Sophomore forward Jeff Brooks was waiting for this moment for 10 days.

Back from a concussion initially thought to sideline him for a couple of days, Brooks logged his first minutes of the season Monday night against NJIT. Brooks' stat line was wild, scoring three points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out three assists and committing five turnovers. He fouled out in 16 minutes.

It didn't take long for Brooks' name to find the box score once he checked in about seven minutes into the game. Brooks found a cutting D.J. Jackson for an easy lay-up on his first possession.

"It's not easy," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "I don't care what you do, if you don't practice, you're not going to be very good at it. He's been out for at least 10 days and practiced for the first time. I'm glad that he got in there and got to sweat, put the uniform on, scored a basket and got a couple rebounds because we're going to need him."

Brooks said he took the post-concussion "imPACT" test last Thursday and passed it but was held out of the Nittany Lions' win against William & Mary as a precaution.

Thursday's test, Brooks said, was easier because he was aching to play.

"I knew what was at stake about playing coming in for last night's game," Brooks said. "I just made sure I went in more focused and concentrating more on everything. Turned out, everything went positive for me."

Earphones plugged in, Brooks listened to his iPod while waiting in the locker room before the game. He said his rusty play and foul issues resulted from how hyped he was to return to the court.

Brooks was sometimes over-aggressive in battling on the glass by going through and over the top of defenders.

"I had too much energy," Brooks said. "I was trying to be everywhere at one time. I was moving too fast, especially when it came to my turnovers. Hopefully next game I'll just let the game come to me, slow down a little bit."

Freshman guard Cammeron Woodyard has only been around Brooks for a few months but already has a grasp of the sophomore forward's anxiety to play.

"Jeff was being himself," Woodyard said. "You can ask Jeff to play at three in the morning and he'll be ready to play. His whole attitude in the locker room was for getting himself ready."

And though Brooks fouled out with two minutes left in the game, the Lions had a 32-point lead. Sophomore center Andrew Jones, who sat when Brooks first checked into the game, said things just felt right with Brooks back in the mix.

"He's trying to be aggressive, trying to get back in the swing of things," Jones said. "He got some good rebounds for us, made some good passes. He's only gonna get better as we practice and as these upcoming games come along."