Delray Brooks

Like Andre Harris, Delray Brooks was another player Bob Knight built up as a superstar before he ever slipped on an Indiana jersey. Around the time A Season on the Brink was penned, Knight had taken a lax approach to recruiting. He entrusted his assistants with finding his players, sometimes even offering them scholarships without ever having seen them play.

Knight only saw Delray, Mr. Basketball in Indiana his senior year, play once in high school, and the game he saw, Brooks only saw limited action because of foul trouble. Delray was a nasty ballplayer, a high school force, but it never really transferred onto the D-1, Big Ten stage. Knight had played Delray's arrival up so much to his players and fans that Delray walked right into an emotional minefield.

Knight expected an Isiah, but got a Delray instead. The Hoosier coaching staff realized quickly that they had made a mistake; Delray couldn't shoot well enough, nor was he athletic enough to excel at this level. Knight couldn't help but love him, though, because he was one of the nicest guys around, so when Delray decided to transfer to Providence in 1986, Knight helped him along.