Timberline’s Brooklyn Hicks is The Olympian’s All-Area boys basketball player of the year
Brooklyn Hicks was prepared when he reached the first of his goals as a high school basketball player — make the varsity team at Timberline High School as a freshman.
He’d known since moving to Washington in third grade he’d be attending Timberline. He’d been noticed by Blazers coach Allen Thomas as a middle schooler at Komachin. He had some inside knowledge as to how Timberline’s program worked since his older brother, Cole, played on strong teams that included now-South Carolina standout Erik Stevenson and multi-sport star Hunter Campau.
But he’d expected to be a role player, waiting his turn to star.
“I definitely expected my time would come but, as a freshman, I knew I had to take a back seat and play my role,” said Hicks, now a junior.
Then, the Blazers began the 2019-20 season in an 0-10 funk. A string of four games in which Timberline didn’t come within 17 points of winning, including a 72-24 defeat at Lincoln, convinced Thomas and his staff changes were in order.
Thomas and associate head coach Juwanne Brown invited Hicks along when they went to scout a Capital game.
“We picked his brain as to why he thought we were struggling,” Thomas said. “Finally, we told him, ‘We need to have the ball in your hands more.’ We made him the point guard. He needed to make the decisions, to either score or get someone else the ball where they could score.”
The immediate payoff was an 83-64 win over Yelm. The Blazers went 8-6 the rest of the way and lost a chance to advance to the regional round of the Class 3A state playoffs in a 67-59 loss to Spanaway Lake.
“We knew then how special he was,” Thomas said.
Hicks didn’t shy away from the unexpected opportunity.
“As soon as he gave me a leadership role, I took advantage of it,” Hicks said. “It’s not something that happens very often as a freshman, but it was completely fine with me.”
The Brooklyn Hicks era on Mullen Road had begun.
It continued in a big way this season as Hicks averaged a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds per game, while adding three assists and two steals per contest. He was selected the 3A South Sound Conference player of the year and, now, The Olympian’s All-Area boys basketball player of the year.
He joins Stevenson in 2018 and Donaven Dorsey in 2014 as Blazers who have earned the honor. Both played under Thomas. Both also went on to play Division I basketball, Dorsey at Washington and Montana, Stevenson at Wichita State, UW and now South Carolina.
Hicks is almost certain to join them, holding a variety of offers from schools throughout the West, including UW, Washington State and Oregon State in the Pac-12.
At 6-foot-4, he has the ability to both drive quickly, occasionally for rim-rattling dunks, and shoot from beyond the arc. He also has a signature mid-range floater.
“Brooklyn has the ability to get to any place on the floor he wants to go,” Thomas said. “He’s an improved shooter from the outside. His athleticism is incredible. He realizes the importance of banging inside for rebounds. His ability to start a fast break from a rebound is amazing.”
Hicks knows that dominating at the high school level isn’t a guarantee of success at the major college level.
“For the past couple of years, I’ve been working to perfect my game,” he said. “I’m going to college after another year. That’s one of the highest levels you can play at. I’m trying to perfect every little thing.”
One place the Blazers still have unreached goals is in the postseason. After the 2019-20 team fell just short of a state appearance, the Spring 2021 team ran the table in the 3A SSC but had no playoff opportunities because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, Timberline was runner-up in the 3A West Central/Southwest bidistrict tournament.
The Blazers then got blown out by top-seeded Garfield, 90-58, in the regional round, and finally dropped their first game at the Tacoma Dome, 65-62, to Mountlake Terrace. A Hicks 3-point attempt slid off the rim as time expired, reminding him and his teammates how close they had come to a possible state trophy.
With Hicks, junior guard Miles Gurske, a fellow All-Area first-team selection, and sophomore post Darell Gipson leading a deep corps of returnees that will lose only sixth man Tyler No, Timberline is determined to make a deeper run next season.
“They got a taste of being at the Dome. It didn’t work out,” Thomas said. “Sometimes out of despair great things happen. On the other side of adversity is where you get to the good stuff. Hopefully, these guys are hungry.
“We have to build better relationships with each other. Once we do that and understand what exactly we’re fighting for, this could be one of the Timberline teams that will be remembered for the rest of time.”
Hicks, who will play AAU ball for Seattle Rotary during spring and summer, says with a number of players involved in spring sports or spring football practice, the team has yet to return to the gym en masse, but they will.
“We saw that what we did this year wasn’t enough,” he said. “We realize we’ve got to do more, got to work harder.”
PAST OLYMPIAN ALL-AREA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
2001 — Richmond Sanders, River Ridge
2003-06 — None selected
2007 — Brandon Abbott, W.F. West
2008 — Will Sharp, North Thurston
2009 — None selected
2010 — Alex Weber-Brader, Olympia
2011 — Alex Weber-Brader, Olympia
2012 — Brad Wallace, River Ridge
2013 — Brad Wallace, River Ridge
2014 — Donaven Dorsey, Timberline
2015 — David Cooper, Tumwater
2016 — Christian Davis, Yelm
2017 — T.J. Mickelson, Capital
2018 — Erik Stevenson, Timberline
2019 — Chris Penner, Capital
2020 — Jackson Grant, Olympia
2021 — Jackson Grant, Olympia