North Carolina Basketball: 2017-18 Grades for the Tar Heels

Garrison Brooks: The big guy was the highest rated front court player in North Carolina’s 2017 recruiting class. Garrison Brooks was a four-star ranked 131 in the country and 32 among power forwards. Brooks was one of the leading candidates for Tar Heel big men to get playing time with four key forwards leaving last year.

Brooks started the first 16 games. North Carolina thrives on controlling the glass and kicking it out to their shooters. He did alright holding his own, but the team faced a crossroads at the beginning of January. Cam Johnson finally found himself at full strength and Roy Williams decided that going big wasn’t working out.

He and Sterling Manley were able to keep it together just enough to have another great regular season. Brooks never went over eight rebounds in a game this season. And he only did that once. Then once the NCAA Tournament came around, the lack of production in the paint really made a difference.

Brooks and Manley seemed to have the same type of season. Really the only reason North Carolina chose to keep Brooks in the lineup though is because he was the higher rated freshman. Brooks had the potential to breakout. It never happened. At six-foot-nine, he’s a body, but he wasn’t your typical paint presence you’re used to seeing for North Carolina.