TORONTO — On Saturday afternoon Dillon Brooks climbed into a black luxury SUV outside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Wellington Street in downtown Toronto and headed to the furthest reaches of the city.
He was speaking to a group of basketball players at Father Henry Carr Secondary School at Martingrove and Finch.
Growing up he would make a trip from just as far but in more modest circumstances and from the other direction. He would wake early from his home in northwest Mississauga, and take three busses to get to the longtime high school basketball power in time.
It’s been a while since he’s been back. He noticed the new scoreboard and new paint. But in the faces looking up from the floor of his old gym him he saw a familiar look – an eagerness to figure out how to get better, how to climb to new heights.
Brooks recognized the look because he still has it. The 22-year-old has had a nearly out-of-body experience the past few days. A rookie with the Memphis Grizzlies, Brooks has spent all day Friday and Saturday in his hometown in advance of Sunday afternoon’s game against the Toronto Raptors.
He could barely believe where he was and why.
“When I came to my first game at the Air Canada Centre watching Vince [Carter], I was just a fan,” he said. “I never thought I would be on the court playing here. It feels so surreal. I have so much family and friends here and so much support from Canada, it’s a great moment.”
[snippet id=3636937]
The outcome was like so many for the struggling Grizzlies – or almost anyone coming to the ACC this season. The Raptors improved to 36-16 and 21-4 at home with a business-like 101-86 win that ensured that Raptors star Kyle Lowry could make his planned getaway to Minnesota to watch his beloved Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
The Grizzlies, their season ruined by injuries, fell to 18-34.
But Brooks — the 45th player taken in the 2017 draft after a standout three-year college career that ended after he led the Oregon Ducks to their first Final Four since 1939 – was able to demonstrate why he’s become a valued piece as the Grizzlies work to rebuild on the fly. He battled some foul trouble but still chipped in 12 points on 10 shots while helping hold the Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan to 13 points on 14 shots – 12 points below his season average.
“He’s really a confident player,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “Even before some of the injuries and the Tyreke Evans situation, he was still taking important shots, and making them, and playing aggressive with a lot of confidence. I think a lot of it has to do with being a four-year player, being an older player. I was really impressed the way he plays, the way he shoots the ball. He knows how to play, and I think a lot of it is maturity.”
[snippet id=3360195]
There were 13 Canadians on NBA rosters at the start of the season but Brooks is in rare company as one of the few Canadians to become a starter in his rookie season, an even more impressive feat considering he didn’t have the weight of being a lottery pick like Andrew Wiggins or Tristan Thompson.
Brooks became a starter eight games into his NBA career and hasn’t looked back.
He showed why with 50 friends and family on hand at the as he hit a pair of triples early and was a defensive nuisance against DeRozan in a rare noon start slated to accommodate the Super Bowl.
“It came quicker than I thought,” Brooks said of his arrival as a starter with Memphis. “But even though it might look smooth from the outside, it’s been hard battling with these guys, trying to prove myself every day, but it came fast, eight games into the season they put me in the starting lineup and I never looked back. With all these injuries [we’ve had] I’ve had a lot of opportunity to showcase myself and help win games.”
Brooks recognizes his good fortune. So often NBA success hinges on the situation you land in and the opportunities that arrive – provided you’re ready for them. His old CIA Bounce pal Tyler Ennis was in Toronto last week with the Los Angeles Lakers and between his own injury problems and the depth at point guard, he’s run into in stops in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Houston and now with the Lakers. Ennis has made just 21 starts in four seasons.
Brooks, who is shooting 39 per cent from three for the season while proving himself able to defend a variety of wing matchups, made his 44th start since the beginning of November against the Raptors.
“Opportunity is real thin, you can see that in any organization, you always have to be ready, you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “An injury could happen, your opportunity could come and if you’re not ready you’re going to lose it. That’s what everyone told from the beginning, even before I got into the NBA. This business is about opportunities and you might only get one or two tries at it, so be ready.”
It was that urgency he tried to convey when he spoke at his old high school Saturday.
“My message to them was, regardless of the hype, regardless of anything it’s all about yourself, making that commitment to getting better. Ask yourself: ‘How am I going to get better? How am I going to get to this point?’ No one is going to tell you, no one is going to push you except for yourself,” he said.
“When I went to [Father Henry Carr] I had to wake up at 6:30 in the morning and take three busses just to get there for basketball. It was a commitment and I had the discipline to want to get better every single day.”
He can still remember the bus route he took – the 61 Mavis to Derry Rd to get the 42 Derry to Westwood Mall and the 22 Finch to Carr.
It was a long trip, both ways. But on Saturday he didn’t have to take public transit, and on Sunday he arrived.
[relatedlinks]
