The man who originally went undrafted, later on played not only at the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) but also with the NBA league lasting 11 seasons still maintains his boyish looks and youthful charm. Scott Brooks has all the compliments as he serves as a head coach to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who plays in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in NBA.
The 44 year-old coach took his team from 23-59 last year to a 7-7 this season focusing on defense. Brooks was somehow an unavoidable choice for the position of head coach for the team, being well-known and a league-favorite. He is known to find the 25th hour in his daily schedule to tend to important issues. He is a good communicator with the team and is always available for his players. The current team is a mixture of newbies and some of the talented lot which requires an experienced coach to handle them in a bunch. Having no prior experience to run a team, Brooke seems to be doing more than just fine.
Picking up Brook against any other veteran coach is something the members could well expect from the program. The team has earlier made some eye-catching decisions that could have run against them, but the team managed to pull them all up. Earlier on, the team management had hired 30-year old Sam Presti as general manager, also risked staring Russell Westbrook as a point-guard when he had no experience of the same, and a few more.
Though not having served officially, Brook had earlier served as an interim coach for the Thunders when head coach P.J. Carlesimo was fired in November 2008. The Thunders were left with strong players like Westbrooke, jeff Green and Durrant. The team went on from 1-12 to 22-47 which also included the 15-17 records from December 2008 till March 2009. “I point to his commitment and belief in the vision that we have for the team,” Presti said in support of Brooks.
Brooks spent the next summer doing what he thought was the best thing to do for the team at that time. He and his assistants visited coaches from around the country to know more about the game and how to get better at it. “I’ve always wanted to coach,” he expressed. “I love the game. I loved it as a player. I had the best job in the world playing, and now I have the second-best job. I knew early on. I didn’t think I would play 11 years. I made it, I got lucky. I’ve been blessed. I was able to play a long time and I learned a lot of different philosophies along the way. I’ve been around some great, terrific coaches. I still pick their brains when I see them. It’s important for me to get better. I don’t have all the answers with our group. They understand that all of us have to get better, myself and our team. But it’s a great opportunity.”
Presently, Brook is working hard to make sure he gives out his best to the team. “My job is to continue to develop and teach with a plan in place and sticking by it” Brooke spoke like a veteran.