship. By this time Aaron was a star athlete getting recognized nationally. In his senior year at Franklin High School Aaron was honored with a host of awards; Kingco League MVP, Star Times Selection, Seattle PI All-Area Team, Washington Gatorade Player of the Year, Washington State Mr. Basketball, All American, McDonald’s All American and EA Sports All American to name a few.
With scholarship offers coming from colleges all over the nation, Aaron narrowed his schools down to Washington, UCLA, Oregon, and Minnesota. Aaron did his research quickly and signed early with the University of Oregon. He saw the opportunity available to him, by working on a team with Luke Ridnour (a fellow Washingtonian) he knew he would learn and grow as a point guard. Unfortunately, Luke left Oregon his junior year, leaving Aaron to step up once again as the starting point guard. Although he missed 10 games due to a broken bone in his wrist, Brooks earned the PAC-10 All-Freshman honors. Sophomore year didn’t turn out as great for the Oregon Ducks as Aaron had planned, yet he still walked away with All Pac-10 honorable mention. The pivotal time in Aaron’s college career was his junior year. Due an incident at the end of his junior year, Aaron was suspended for two games. With the stress of his current situation and the fact that he was expecting his 1st child, Aaron was faced with some important decisions. Either Leave the University of Oregon and move back home to take care of his daughter or stay in Oregon. Aaron soon realized his dream, he decided that basketball wasn’t just a sport he played, but it would become a way of making a living for him and his new family. With this new mindset Aaron approached his senior year with mentalities that lead him to success. During his senior season, Aaron led the Ducks with victories over #1 ranked UCLA, Arizona, and Washington State. All three victories were game winning shots with less than 10 seconds remaining. Aaron ended his college career by leading the Ducks to a Pac-10 Championship and a trip to the elite 8, but most importantly he graduated with a Degree in Political Science.
On June 28, 2007, Brooks was picked 26th in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. 2 years later Aaron became a starter and became a major threat in the league. Helping the Rockets to the 2009 Western Conference semi-finals. Aaron realized this was the moment he had been waiting for: a career-high 34 points in Game 4 that tied the series at 2-2 against the L.A Lakers. The Lakers struggled to defend Brooks because of his speed, making it easy for him to maneuver through back court traps and hit shoots from the 3 point line, making more than 42% in the 2009 playoffs. With Aarons great offense and teamwork on defense the Houston Rockets pushed the series to 7 games. Although his team lost, Aaron saw it as another learning experience, helping him and his team for the next season.
