SAU Athletics
RUSSELLVILLE – For the first time in what has been an illustrious career as a Mulerider, Southern Arkansas senior forward Devante Brooks has been named the Great American Conference’s Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. The official announcement was made early Monday afternoon by the league and comes after Brooks delivered a pair of impressive performances this past weekend to help the Muleriders to two league wins.
A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Brooks became the second Mulerider in program history, the first in the program’s NCAA Era and the first player in GAC history to collect 1,000 rebounds which he reached with his ninth board of the night in Thursday’s 69-49 win over Northwestern Oklahoma. Double-doubles in both wins ran his season total to eight, improved his streak to seven and stood as the 36th and 37th such efforts of his career, respectively, which continues to build as the most in league history.
He averaged 17 points per game behind an overall shooting clip of 50% and he grabbed 15.5 rebounds per game. Brooks scored 21 points and added 15 rebounds to his season ledger against the Rangers and two nights later he followed that effort with 13 points and 16 rebounds in a 70-41 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.
For his career, Brooks has recorded 10+ rebounds in a game 37 times and has eclipsed ten points in 68 games.
Devante and the Muleriders prepare for their first Oklahoma road swing of the season as East Central (1/6) and Southeastern Oklahoma (1/8) await Southern Arkansas this weekend.