Subscribe
Follow Us
This college basketball season in particular, it seems as if the freshman class of 2024 is making a huge impact across the country. From USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins to Notre Dame Fighting Irish sensation Hannah Hidalgo, it's been a special freshman group. One name that has not come up as much, but should be mentioned among that group is NC State Wolfpack guard Zoe Brooks.
NC State has advanced to the Elite Eight of March Madness where they will square off against Texas, and Brooks has been a key player during this run. One of the nation's top recruits in high school, Brooks has come in mostly off the bench and been a key contributor for one of the best teams in the country.
In NC State's Elite Eight matchup against Texas, they will face another freshman standout in Madison Booker. Brooks is ready for the challenge and she had some extremely high praise for the class of 2024.
“This freshman class is something that you see like once in a lifetime, and to be a part of it means a lot to me,” Brooks told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “I'm just doing what I have to do to help my team win. I think it's very important to me. I know there's another big freshman I'm playing tomorrow, Madison Booker, and I'm excited to go against her. We're both point guards so that's gonna be a good matchup.”
Zoe Brooks has been a freshman star for NC State
Zoe Brooks got off to a strong start for NC State from the get-go. In her very first game on opening night against Charlotte, Brooks came off the bench and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 5-10 from the field. She followed that up with a 12-point, four-rebound, three-assist performance against UConn while shooting 6-11 from the field.
Adjusting to the rigors of college basketball is no easy task. It's not uncommon for freshmen to struggle a little bit, but Brooks showed from the beginning that she's going to be a major force for the Wolfpack. But she admits that she's still adjusting to some things including NC State's style of play.
“Definitely the pace of the game, it's a lot faster. Everybody can get up and down the court,” Brooks said. “Our style of play is that we like to get up and down and beat our opponents down the floor. So that was my biggest adjustment so far.”
During NC State's run to the Eight Eight so far, Zoe Brooks has become one of the Wolfpack's top performers. In NC State's second-round win against Tennessee to advance to the Sweet 16, Brooks played 30 minutes and dropped 16 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting 7-13 from the field.
When the Wolfpack punched their ticket to the Elite Eight, she gave Stanford 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, three steals and one blocked shot while shooting 6-14 from the field. Brooks was in the game late in the fourth quarter as NC State built their lead and held Stanford at bay.
Brooks also kept the offense following and the ball moving, something that as a point guard, she's been tasked with by Wolfpack head coach Wes Moore and the rest of the coaching staff. It's evident that Moore and Brooks' teammates have the utmost confidence in her especially with the stakes being so high.
“It means a lot, sometimes I might struggle with my confidence, but knowing that my coaches and my teammates have a lot of faith in me helps a lot,” Brooks said. “They're just asking me to be me, that's distribute, score, play defense, do what I have to do. I love getting my teammates involved, that's something I like doing the most.”
Overall, Brooks was a regular in NC State's rotation and even started a handful of games at a little under 26 minutes per game. She averaged 8.1 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists with splits of 40.9 percent shooting from the field and 71.1 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Since Wes Moore took over as head coach back in 2013, NC State has only been to the Elite Eight once before this season. They've never made it to the Final Four. They have a chance to make school history with their game against Texas on Sunday.
While Brooks doesn't want to look too far ahead, she made it quite clear what her main goals are for the 2023-24 season.
“Definitely getting to the Final Four, I think that would be great,” Brooks said. “It's great to even be in the Elite Eight. I want to keep going as far as we can and hopefully we will be able to cut the nets down one day.”
