Remember This Guy?: Calvin Brock

Before he was a redshirt freshman on one of the greatest Illinois basketball teams of all time, he was once known as the “Public League’s best all-around player since Quentin Richardson.”

A Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year, he headlined multiple First-Team All-State squads, including a Chicago Tribune First-Team All-State group that boasted future Illini teammate Shaun Pruitt, current Golden State Warrior Shaun Livingston, and eventual Duke star Jon Scheyer. The Special Mention All-State team also included another future Illinois backcourt member and Champaign native, Trent Meacham.

Calvin Brock averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, five steals, four assists and four blocks as a senior for a Chicago Simeon team that would duck out in the Class AA State Quarterfinals.

As an Illini, Brock joined the program in the fall of 2004, sitting out his freshman season as a redshirt before ultimately suffering a broken left hand in early March. He would go on to experience first-hand some of the greatest memories for many Illini fans to date. Brock had a front-row seat to one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history. “Williams to tie it with a three... He does!” We ALL know where we were when the Illini took down Arizona in overtime, exacting revenge from just a couple years before.

But it wasn’t until after Brock’s redshirt freshman season that he began to come into his own. When Brian Randle went down with an injury in the fall of 2006, Brock stepped up to the plate, averaging over 11 points a game and over five rebounds. He recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds — eight of which were offensive — against Florida A&M.

During his 2007-08 campaign, Brock had his best year with the team. It started with an EA SPORTS Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team selection after scoring 14 against Duke and 12 against Oklahoma State. He appeared in all 35 games, also tallying 16 starts, scoring in double figures 12 times, and leading the team with 31 steals.

Illinois started Brock’s senior season off on a tear. The Illini won 16 of their first 17 games, picking up a win in West Lafeyette against No. 9 Purdue. But the infamous 12/5 matchup got the better of Bruce Weber’s guys.

Illinois was without Chester Frazier, its leader and defensive specialist. He missed part of the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament with surgery on his hand. Brock stepped up in what would be his final career game, collecting a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, but it wasn’t enough.

The Illinois alum would go on to play three seasons in Europe, two with Weissenhorn in Germany and one with Ereliai Mazeikiai of Lithuania. Brock tore his ACL at the end of his season with Ereliai Mazeikiai, marking the end of his playing career.

The Peoria Journal Star caught up with Brock last year. Nowadays, you can catch him back in Chicago coaching on Chicago Hope’s sidelines. He just wrapped up his fifth season with the team, picking up a third place finish at the 2017 Class 1A State Tournament, and losing to eventual state champions, Chicago Orr, in the Super-Sectionals of the past year’s Class 2A State Tournament.