Canadian Brooks learning NBA ropes in Memphis

For many players, it’s quite often more about where you get drafted than when your name is called on draft night.

Mississauga, Ont., native and Oregon product Dillon Brooks is among that group.

Brooks wasn’t a high pick coming out of college. He was selected 45th overall by Houston and immediately dealt to Memphis. In Memphis, he has found the kind of opportunity any young player coming into the NBA would cherish.

Not only is Brooks logging major minutes in his first year as a pro, he is doing it in the starting five. It would be tough to find a better landing place for a young athletic wing trying to make his name in the league.

“The coaches believe in me and my abilities,” the six-foot-six small forward/shooting guard said. “It’s a lot to handle right now and a lot of guys are demanding a lot from me. So it’s a great experience and great thing that I got the chance to start early in my career and get a real taste of the NBA.”

When Brooks talks about “a lot to handle,” he’s referring to a midseason coaching change. Head coach David Fizdale was replaced by interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Nov. 27, one night after a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Brooks has no issues with Bickerstaff and has remained in the starting five through the coaching change, but what he lost in Fizdale was a guy he had come to lean on quite a bit.

“I was really close with coach Fiz,” Brooks said. “We talked a lot about the game and hung out a lot off court, so it is tough to see coach leave ... I feel like as a rookie I have already been through maybe like five years of the NBA. Coach getting fired, the changes that created, my point guard getting injured, so I feel like I’m five years in.”

Point guard Mike Conley’s injury put this team in a nose dive. Losing is something else Brooks didn’t experience a lot at Oregon.

Just staying positive has been a challenge, but Brooks has plenty of veterans to help him through it. If he’s not going to Marc Gasol or Conley, he has guys like Mario Chalmers and Chandler Parsons.

“When it gets too much, I talk to those guys about staying consistent,” Brooks said. “The thing they tell me most is not to create bad habits through all this losing and stuff.”

Brooks came out of the gate extremely hot, going off for a Canadian record in an NBA regular-season debut with 19 points in a win over New Orleans.

There have been some leaner times since, but Brooks has kept his head up and battled through.