Scott Brooks: Inside the Wizards coach's lifelong hoops dream

Classroom A was not well decorated. So, Bill Stricker was told during an evaluation that he should put photos on the vinyl covered walls to make the portable classroom more stimulating. He posted quotes from successful people, but did not bother with the pictures. He was teaching math at East Union High School in Manteca, California. Who needed pictures on the walls?

Stricker’s class focused on individualized work, which is why his student aide, Scott Brooks, had time to talk with him. They had met when Stricker gave a free basketball camp that Brooks attended when he was short, whip thin and yet to know he was about to have his guts stirred enough that a lifelong pursuit would be born.

The…