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Julius Brooks, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward from Greensboro and a Page graduate, has cracked the starting lineup at Loyola (Md.) as a true freshman.

Brooks, a power forward and center for the Greyhounds, started Loyola's opener against Vermont. He grabbed three rebounds and blocked three shots in 14 minutes against the Catamounts.

In his next game, an 83-60 loss at No. 8 West Virginia, Brooks shot 4-for-5 from the floor and finished with eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

Brooks was a three-time All-Metro 4-A Conference pick at Page, and he averaged 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game as a senior to help the Pirates go 23-6 last season.

Meanwhile, a Grimsley alumnus is off to a fast start in his first season.

Shamarr Bowden, a redshirt freshman from Greensboro, was named the Atlantic-10's rookie of the week after UNC Charlotte got off to a 2-0 start. Bowden played three seasons at Grimsley before transferring to The Miller School (a prep school) for his senior year.

Bowden, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound shooting guard, scored 21 points in 11 minutes in his collegiate debut against UNC Asheville. Bowden was 6-for-11 from 3-point range.

Bowden, who is averaging 10.3 points per game, scored five points off the bench in a 101-59 loss at Duke on Tuesday. He was 1-for-6 from 3-point range against Duke.