Michael Anthony Brooks (August 17, 1958 – August 22, 2016) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He also held French nationality. At , he played as a forward.

College career

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private university, private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Bapt ...

, Brooks racked up 2,628 points and 1,372 rebounds as an Explorer, leading La Salle to the NCAA Tournament in 1978 and 1980 and earning Big 5 MVP honors during those same years. He was named College Player of the Year in 1980. He is currently the 28th leading scorer in the history of the NCAA. He was inducted into the La Salle Hall of Athletes in 1985 and the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1986.

Professional career

NBA

Brooks was selected by the San Diego Clippers with the 9th overall pick of the

1980 NBA draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selectin ...

. In the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, Brooks played for the Clippers (1980–84),

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

(1986–87) and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

(1987–88) in 319 games over six seasons. Brooks suffered a leg injury that kept him from playing for two years from 1984 to 1986.

CBA

Brooks played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) for the

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

from 1986 to 1988. He was selected as the CBA Most Valuable Player and named to the All-CBA First Team and All-Defensive Team in 1988. Brooks also appeared in the 1988 CBA All-Star Game where he was selected as Most Valuable Player.

France

He played in France for

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

from 1988 to 1992, winning the French national championship in 1989 and 1990. He was named Foreign Player MVP of the French league in 1991 and 1992. After leaving Limoges, Brooks had stints with other French teams, Levallois and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. His best stats in the French league came in the 1990–91 season, when he averaged 21.4 points and 10.3 rebounds a game for Limoges.

National team career

Brooks played with Team USA at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

's 1979 tournament. Brooks was chosen to be the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

of the USA's

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

team, but he was unable to compete, due to the

1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was the largest boycott in Olympic history and one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summ ...

. In 2007, he received one of 461

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s, created especially for the spurned athletes.

Personal life

Brooks moved to Switzerland in 2005, where he worked as a

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. He had five children – Michael Johnson-Brooks, Athena Brooks, Julien Brooks, Jasper Brooks, and Sacha Brooks. He died on August 22, 2016, at the age of 58, after suffering a massive stroke. Brooks was also survived by his mother and two younger sisters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Michael 1958 births 2016 deaths Albany Patroons players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Charlotte Hornets expansion draft picks Congressional Gold Medal recipients Denver Nuggets players French men's basketball players Naturalized citizens of France Indiana Pacers players La Salle Explorers men's basketball players Levallois Sporting Club Basket players Limoges CSP players Basketball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball Metropolitans 92 players San Diego Clippers draft picks San Diego Clippers players SIG Strasbourg players Small forwards United States Basketball League players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century French sportsmen