Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009

Brockman headed to Sacramento

Former University of Washington, Snohomish High basketball star picked in second round of NBA draft by Portland, then traded to Kings

By Rich Myhre
Herald Writer

 Jon Brockman's journey in basketball, which began on the backyard courts and in the gymnasiums of Snohomish, apparently will continue next season in the National Basketball Association.

Brockman, who completed his college eligibility at the University of Washington this past season, was chosen with the eighth pick in the second round of Thursday's NBA draft, the 38th selection overall, by the Portland Trail Blazers. Minutes later, in a prearranged deal, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings.

"It's truly a dream come true," Brockman said in a telephone conference call Thursday night. "I'm just overwhelmed. It's an amazing process."

There was a draft night party at the Brockman family's Snohomish home, with a guest list that included UW coach Lorenzo Romar, Snohomish High School coach Len Bone and AAU Friends of Hoop coach Jim Marsh.

And when Brockman's name was announced on the ESPN telecast, everyone at the house "started screaming," he said.

In Sacramento, Brockman will be reunited with his friend and two-time teammate Spencer Hawes. The two played on the Friends of Hoop team as youngsters, and later for one season at Washington before Hawes departed for the NBA.

"I don't think I could ask for a better situation, playing alongside my AAU teammate and then college teammate and now NBA teammate," Brockman said of Hawes. "I don't even know if that's ever been done before in the NBA."

It was Hawes, in fact, who tipped Brockman off to his draft-night fate, which involved Sacramento and Portland agreeing to the trade involving Brockman earlier in the evening.

"Spencer called me about 10 seconds before I came up on the TV," Brockman related. "He said, 'You're my rookie.' I was kind of surprised. I said, 'What are you talking about?' But then it came up on the screen, and that's kind of how I found out."

In April, Brockman attended the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for prospective NBA players. He led the camp in rebounding at 16.3 per game and was named to the all-tournament team, and his performances there gave a boost to his draft potential.

It also sent Brockman into hiding.

After Portsmouth, Brockman and his agent Greg Lawrence -- he also represents Hawes and Martell Webster, another Seattle-area NBA player -- agreed that he would "just kind of withdraw from everything. I'd keep working out, keep staying in shape, but just kind of become low key.

"They really thought that being that kind of forbidden fruit … would work in my favor, and it did. Even after Portsmouth, I was not really on the draft boards, but then word of mouth started … and I started climbing on up," Brockman said.

"It was tough for me. I'm not the kind of guy who doesn't want to tell people what's going on. But really I was just following the advice of my agents. And we just felt really comfortable that by taking that route everything would work out. And it did."

Romar said he was "just so excited and proud of Jon. He did everything in his power to be a team guy for four years (at Washington). He was selfless and a servant, and now he's been rewarded to go out and attack his lifelong dream in terms of basketball, and that's playing in the NBA."

Brockman is first and foremost a rebounder -- he led the Pacific-10 Conference in rebounding his past three UW seasons -- but the Kings know they are getting more than a one-dimensional player, Romar said.

"What he brings to the table is not just his ability to rebound the basketball, but it's also the other intangibles. It's his ability to go out and finish, and to make plays. And he can really run the floor. He's a strong presence defensively and he can get physical with people.

"So there were a number of factors, I think, that went into Sacramento drafting him," Romar said.

Bone said Thursday night's selection was "pretty cool for Snohomish. (Brockman) is not only a great player, but a great person. It's going to be fun to see if he can play at the professional level. I think he can. I think he has some things that professional teams sometimes don't have. … (He has) incredible character. He'll be a great teammate. I think any team would have been fortunate to have him."

Brockman, who was to fly to Sacramento early this morning to meet with team officials, is already looking forward to his rookie NBA season.

"(Sacramento) is a great area, and I'm unbelievably pumped up about living (there) and the fact that I'm still on the West Coast. I'm just a short plane trip away from family and friends, so being on the West Coast is huge.

"This is a brand new thing (for me)," he added. "I'm going to have to do a lot of learning. I've got a long ways to go. But I know I've got Spencer, who's been in the league for a couple of years now who can help me along the way and who will be more than willing to be my advisor."

Herald writer Mike Cane contributed to this story
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA