Wednesday, December 22, 1999
Living a good life
Former Punahou star Brandon
By Cindy Luis
Brooks finds success at UCLA
in water polo and basketball
Star-BulletinLife is good. And it seemingly keeps getting better every day for Brandon Brooks.
In his first 10 weeks as a freshman at UCLA, the Punahou School product has earned:
"In a word, my life is perfect,'' said Brooks, who saw action in the final 2:51 of yesterday's 83-62 victory over Maine at Cannon Activities Center. "I don't see how it can get any better. I keep pinching myself every couple of weeks. It's just fantastic.''A national championship ring as the starting goalie for the Bruin water polo team;
The Bruins (5-1) looked pretty good as well yesterday in the opener of the Pearl Harbor Classic. Unveiling new dark blue road uniforms, UCLA trailed Maine early, 12-8, before reserve guard Ryan Bailey sparked a 35-11 run that had the Bruins leading, 43-23 at halftime.
UCLA advances to tonight's 6 p.m. semifinal against Colorado State, a 90-46 winner over Florida A&M. In the 8 p.m. semifinal, San Jose State takes on South Florida.
Today's games began with a 1 p.m. contest between Maine and Florida A&M. At 3 p.m., host BYU-Hawaii, which lost to CSU, 75-56, faces The Citadel, a 98-72 loser to South Florida.
Brooks had expected to be in the stands today to watch UCLA. Up until two weeks ago, his prospects of being a two-sport athlete looked dim and he had made plans to return home to Hawaii after finals.
But after watching the injury-decimated Bruins (eight players suited up) fall to Gonzaga, 59-43, on Dec. 12, Brooks decided to again approach UCLA coach Steve Lavin about walking on. There were some NCAA regulations over scholarships to work out as well as an understanding with the Bruins' water polo coach, but things fell into place for the Star-Bulletin's Mr. Basketball.
The 6-foot-6 forward was on the bench during for the Dec. 18 victory over DePaul and "Brandon is now 2-0 with us,'' said Lavin after yesterday's win. "Water polo players have brought us good luck. Dave Parker (another water polo player) was with us two years ago and we got to the Elite Eight.
"What has impressed me the most about Brandon is he hasn't been in awe or intimidated by our players or the experiences of practicing with 11 (NCAA basketball) championship banners hanging over his head. Most freshmen walk-ons are intimidated but he came to us already as a member of a UCLA national championship team.''
Lavin said he was surprised how Brooks could make the transition from the pool to the basketball court so quickly. Brooks was surprised to be in that position at all.
The Olympic water polo prospect was supposed to red-shirt this season, but when senior goalie Parson Bonderson was injured midway through the season, Brooks was tossed into the deep end of the pool.
He didn't sink. Instead the Bruins went 12-1 with Brooks in goal, including winning their third NCAA title in five years. Brooks had a career-high 11 saves and knocked down a two-point shot by Stanford with six seconds left to preserve a 6-5 victory.
Yesterday, Brooks had a rebound and a shot attempt as his teammates tried to get him the ball in the waning moments of the game.
"He's a great person to have on the team,'' said freshman forward Jason Kapono, who shared team-high scoring honors of 15 points with 6-11 sophomore Jerome Moiso. "He's a great student, studies hard, works hard, plays hard.
"It's nice to have someone who knows his way around Hawaii, too.''
Nate Fox led Maine with 23 points.
Brooks said he didn't care if he got to play the rest of the tournament this week. Or if this is his only year to play basketball as the pressures of concentrating on water polo mount.
"I'm not focusing too much on the future,'' he said. "I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now."
NO. 18 UCLA 83, Maine 62
UCLA: Moiso 7-15 0-0 15, Kapono 5-11 2-3 15, Gadzuric 6-8 2-3 14, Young 2-4 2-2 7, Watson 2-8 2-2 6, Knight 3-8 0-0 8, Bailey 2-3 0-0 4, Hines 2-3 0-1 4, Barnes 4-6 0-0 8, Farnham 1-2 0-0 2, Brooks 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-69 8-11 83.
MAINE: Fox 9-12 5-6 23, Dunkley 4-10 1-2 10, Jackson 1-4 0-0 2, Bedard 2-7 0-0 6, Dye 8-18 0-0 19, Waterman 0-0 1-3 1, Thibodeau 0-3 0-0 0, Haynes 0-1 0-0 0, Croom 0-0 1-2. Totals 24-55 8-13 62.
Halftime--UCLA 43, Maine 23. 3-Point goals--UCLA 7-13 (Kapono 3-4, Knight 2-4, Moiso 1-1, Young 1-2, Bailey 0-1, Barnes 0-1), Maine 6-23 (Dye 3-9, Bedard 2-5, Dunkley 1-4, Fox 0-1, Jackson 0-1, Tibodeau 0-3). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--UCLA 48 (Barnes 10), Maine 23 (Dunkley 8). Assists--UCLA 21 (Watson 10), Maine 17 (Bedard 13). Total fouls--UCLA 13, Maine 14. A--NA
San Jose State 75, BYU-Hawaii 56: Darnell Williams led the Spartans (6-4) with 18 points and 12 rebounds. David Evans had 16 points for the Seasiders (6-3).
