Marshon Brooks: Never in my life I’ve been so uncomfortable on the basketball court…smh

Books posted this via Facebook this afternoon after the rough 82-79 loss to Marquette.  Marshon has had his ups and downs this year, and whenever he seemed to start really heating up offensively he would hurt his ankle or get a real nasty case of the flu.  This game was definitely one of his worst of the season while completely healthy.  With the Friars a bucket away from completing an improbably comeback, Marshon tried to take his man off the dribble for a layup in the lane.  However, Brooks couldn’t finish, and was blocked by Marquette’s Darius-Johnson Odom.  Having such an off game, Brooks needs to find other ways to contribute to the team, such as stepping up on defense, or using his great driving ability to feed open teammates who are particularly feeling it that moment.  As much as I’ve killed Curry and even Greedy at times for taking bad shots, the ball had to be in one of their hands on that possession.

We’ve seen what Brooks is capable of the last few years, so let’s hope he can use this game as a turning point.  Let’s hope #2 gets more comfortable out there, because the Friars are going to need him next year if they want to compete in the BIG EAST.

Marshon Brooks just can’t catch a brake health-wise this season.  Just as he was finally getting back to putting up consistent numbers after the flu pretty much knocked him off his game for several weeks, his ankle problem popped up again for the 2nd time this season.  Back in mid-November, Marshon was having a superstar half against Mercer, putting up 22 first half points with spectacular shooting.  However, in the 2nd half he came down on someone’s foot and had to limp to the locker room. Since PC started to blow a big lead, Brooks actually had to come back into the game, but was largely ineffective.  He didn’t miss any games after that, but was clearly not 100% for the Alabama road loss.

This past Saturday against Rutgers, Brooks rolled his ankle again on a drive to the hoop in the 2nd half (he was on the ground for a bit).  Like the previous injury, Marshon was able to return to the game (which was encouraging because the game was never in danger…Oh Rutgers!), but anyone who has ever had an ankle injury knows the problem is at its worse when it’s sore the next few days.  According to his Facebook comments, Brooks has some pain, but he thinks he will not miss any time.

Elevation and Ice baby!

I think everyone agrees that the two big breaks from games this month for the Friars are going to be big.  The team has now played 11 games with each other, and now can really start to focus on improving their weaknesses before the BIG EAST season starts.

It also gives Marshon Brooks, who has struggled in the last several games, time to clear his head.  From his Facebook update earlier in the day:

Marshon Brooks Is being judged by EVERYONE so I gotta make a few changes in my life…..I need a break from “friartown”

As Kevin McNamara pointed out in his mid-term report card for the Friars, PC has lacked consistent leadership.  Marshon clearly has the talent capable of leading the team, so I think his struggles to close out OOC play will be a good wake up call to kick start the rest of his time as a Friar.  If he wants it, it’s there for the taking.

Since games haven’t been on real TV so far, there are basically no good highlights to see on the web.  Although the games have been on the web streams, the quality is usually pretty crappy and choppy.

I found this great video linked by Marshon himself on Facebook.  It’s a good look at the introductions, and some great plays to begin the game by Marshon.

WET!

This user has other great videos that I will continue to check as the season goes on.

Good job theoliver24!

H/T Marshon Brooks!