Sports / Basketball |
Rockets' Brooks makes strong first impressionBy JONATHAN FEIGEN (Houston Chronicle )Updated: 2007-07-18 00:25 As rapidly as he had flashed any move on the Thomas & Mack court, Aaron Brooks was bouncing between confidence and self-criticism when Hornets coach Byron Scott made his way over and extended a right hand. "That's a good little player there," Scott said as Brooks stopped talking and started beaming. Brooks had impressively guided the Rockets through a 4-1 summer league run. Later Sunday night, he would be named the outstanding rookie in a 21-team league loaded with celebrated stars from Kevin Durant to Yi Jianlian to nearly every top pick taken long before the Rockets would select Brooks with the 26th choice in last month's NBA draft. But to Brooks, those few kind words from a man who was part of three 1980s championships with the Los Angeles Lakers said even more. "That's pretty phenomenal — unreal almost," Brooks said. "Every time, it's unreal. You work hard to get in that situation, but you never think it will happen. The odds are so slim. I'm just happy, elated really, that it is going well so far. I'm ready to go back and work again." Brooks generated little pre-draft speculation as a first-round pick of the Rockets, who were concerned that another team seeking the Oregon point guard's speed would move up just enough to grab him. In his first test at the controls of the Rockets' offense, he was one of the breakthrough players of the tournament. He averaged 21.4 points (on 46.1 percent shooting) and 5.2 assists in summer league play. But he insisted he was neither surprised nor satisfied, brimming with confidence from his success but also expecting more. "I learned some stuff," Brooks, 6-0, said. "I'm still not satisfied with the way I played. I made too many turnovers, but I'll be fine. "I'm a pretty confident guy. You can't be satisfied. I have the same confidence, but I know I have to come out and play every game and perform in practice. The league is different from this." Because the NBA is sufficiently different from its summer league, the Rockets will be cautious with their plans at point guard. As encouraged as they are with Brooks, he will have to find a place among veterans Mike James and Rafer Alston. "How we think about Aaron, how he fits in, isn't affected too much by summer league," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "We're excited about he how played, but we see him as someone who will help us over time. It certainly gives him a better chance to get on the floor by playing well here than not. "His shot's been really, really good. Obviously, a five-game sample isn't a big sample. We feel good about how he played. His decision-making still needs improvement, but he did what we hoped he'd do. He's got to continue to work and continue to show it. We have a good set of guards he's trying to break into." Brooks spoke about his decision-making after almost every game, but by the tournament's end, he had shown signs of growing into the job. "He always had confidence," Rockets summer league coach Elston Turner said. "He showed some composure. I could see him get a comfort zone with what he was running. He started to pick it up and pick his spots — when to make plays and use his speed. He wasn't all the way helter-skelter. He got us into stuff. That's what we needed from him. When we needed him to pick up the pace, he did exactly that. "He actually played like he's been in the league before, like a veteran would play. That's a real good sign for a young guy." A sign is all Brooks could hope for so early. He got many. But in another mix of confidence and criticism, he said he felt more comfortable in the NBA than in college but still had to become a different sort of player. "In the NBA game, speed is definitely to my advantage with the open floor," Brooks said. "I actually feel more comfortable here than I did in college because of them sagging in the lane. I just think I have to make better decisions. "I'm not saying I know everything or anything like that. I'm learning new stuff as I go along. There's a difference between a scoring point guard and a point guard that can score. I want to be a good point guard that can score. That's the transition that I'm making. I'm definitely capable of doing it. I'm not really concerned about it. It's just going to take some time." In light of Brooks' fast start, it might be a bit less time. |
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