Early Life and Collegiate Career
Brook Lopez was born in Los Angeles, California, to Deborah Ledford and his now-estranged father, Heriberto Lopez, a native of Cuba. He was born into a life of basketball and art, as his grandfather played at the University of Colorado. Lopez moved from Hollywood to Oak Harbor, Washington, while in second grade to be near his older brother, Alex, who was playing basketball at the University of Washington at the time. He moved to his current hometown of Fresno, California, a year later, where he attended San Joaquin Memorial High School. While there he played basketball with his twin brother, Robin Lopez, as well as Quincy Pondexter, a fellow NBA player. Both teammates played with Lopez on their successful AAU team, the Elite Basketball Organization (EBO), along with Derrick Jasper and Tre'Von Willis, both of UNLV. Brook, along with his brother, Robin, committed to Stanford University early in 2005. The Lopez twins were the second twin combination at Stanford, following Jason Collins and Jarron Collins. Both Brook and Robin competed in the 2006 McDonald's All-American Game against several current NBA players, including Kevin Durant and Greg Oden.
The 2006-2007 basketball season was Lopez's first season at Stanford University. He was honored as an All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention while being named to the All-Pac-10 Freshman Team. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.0 rebounds over the course of the season. His next season he averaged 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. In the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Lopez hit the game winning shot at the buzzer against the Marquette Golden Eagles to win 82-81 in overtime. He was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team and a All-American Third Team his sophomore season.
On March 31, 2008, both Lopez brothers declared for the 2008 NBA draft.
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