On a scale of one to 10, Jeff Brooks rated his confidence level after Friday's game at 13.
The junior forward joked throughout his post-game press conference, mocking Talor Battle as he responded to reporters' questions and closed his own remarks by bidding "peace" to the group of journalists.
Brooks finished the game with 10 points, second-most on the team, and looked confident with the ball in his hands in Friday's 70-55 win over Penn. It was Brooks' fourth career double-digit scoring game.
The Louisville, Ky., native thinks he can step up to be the second scoring option for Penn State this season.
"Losing Mel (Jamelle Cornley) and Stanley (Pringle) and D-Mo (Danny Morrissey), somebody's got to step up," Brooks said. "Tonight, I guess I was just on. I just tried to come out in the second half more aggressive than I was in the first half. Some shots went down and the score went up so I must have been doing something right."
Guard Chris Babb was taken out of the game five minutes into the first half after two quick fouls. He never got in a rhythm offensively, only playing 23 total minutes.
Forward Drew Jones also battled foul trouble throughout the game and finished with only four points. Brooks stepped up in the absence of both his teammates' absence. He drove to the hoop from the perimeter and drew fouls on two occasions.
His outside shooting, however, was most impressive.
Brooks said he changed his shot from a line drive to add more arc. Brooks has improved the trajectory of his shot in the offseason -- taking criticism about a lack of arc on his shot and getting it in the air more.
"[His shot] gets a little flat sometimes, but I think he's making his free throws and he can make open jump shots, and he feels comfortable doing that," coach Ed DeChellis said. "He's got some confidence in his shot now."
Setting his feet also used to be an issue. When Brooks would catch a ball in the past, he wasn't ready to shoot. He said a lot of times, he'd be standing up straight and not in rhythm to shoot the ball.
He was Friday, hitting two 3-pointers to tie his career-high.
His second 3-pointer ignited the crowd to its highest level, extending the Nittany Lion lead to eight after Penn had cut the lead to three only three minutes before.
"It's something that I've stressed on myself to work on," Brooks said about his perimeter shooting. "Just because Talor is such a great driver and he's always looking to kick so you've got to have someone out there ready to shoot."
Brooks has stressed his need to step up rebounding, but only ended up with one rebound. With Jones and junior forward D.J. Jackson out for a good deal of the game, the Lions needed an extra body to hit the glass.
DeChellis wasn't happy about Brooks' rebounding output.
"You're 6-foot 8. You have to rebound for us," DeChellis said. "I'm happy he made some jump shots, but he can play a lot better, and he can affect the game more defensively by rebounding that thing and pushing it."
DeChellis saw a more confident Brooks on the floor, though, Friday night. He said now he's an upperclassman and he's putting everything together.
Brooks' easy-going post-game demeanor wasn't something new, but his performance on the floor was a comforting sign for the Lions.
"I worked so hard in the off-season and pre-season by gaining strength and working on my game," Brooks said. "To come out tonight and have some shots go down and to play pretty well, it was pretty big. Hopefully I can keep this momentum up and keep my confidence."
