Prospect Spotlight: Brooks Ford (2018)
SPRINGFIELD — It’s not easy being a head coach’s son, but DeSmet guard Brooks Ford says he is out to prove people wrong. The son of St. Louis men’s basketball head coach Travis Ford, Brooks Ford has hit the ground…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingSPRINGFIELD — It’s not easy being a head coach’s son, but DeSmet guard Brooks Ford says he is out to prove people wrong.
The son of St. Louis men’s basketball head coach Travis Ford, Brooks Ford has hit the ground running with his new team after moving from Stillwater, Okla., where he averaged nearly 18 points per game last year.
Now 3-2, DeSmet took second at the MBCA Tournament in Springfield, then followed with a loss to CBC and a win over Parkway South. A 6’2, 185-pound 2018 shooting guard, Ford is averaging 10.6 points per game as he gets acclimated to a new team.
He has already made a team-high 12 3-pointers and is shooting better than 50 percent from the field while playing alongside Bradley recruit Ryan Stipanovich.
“I bring scoring to the table and I know my team depends on me to score each and every night,” he said. “They are dependent on me to be a shooter and I have grown up always being a shooter so I need to continue doing that.”
Ford says he enjoys watching LeBron James play and looks up to his mindset whenever the Cavs; great takes the court.
“I like how dominant he is and his mindset and he is out to prove everyone wrong,” Ford said. “And I am definitely out to prove people wrong. They look at me as just a shooter and I feel I am more than that.”
Ford said he spent the offseason focused on improving his ball handling as he played with the St. Louis Eagles.
“They need me to handle the ball more than I have in the past,” he said. “We were very successful and it was a great summer. Playing against some of the best players in the country, I definitely had to bring my ‘A’ game each and ever day.”
Ford says he is looking forward to playing St. Louis University on Dec. 22.
“They are our rival and there is always a lot of hype surrounding that game and it should be a lot of fun,” he said.
As you might expect, there wasn’t much hesitation when asked who has been the biggest influence on his basketball career. Ford was the head coach for Oklahoma State eight years before taking over at St. Louis and was a standout guard at the University of Kentucky.
“Definitely my dad, he taught me everything that I know and I grew up around him coaching basketball and obviously he still does,” Ford said. “He is always talking to me after a game and practices, everything.”
Ford he currently does not have any offers and has drawn some interest from St. Louis as well as some other smaller schools.