SIU men's basketball legend Darren Brooks was formally inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame Friday morning during a ceremony in St. Louis.
The St. Louis native is the only player in Valley history to win the league's top player and Defensive Player of the Year honor two times, sweeping the awards in 2004 and 2005.
Brooks thanked his coaches, teammates and the fans for helping with his success. While in Carbondale, the Salukis won four-straight regular-season Conference titles, made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and won three NCAA Tournament games.
"I remember after we played Georgia in the NCAA Tournament, we got to the airport in Marion and we see all these people. We go inside and see almost the whole town of Carbondale there at 1 in the morning, celebrating with us, high-fiving, taking pictures, that newspaper print 'Sweet 16.'"
Brooks finished his career ranked fifth in all-time scoring at SIU; he remains the school's career steals leader and he ranks fourth in career assists.
He currently is an athletics director and K-12 teacher in the Dallas area where he lives with his wife and four daughters. He also operates the Brooks Basketball Academy.
