After the weekend bonanza of two commitments from overseas, Penn earned itself another prized recruit when Henry Brooks officially declared himself a member of the Red and Blue.
“I’m ready to put in the work to take on any role,” said Brooks, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Miller Grove High School in Lithonia, Ga.
Just a day after coach Jerome Allen landed teammates Keelan Cairns and Simeon Esprit, the Quakers now have their sixth commit.
Brooks, who is a two-star recruit and ranked the seventy-fourth best forward by ESPN.com, will provide a solid inside presence for a program graduating big men Jack Eggelston, Conor Turley and Andreas Schreiber.
However, Brooks’ status for the beginning of next season is currently unknown.
Brooks tore his ACL in the quarterfinals of the state tournament and will have surgery in the coming weeks. He hasn’t set a firm timeline for his recovery with the Penn staff, but wants to play “hopefully next season.”
According to Miller Grove coach Sharman White, Brooks is a face-up big man who can shoot well from the three-point line and his ability to create mismatches will provide another scoring option for the Quakers.
“Normally I’m faster than a big [man] and when I’m bigger, I can create a size advantage,” Brooks said.
And defensively, his versatility will help Penn match up with more athletic teams.
“He can play both sides of the basketball,” White said. “He’s a great defender who can guard positions one through five.”
Brooks was a key component on the Miller Grove team that finished 32-1 and went on to win the Georgia AAAA state championship.
The forward drew looks from around the country — in addition to strong interest from Missouri, Mississippi State, Harvard and Boston College, Brooks even earned offers from Tubby Smith at Minnesota and Bruce Pearl at Tennessee.
“Penn was a better fit for me. It was more what I was looking for because I was stressing academics,” Brooks said. “I already believe in coach Allen. I think he can push me to be the best.”
In addition to his health, a few question marks remain.
According to White, Brooks must improve his strength. He also needs to improve his ball handling to supplement his scoring arsenal.
“The kid can really play,” White added. “I’m not pumping him up, he played a vital role in three straight championships … For Henry, the sky is the limit.”
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