Men's Basketball | August 23, 2016

Philly.com Obituary | Philadelphia Daily News: Brooks among best ever at La Salle | 1980 Sports Illustrated article

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle University is mourning the passing of one of its all-time greatest men's basketball players, Michael Brooks '80, who passed away on Monday in Switzerland at the age of 58. 

Mr. Brooks was the 1980 National Player of the Year and a First Team All-American as a senior after averaging 24.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. He was also the captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic basketball team that boycotted the Moscow games. 

A Philadelphia native (West Catholic High School), Mr. Brooks scored 2,628 points as an Explorer and grabbed 1,372 rebounds. He broke Tom Gola's school record of 2,461 career points during his senior year and currently stands second behind Lionel Simmons (3,217 points) in school history.

Mr. Brooks is one of four players in NCAA history with at least 2,600 points and 1,300 rebounds (Simmons, Oscar Robertson, Elvin Hayes, and David Robinson). He set the school record of 51 points in a game on December 15, 1979 at BYU.

For his career, he averaged 23.1 points per game and 12.0 rebounds per game.

He led La Salle to the NCAA Tournament in 1978 and 1980 and was the Big 5 MVP during both seasons.

His #32 jersey was retired and hangs in the rafters of Tom Gola Arena. Mr. Brooks was named to the La Salle Hall of Athletes in 1985 and the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1986.

Mr. Brooks was selected by the San Diego Clippers with the ninth overall pick of the 1980 NBA Draft and played for six seasons in the NBA with San Diego (1980-84), Indiana (1986-87), and Denver (1987-88). He then embarked on an outstanding career in Europe, playing from 1988-96 in France. He led Limoges to two French League titles. He returned to the court in 2006 at the age of 48 and played two seasons with Strasbourg, also in France.

Most recently, he was the basketball coach for the Blonay Basketball Club in Switzerland.