Brooks is a quiet killer

You've heard of those "quiet-killers" in basketball. Those silent but deadly kind of guys are not the kind of players you want to face with time ticking away and the game is on the line. Rydell Brooks, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound combo guard from Buchtel High School in Akron, Ohio, fits that mold and he's quietly eating apart the competition.

Buchtel head coach Stephen White believes Brooks is one of the biggest sleepers in the state and perhaps the Midwest. Brooks is averaging 24 points, six rebounds and six assists per game this year. But you probably wouldn't know it unless you played the tight-lipped junior.

"A lot of people are sleeping on him. They just underestimate him. He's quiet. You just don't hear much from him," White said. "I don't think people know about him. If they wait too long, they are going to miss him."

Brooks is one of those lead by example kind of guys. The lefty has put Buchtel on his back and helped give the team 14-1 record.

"He carries our team. Rydell is our leader," White said. "When we need points we're going to him. He rebounds but he doesn't necessarily play defense that I'd want him to. Overall, though, he's our guy."

Several schools have taken notice this year, too. Akron, Cincinnati, Colgate, Dayton, Virginia Commonwealth and Xavier are all asking and showing some interest.

"I think he's a major Division I basketball player," White said. "The kid can play."

He just won't tell you that.