{"id":19823,"date":"2021-04-02T11:46:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=19823"},"modified":"2021-04-02T11:46:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-02T16:46:14","slug":"when-houston-and-baylor-meet-in-the-final-four-it-will-be-father-vs-son-on-the-sidelines-uh-assistant-alvin-brooks-named-next-lamar-university-head-basketball-coach-congrats-to-both-head-coach-alv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=19823","title":{"rendered":"When Houston and Baylor meet in the Final Four, it will be father vs. son on the sidelines: UH assistant Alvin Brooks named next Lamar university head basketball coach, CONGRATS TO BOTH HEAD COACH ALVIN BROOKS II, AND SON, ALVIN BROOKS III"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Baylor-Houston has father-son matchup of assistant coaches<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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It also pits father against son.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Alvin Brooks is an assistant coach at Houston. Alvin Brooks III holds the same position at Baylor. They face off Saturday in an NCAA Tournament semifinal that has both of them scrambling to get as many tickets as possible for relatives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve received a lot of texts, a lot of calls, and I\u2019m sure you have, too,\u201d Alvin Brooks III said to his father Tuesday at a joint Zoom session with reporters. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to figure out how we\u2019re going to make it work.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Those relatives could have divided loyalties. The elder Brooks said a niece is having T-shirts made that are red on one side and green on the other to enable family members to show support for both sides.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This matchup is unexpected because Alvin Brooks III never planned on coaching at all even though his dad had made a career of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The elder Brooks was Houston\u2019s head coach from 1993-98 and has worked as an assistant coach or director of operations at several schools since, including stints on Billy Gillispie\u2019s staffs at UTEP, Texas A&M and Kentucky. He returned to Houston as an assistant coach in 2010 and has been there ever since.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He started this second stint at Houston working on James Dickey\u2019s staff and stayed after Kelvin Sampson took over in 2014.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brooks III praises his dad for not trying to get him to follow a similar path.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe never pushed me to play a sport at all and allowed me to kind of grow and do what I love to do,\u201d Brooks III said. \u201cI actually never wanted to be a coach, so he never really brought me around the gym as much because he wanted me to be a kid and enjoy it organically.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Brooks III changed his mind about coaching while hanging out with former NBA player Rashard Lewis, who served as the best man at his wedding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI was in Seattle with him for about two months,\u201d Brooks III said. \u201cAt that time, I was working in the finance industry. I was miserable. I was chasing money, to be honest with you. I thought I was going to be a millionaire. I thought I was going to manage athletes\u2019 money and be a millionaire. I found out that wasn\u2019t my calling. I would go watch him practice and go to his games.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watching those practices and games helped Brooks III realize he wanted to coach.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When he told his dad, the elder Brooks told him to wait a couple of weeks first to make sure the interest was more than just a phase. The elder Brooks then encouraged his son to work his way up through the junior-college ranks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe actually had an offer to a Division I school from a friend of mine initially, first coming out,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cI said, \u2018No, he can\u2019t accept that. He ain\u2019t ready. He needs to go figure out what to do.\u2019”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brooks III, one of five siblings, started out at Arkansas-Fort Smith and Midland College before joining Division I staffs at Bradley and Sam Houston State. He worked four seasons on Bruce Weber\u2019s staff at Kansas State before coming to Baylor in 2016.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now father and son face off on the game\u2019s biggest stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been on opposing teams before. Brooks III\u2019s Sam Houston State teams lost to Brooks\u2019 Houston squads a couple of times. Brooks also was at Baylor in 2017 when the Bears lost to Houston in a preseason scrimmage for hurricane relief.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, this time the stakes are much higher. That could limit the conversations between Brooks and Brooks III, who typically talk to each other every day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cStarting Wednesday, Thursday, we\u2019ll probably be locked in and won\u2019t talk as much,\u201d the elder Brooks said. \u201cWe\u2019ll talk in passing and get ready to play. It\u2019s all love, but he\u2019s as competitive as I am.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Brooks family reunion at the Final Four<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Alvin Brooks III and his father will coach against each other in the Final Four on Saturday when Baylor plays Houston<\/strong><\/div>\n
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INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 It’s a special day for Baylor University, its players and coaches as the Bears get ready o play in their first Final Four since 1950. It will be even more special for assistant coach Alvin Brooks III.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When he looks down the line on Saturday at the University of Houston bench, he will see his father there, Alvin Brooks II, who is an assistant for the Cougars.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Obviously meeting up at the final four is a blessing,” Brooks III said.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His father, the former head coach at Houston in the 90s and now a long-time assistant, is the reason that he even got into college coaching. Despite not really hanging around the gym where his dad would coach, Brooks III decided to pursue the profession himself despite being in the world of finance.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhen I called him to be a coach, he actually told me no,” Brooks II said. “[He said] ‘Call him back in two weeks, so, he\u2019s definitely allowed me to make my own path.’\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite his dad having connections in the college and NBA realm, he wanted Brooks III to figure it out on his own. Brooks III’s mother passed when his son was just 18, but she swore her grandson would follow in his father’s footsteps.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMy mother, when she passed l was 18, always said \u2018Al\u2019s going to be a coach. He\u2019s going to be a college coach and he\u2019s going to be a good college coach,'” Brooks II said.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After that call, Brooks III thought he had it made, but his dad was going to make him work for it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Those two weeks I went and watched almost every Seattle Sonics practice and every game until he called me and said, \u2018I think you may have an opportunity to go to junior college.\u2019 And I said, \u2018Junior college? You\u2019re at Texas A&M, why can\u2019t I go with you.'”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Now the two are best friends and both of their coaching careers have panned out to be successful. On Sunday, one of them will get to add a notch to their belt with a trip to the National Championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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