UNC Basketball: Garrison Brooks receives early praise from ESPN

A UNC Basketball player received some early praise from ESPN ahead of the 2020-21 college basketball season this Fall

The 2020-21 college basketball season is a long ways away but it can’t get here soon enough for sports fans. Especially the North Carolina Tar Heels.

After a disappointing 2019-20 season in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels are hoping to reload with their Top 3 draft class and get back to being a top team in the nation. That draft class that features three five-star recruits will certainly help but the return of a few other key players could make the difference.

One of those players is Garrison Brooks who is set to return to Chapel Hill for his senior season, coming off his best year yet with the Tar Heels. Brooks averaged 16.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field last season, a big jump in his game from his sophomore year.

Now as players start to declare for the NBA Draft and leave their schools, ESPN decided to rank the 25 best players returning next season. Among them? Brooks who checked in at No. 22 on the list:

"Lost in the rubble of UNC’s worst season in a decade was the fact that Brooks played exceedingly well. His 30-point outburst in the Tar Heels’ 85-79 win at home over NC State late in the season offered a glimpse of what he can do in an era when the likes of Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson are no longer around to take those same shots. Brooks promptly followed that up with a 26-14 double-double in North Carolina’s 92-79 win at Syracuse. He could be poised for a senior season that will not be overlooked."

Brooks will be UNC’s best and most important player returning. With that impressive class coming in, the Tar Heels’ front court is expected to be among the best in all of college basketball. It will feature Brooks, Armando Bacot and recruits Walker Kessler and Day’Ron Sharpe. I imagine opposing teams will have a hard time rebounding against the Tar Heels.

As UNC looks to turn things around, Brooks just might be the biggest key for the Tar Heels next season. That will especially be the case if he takes another step forward and improves his game.

For more on Brooks and other UNC Basketball players, please check back with keeping it Heel.