Delayed by deployment:

A father's military duty delays son's college decision
By Mike Waters
Special to SI.com (Sports Illustrated website)

Last September, Aric Brooks Jr., a 6-foot-6 senior forward at Baltimore's St. Frances Academy, made one of the most important decisions in his young life without the help of one of the most important people in his life.

Having decided to accept a scholarship offer from Towson University basketball coach Pat Kennedy after his first official visit, Brooks was seemingly set on his path toward college. Shortly thereafter, though, he began to have regrets. Not over his choice. He still liked Towson. What made him uneasy was the timing of his choice and the fact that his father, Aric Brooks Sr., was stationed 1,200 miles away at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"My dad wasn't here and it just didn't seem right,'' Brooks says. "I didn't want to make that important decision without him around. I felt I made the decision too quick. I decided to wait.''

After rescinding his commitment to Towson, Brooks knew that delaying his college choice could cost him a scholarship, but his decision to wait was firm: he would wait until after his senior season when he would be able to weigh his college choice with his father.

"I was surprised,'' Brooks Sr. says of his son's quick decision. "It was so early in the game. I talked to him and he didn't sound real sure of his self. It didn't sound like it was really what he wanted to do. I said, 'It's up to you.' He knew I supported him 100 percent whatever he decided.''

Brooks Sr., who works as a corrections officer at the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup, Md., had been in the National Guard for 28 years prior to getting dispatched to Cuba. His Guard unit had never received a mission that took him away from his family.

"He really had to prepare me,'' Aric's mother, Rose, says. "I kept saying, 'You can't go. You can't go. It's Aric's last year. He's going to need you.' It's not something he wanted to do. I just had to hold the fort down and pray real hard that he would return safely.''

As his father headed for Cuba, Brooks Jr. finished his junior year at St. Frances. He averaged 13 points and eight rebounds, earning honorable mention All-Met honors while maintaining a 3.0 grade point average.

"Even though [my father] was gone, I just had to focus on school,'' Aric says. "I didn't worry about him. I knew that was the only thing he didn't want me to do.''

To stay in touch, Rose and Aric Jr. bought phone cards for Aric Sr. He called two or three times a week. From the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, the elder Brooks would log onto the Internet and read about his son's games. He'd go to the school's website and using a pass-code check on Aric's grades.

Meanwhile, Aric and his mother continued with their everyday life. She became the president of the athletic booster club at St. Frances, organizing the concessions stand and volunteers to sell tickets, and Aric Jr. turned 16, meaning he could get his driver's license, but he kept putting off the test. "He got a girlfriend and her parents would take them out and drop them off,'' Rose says. "I started teasing him. I said, 'You're going to mess around and your dad's going to end up dropping you off at your senior prom.' I think he got tired of that.''

Rose taught Aric how to drive. But with his driver's license came more responsibilities. The family lives about 25 to 30 minutes from St. Frances. Now he could drive himself to school when necessary, easing the load from his mother, who works as a home health aide.

"I have a lot of driving [to do] to see my patients,'' Rose says. "When he got his license that really helped out.''

Last July, Brooks Sr. finally had the opportunity to use some leave time he had been saving up. His son's AAU team, Team Melo, was going to play in the AAU 17-and-under national tournament in Orlando, Fla. He'd been gone for seven months. With the only leave he would receive during his entire mission, Aric Sr. met Rose and Aric Jr. in Orlando.

"It was fantastic,'' Aric Sr. says. "He'd grown maybe an inch and half, but since I hadn't seen him in so long, it looked like he had gotten even taller. I'm 6-3 and I felt I was walking among the trees.''

Brooks Sr. watched all five of Team Melo's games in Orlando before returning to Guantanamo Bay. His wife and his son returned to Baltimore.

Two months later, Brooks took an official campus visit to nearby Towson University and his commitment soon followed.

"It was his first official visit,'' Rose says. "They showed him a nice time. He was so excited about it.''

Then came the second-thoughts, though, accentuated by the lack of his dad's input. Aric wanted to wait. He would wait until his father returned from Cuba. There was some risk involved. At the time, Towson was the only school offering him a scholarship. And now, the Towson coaches were saying they'd have to look at other recruits.

"He really missed his dad,'' Rose says. "He's a quiet child. I can always tell when things are bothering him. He was used to his father being here and telling him what to do on the court. He came out of it.''

Aric Jr. averaged 15 points per game as a senior, helping St. Frances to a 22-10 record in the tough Baltimore Catholic League. He scored a game-high 24 points in a season-ending 57-56 loss to Archbishop Spalding in the BCL quarterfinals. He scored eight points in the game's final minute. The Baltimore Sun named him to its second-team All-Met team.

Brooks Sr. returned from Guantanamo Bay on March 7. He had missed the second half of his son's junior year and all of his senior season. But on April 1, he was in the stands at the Towson Center for the Charm City Challenge; a post-season event pitting Baltimore's top high school seniors against a team of all-stars from across the country. Brooks Jr. scored 24 points on 9 of 11 shooting. After the game, he received a commemorative ball for making the all-tournament team. He ran off the court and handed the ball to his dad.

"My little gift to him,'' he says.

"I thought that was so sweet,'' Rose said. "I thought that was just so special.''

His senior season now complete, Brooks Jr. is nearing a decision on where he will attend college next fall. Towson remains a possibility. He has also taken an official visit to Loyola (Md.) College. In addition, Niagara, Monmouth and the College of Charleston have shown interest.

"I'm getting close,'' he says.

He and his father have talked about colleges. Whichever school Aric Jr. picks, the decision will be final. In fact, Aric Sr. isn't even sure his input is needed this time around.

"Aric really matured,'' the father says. "With me being gone, he stepped up. To me, he went from a teenager to a man.''