MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Chris Brooks, a first team All-Atlantic 10 forward for coach Gale Catlett, has died. According to WVU teammate Darryl Prue, Brooks was found unresponsive in his Bronx, New York, apartment earlier today.
 
Brooks was the first McDonald's All-American to sign with Mountaineer basketball in 1986 after starring at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. He was considered the nation's fifth-best recruit by the Chicago Sun Times and was also a Parade Magazine All-America choice who arrived at WVU with considerable fanfare.
 
Brooks was the first big-name, nationally-known New York City recruit to come to WVU in the mid-1980s, which opened the door for more Big Apple area standouts such as Ricky Robinson, Wilfred Kirkaldy, Lawrence Pollard, Mike Boyd, Gordon Malone and Seldon Jefferson to play for the Mountaineers before they joined the Big East Conference in 1996.
 
After sitting out his freshman season in 1987, Brooks became an immediate starter on West Virginia's NIT squad in 1988, teaming with Prue and Tyrone Shaw in West Virginia's front court.
 
"There was a lot of pressure on him," Prue recalled this afternoon. "He was a very explosive player and my skill set was a little different than his, but I thought we worked well together."
 
In 1989, the 6-6 forward helped the Mountaineers to a 26-5 record, a first place regular-season finish in the Atlantic 10 and a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Tennessee before falling to Duke in the second round. 
 
Brooks averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 61.3% from the floor for the 17^th-ranked Mountaineers that season.
 
Brooks only attempted one 3-point shot during his junior year in 1990 at Duquesne - and it was a game winner!
 
One of the most explosive leapers in school history, Brooks' best year statistically came in 1991 when he averaged 16.7 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting a school-record 66.3% from the floor.
 
He once made 12-of-13 field goal attempts in a game against Marshall on Dec. 4, 1990, another school record. 
 
Brooks scored a career-high 37 points against Massachusetts on Feb. 12, 1991, and pulled down a career-best 15 rebounds in an 87-69 victory over Old Dominion on Dec. 18, 1990.
 
He holds the school record for career field goal percentage, connecting on 60.2% of his 1,147 field goal attempts. Most of his points came near the basket where he was strong enough to score over players four- and five-inches taller than him.
 
"Chris was a very talented player who was easy to coach," Gale Catlett said in a text message. "I'm very sorry to hear of his passing."
 
Prue said there were few players who could elevate off two feet the way Brooks could.
 
"He shot up like a missile – you don't see too many guys who shoot up the way Chris did," Prue said. "He was a different type of jumper than a Len Bias, who could jump, but he wasn't a power jumper like Chris was."
 
Prue thought Brooks would have made a terrific defensive end in football with his physical skills, which he compared favorably to WVU sack specialist and All-Pro defensive end Renaldo Turnbull.
 
"We used to play a lot down at Stansbury (Hall) when we were in college and the two were very similar," Prue said. "Two very explosive athletes." 
 
Brooks' 1,661 career points rank 12^th all-time at WVU while his 755 rebounds rank 15^th. He averaged 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds in 121 career games.
 
Forward Mike Vreeswyk, who played at Atlantic 10 arch-rival Temple, remembered Brooks as an "undersized" and "explosive" player.
 
"I'm sure he's been compared to (Charles) Barkley in the past and that's pretty accurate," Vreeswyk said. "The thing I remember most about Brooks was how hard he played with a non-stop motor. Very passionate."
 
According to Prue, once his college career ended Brooks played briefly overseas and was also drafted to play in a professional basketball league for players 6-5 and under despite being listed at 6-6 in college.
 
"I was really close to him," Prue said. "When he first came in, he had to sit out and he was always at my apartment hanging out with me and we were roommates on the road, so we got to know each other pretty well and we stayed in touch through the years.
 
"We'd call a couple of times a month. It's a big loss. To me he was a good guy and he was very loyal," he added.
 
Prue said Brooks was in the process of switching jobs to work for the MTA Bus Company in the Bronx at the time of his passing.
 
Brooks, born in London, England, just recently celebrated his 54^th birthday on Jan. 5.