Oregon’s Dillon Brooks is one of the best players left in the NCAA tournament. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season, leading the Ducks to a 29-5 record on the season and a 16-2 record in the conference. They finished tied atop the standings with Arizona, much thanks to Brooks.
Dillon Brooks is always in the middle of something for Oregon
Oregon’s star brings a lot to the hardwood.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The combo forward has great size at 6’7 and 215 pounds, presenting problems for any team. He’s obviously a great player, but there’s more to Dillon Brooks than just the guy who fills up the stats sheet.
He’s clutch, has been controversial at times, and is unapologetic in winning. Here’s what you need to know about Brooks.
He can bring you March Madness with his clutch shots
Brooks is obviously a great player, averaging 16.4 points per game and 3.1 rebounds on the year. But he’s great at coming up in big moments for Oregon.
In December, he handed then-No. 2 UCLA their first loss of the season with a buzzer-beater. The Ducks couldn’t have asked for a better start to Pac-12 play this season.
Then, in late February, Brooks hit yet another clutch three-pointer, this time against Cal.
He hit the defender with a hesitation, crossed over, and rose up for the game-winner on the road:
Brooks was making clutch shots during the regular season, and we all know what happens during March. If Brooks is able to come up with a clutch shot when Oregon needs it most, don’t let it come as a surprise to you.
Other things he does on the floor may grab attention as well
Brooks gave us an all-timer this season. It wasn’t a shot, or a statistic, or something you can put on paper. Rather, it was arguably the worst flop we’ve seen on a college basketball floor.
Against Utah, Brooks received minimal contact, and took two leaping hop-steps diving to the floor trying to draw the foul.
He’s also delivered a Draymond Green-esque kick to the groin, when the Ducks were taking on Washington State in January. The kick resulted in a flagrant 2 foul and an ejection after replay.
This isn’t to say that Brooks will do either of these exact things during the remainder of the Ducks’ time in the tournament, but if something were to occur, we’ve been in a similar place before.
He’s not going to worry about your feelings if he beats you
In last year’s NCAA tournament, Brooks and the Ducks knocked off Duke. As the clock was winding down, Brooks took a deep three-pointer before the shot clock expired, and nailed it.
After the final buzzer, Brooks and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski shook hands, and Krzyzewski said something to Brooks. Brooks told reporters, “He just told me that I’m too good of a player to be showing out at the end. And he’s right. I’ve got to respect Duke.”
Krzyzewski denied this initially, before the audio was separated, and you could clearly hear the comments. He would later apologize.
Based on the initial shot, clearly Brooks isn’t worried about making sure the opponent feels fine after the loss. He and the Ducks are going to try to beat you, and worry about nothing else.
Brooks is a great player that we’ll enjoy watching as long as Oregon is in the NCAA tournament. If he ends up playing your favorite team, you may not feel the same, but you have to respect his game.
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