Darren Brooks

Darren Darnell Brooks (born August 28, 1982) is an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" 205 pound (93 kg) point guard / shooting guard, Brooks' professional career began in 2005–06 and has taken him to numerous countries and leagues around the world. He is best known in the United States for his collegiate career at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU), here he was the back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. He now coaches high school basketball at the charter school, High Point Academy and has his own basketball academy.

Early life and personal Brooks was born in St. Louis, Missouri to parents Jacqueline, who is a real estate agent, and Thomas, who works for Boeing. He was a multi-sport star athlete at Jennings High School while playing quarterback for the football team, pitcher and shortstop for the baseball team, and as an undersized center for the basketball team.

He played QB on his high school football team and was named Player of the Year in the conference. He also led the league in passing yards and TD passes and it was said he can throw a football 60+ yards. Both Wisconsin and Iowa asked him to walk-on and play QB for their schools. He also played shortstop and pitcher in high school. The Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks tried to persuade him to play pro baseball, but he decided to stick with basketball.

Despite being only 6'3", Brooks was utilized as an undersized center. During his 1999–2000 senior season, he averaged 25.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and guided his school to a 26–8 record where they lost in the state's 3A semifinals. In a first round match-up of the 2002 NCAA Tournament he scored 16 points as #11 SIU upset #6 Texas Tech, 76–68. His 62 total steals were the most in the Missouri Valley Conference and the second most in school history, SIU qualified for that year's NCAA Tournament but lost in the opening round.

Brooks' junior year saw him earn his first of two MVC Player of the Year and MVC Defensive Player of the Year awards as well as selections to the All-Defensive Team, First Team All-Conference and All-MVC Tournament Team. Appearing in only six games, he then left the squad and signed with the Polish team Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski.

The following year, Brooks traveled to Australia to play for the Perth Wildcats in the National Basketball League. He had a successful tenure with the Wildcats – he appeared in 34 games and averaged 15.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His steals average was the second highest in the league. Brooks shot 49% from the field and 40% from three-point range. In May 2007, he temporarily signed with Atléticos de San Germán of Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional, appearing in only nine games.

For the 2007–08 season he traveled to Germany for a stint on BG Göttingen, a team that competes in the Basketball Bundesliga. In 33 games he averaged 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Once again, Brooks left after one year. He then suited up for APOEL B.C. in Cyprus but only played in the 2009–10 preseason.