Former SIU guard Darren Brooks was not selected in Tuesday’s NBA draft.

Although Brooks had worked out for several teams, including the Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trailblazers, none of the teams decided to pick him up.

Brooks agent, Keith Kreiter, said too much emphasis is put on the draft. He added that free agency could be better for a player like Brooks because he is not locked into one club and several teams can look at him.

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“It is a little tougher to get into the NBA because he [Brooks] was not at a high profile school,” Kreiter said. “But that is not something he can overcome.”

Brooks also showed his natural talent for the game when he participated in the Portsmouth Invitational in April. In three games, he averaged 11.3 points, five rebounds, 3.3 steals and 2.6 assists.

Despite a strong effort in Portsmouth, Brooks was not selected to attend the Chicago Pre-Draft camps in Chicago earlier this month.

Although he won’t immediately be wearing an NBA jersey, Brooks’s agent Keith Kreiter said several teams have showed interest in him and have possibly considered selecting him for free agency.

“A lot of players have not been selected in the draft and went on to have successful careers in the NBA,” Kreiter said. “It’s not all about making the draft, it’s about making the team.”

During his career at SIU, Brooks was the two-time Missouri Valley Conference MVP and defensive player of the year lead the Salukis in points per game (15), rebounds, (5.2), and assists (4.3).

He also finished career ranked in the top 10 at SIU in career scoring (5th), rebounding (10th), wins, (1st), assists (3rd), blocks (7th), steals (1st), steals average (1st) and 3-pointers made (6th).

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Brooks also helped the Salukis reach the NCAA tournament all four years of his college career. The Salukis tournament record with Brooks was 3-4.

As it came to no surprise, the seven-foot Australian native, Andrew Bogut, was the first pick, selected by the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night.

For the second pick, the Atlanta Hawks selected North Carolinas Marvin Williams. Williams helped carry the Tarheels to the NCAA tournament championship, where they ousted the University of Illinois who was ranked no. 1 for most of the season.

In the third pick, the Utah Jazz selected Illinois point guard, Deron Williams.

New Orleans selected Wake Forest’s Chris Paul, then Charlotte picked up Raymond Felton, the second Tarheel player selected in the top five.