SAN JOSE ST.: Williams 9-14 0-0 18, Landram 5-13 3-4 16, Griffin 4-4 1-1 9, Egans 5-12 0-0 11, Powell 2-4 2-4 7, Sanders 3-7 0-0 7, Collins 2-2 1-2 5, Lilly 0-1 0-0 0, Felder 0-0 2-4 2, Blunt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 30-58 9-15 75
BYU-HAWAII: Evans 6-12 3-3 16, Isom 3-6 0-0 6, Baldwin 4-5 2-2 10, Barton 1-3 0-0 3, Joyce 4-11 0-0 8, Villa 1-1 0-0 2, Fripp 0-1 0-0 0, Lynn 0-1 0-0 0, Daley 1-3 0-0 3, Skinner 0-1 2-2 2, Stilson 0-4 2-2 2, Higby 0-1 1-4 1, Turley 1-4 0-0 3. Totals: 21-53 10-13 56
Halftime--San Jose St. 38, BYU-Hawaii 19. 3-Point goals--San Jose St. 6-14 (Landram 3-9, Sanders 1-1, Powell 1-1, Egans 1-2, Lilly 0-1), BYU-Hawaii 4-19 (Barton 1-2, Turley 1-2, Daley 1-3, Evans 1-5, Lynn 0-1, Skinner 0-1, Joyce 0-5). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--San Jose St. 35 (Williams 12), BYU-Hawaii 30 (Baldwin 6). Assists--San Jose St. 12 (Sanders 4), BYU-Hawaii 10 (Stilson, Baldwin 2). Total fouls--San Jose St.19, BYU-Hawaii 14. A--NA.
South Florida 98, The Citadel 72: B.B. Waldon and Altron Jackson combined for 52 points as the Bulls (5-2) routed the Bulldogs (3-7). Michael Joseph led the Citadel with 22 points .
CITADEL: Shiver 3-8 2-2 8, Puckett 3-5 0-0 9, Washburn 2-3 2-4 6, Cantrell 2-5 4-4 10, Roy 0-2 0-0 0, Krywonis 1-3 0-0 2, Wormley 1-5 1-2 3, Milford 0-2 3-5 3, Joseph 8-10 3-3 22, Jones 2-3 2-2 6, Walters 1-1 1-1 3. Totals: 23-47 18-23 72
SOUTH FLORIDA: Waldon 12-15 5-8 31, Smith 3-9 2-4 9, Jackson 10-14 1-3 21, Johnson 3-6 1-2 8, Kohn 0-2 0-0 0, Sanders 1-1 0-2 2, Dawson 1-5 2-2 4, Reeves 4-9 5-7 13, Asbury 2-4 0-0 4, McDonald 1-2 4-4 6. Totals: 37-67 20-32 98
Halftime--South Florida 40, Citadel 30. 3-Point goals--Citadel 8-17 (Joseph 3-4, Puckett 3-5, Cantrell 2-4, Wormley 0-1, Milford 0-1), South Florida 4-12 (Waldon 2-2, Smith 1-3, Johnson 1-3, Dawson 0-1, Jackson 0-1, Kohn 0-2). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Citadel 30 (Joseph 7), South Florida 33 (Reeves, Waldon 6). Assists--Citadel 7 (Milford 3), South Florida 12 (Smith, Kohn 3). Total fouls--Citadel 25, South Florida 21. A--NA.
Colorado State 90, Florida A&M 46: Ron Grady scored 18 points to lead the Rams (5-3).
FLORIDA A&M: Grant 1-3 0-0 3, Rhodes 0-3 4-4 4, Cisse 2-3 1-2 5, Hemphill 1-6 2-2 4, Shipp 1-11 2-2 4, Walker 2-3 2-2 6, Johnson 1-3 0-2 2, Scott 1-7 1-4 3, Jenkins 1-1 0-2 2, Green 1-5 1-1 4, Hill 3-5 3-9 9. Totals: 14-50 16-30 46
COLORADO ST.: Patik 4-5 2-2 11, Goodwyn 5-8 2-4 15, Ford 3-4 5-8 11, Palmer 1-2 0-0 3, Sivesind 5-10 0-0 11, Grady 7-9 2-3 18, Birley 1-4 0-0 3, Harris 2-6 2-4 6, Martin 2-3 4-4 8, Greene 1-2 0-0 2, Fisher 1-2 0-1 2. Totals: 32-55 17-36 90
Halftime--Colorado St. 47, Florida A&M 22. 3-Point goals--Florida A&M 2-18 (Green 1-2, Grant 1-2, Rhodes 0-1, Scott 0-3, Hemphill 0-4, Shipp 0-6), Colorado St. 9-18 (Goodwyn 3-3, Grady 2-3, Palmer 1-2, Patik 1-2, Birley 1-3, Sivesind 1-5). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Florida A&M 26 (Cisse 6), Colorado St. 42 (Patik 9). Assists--Florida A&M 3 (Scott 2), Colorado St. 18 (Grady, Palmer, Harris, Sivesind 3). Total fouls--Florida A&M 23, Colorado St. 25. A--NA.
