GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — By the end of the basketball season, Durral Brooks wasn’t practicing and couldn’t showcase his above-the-rim abilities.
But through his toughness and leadership, the Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior led the Cougars to a regional championship, and those qualities helped Brooks bring home another accolade in his illustrious high school basketball career.
The 6-foot-2 point guard and University of Michigan signee is the 2024 Michigan Associated Press Division 2 Player of the Year. He's the second consecutive Catholic Central senior to earn the award, following former teammate Kaden “KK” Brown who won the honor last year.
Despite missing five games due to a knee injury, Brooks led Catholic Central to a 20-6 record and became the Cougars’ first Mr. Basketball winner.
On a roster that featured five sophomores playing big minutes, Brooks led the Cougars in points (27.1) rebounds (7.8), assists (4.9) and steals (2.8) despite being the primary focus of every opponent’s scouting report and playing through a small tear in his patellar tendon.
“His leadership of a very young basketball team stood out,” Catholic Central coach TJ Meerman said. “His ability to play at such a high level when he really didn’t practice for the last two months of our season, and for him to be as productive on the court with a jumping restriction was incredible.
“Obviously, his sheer numbers – he’s our point guard, and he’s averaging eight rebounds a game – he was really doing it all for us.”
As a freshman, Brooks started on Catholic Central’s 2021 Division 2 state championship team. He helped the Cougars get back to the finals in 2022 playing alongside future Mr. Basketball finalists Jack Karasinski and Brown.
This year, Brooks didn’t have an All-State sidekick, which forced him bring his best game every time he took the court.
“I think it was different because we had a lot of young guys on our team, so I had to step up more in a leadership role,” Brooks said. “It’s different not having Jack or KK or my brother (Jorden Brooks) or Luka (Ressler) or someone like that, where if I had an off game, I always had them to fall back on.
“This year, it was kind of like I always had to be on-point every single game in order for our team to work together and have that chemistry we usually have.”
The rest of the Division 2 All-State team includes Onsted’s Ayden Davis, Warren Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell, Chelsea teammates Jake Stephens and Joey Cabana, Adrian’s Stevie Elam, Grand Rapids South Christian’s Carson Vis, Whitehall’s Cam Thompson, Dundee’s Braiden Whitaker, Grand Rapids Christian’s Jaylan Ouwinga, Ludington’s David Shillinger, Benton Harbor’s Josiah King, Parchment’s Jalen Kampen and Saginaw Arthur Hill’s Lyna Brooks.
Grand Rapids Christian’s Eric Taylor was named the Coach of the Year.
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