Dillon Brooks file

Class: Junior Position: Forward Height: 6 feet 7 inches Averages: 16.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals point allowing Oregon coaches to watch him alongside other Canadian national team members. Yep, he blew up. “I knew that I had potential to be a good player, and that summer proved it,” Brooks said. “Playing with NBA guys at (Findlay Prep), knowing how good they were, I learned a lot. On a team like that, some guys had to sacrifice, and I was one willing to do whatever the team needed. Those guys made me a lot better.”

Oregon of the Final Four is what everyone forecast, but expectations were tempered somewhat when Brooks broke a bone in his left foot over the summer and didn’t begin the season totally healthy. He missed the first three games, took awhile getting completely comfortable and then took off, averaging 16.3 points in a season in which he was named Pac-12 Player of the Year.

He also had the flop against Utah that was as ridiculous as it was funny, the groin kick at Washington State that got him tossed, the technical foul for taunting in an NCAA game against Rhode Island this season and the postgame scolding from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski after a Sweet 16 game last season, although that exchange proved to be an issue far more about the coach than the player.

One thing remains constant: Brooks plays as hard as anyone else.

He isn’t the most athletic, doesn’t have the best shot, won’t amaze anyone with his dribbling skills. NBA personnel are wondering the same things — what position is he, who can he guard, how will he translate — college coaches once did. He just scores and wins, is all. Always has. “He wills his way to a lot of baskets and great plays,” said Southern Utah coach Todd Simon, who was set to coach Brooks at Findlay Prep before taking an assistant’s job at UNLV. “They had All-Americans coming off the bench with those Findlay teams. Those were super talented kids.

“But his work ethic was