January 6th, 2020 at 7:13 PM ^
What is a Pierre Brooks and do we need one? More than one?
January 6th, 2020 at 7:16 PM ^
Pierre?
Oui oui!
January 6th, 2020 at 7:25 PM ^
Where have you gone Pierre Woods?
January 6th, 2020 at 7:18 PM ^
Matt, what are your thoughts on Brooks in comparison to the other in-state ‘21 guards (Roper, Adkins, Bufkin)? Are you surprised he’s the first offer out of that group?
January 6th, 2020 at 7:34 PM ^
Not at all surprised. The recruiting philosophy under Juwan Howard is very different in relation to Beilein. Howard wants day 1 contributors as opposed to developmental projects. Brooks is a day 1 guy with a physically developed frame and tons of versatility. Think Terrance Williams with more ball-skills and athleticism. Here's some film I put together of Pierre at the Nike Elite 100 in June
January 6th, 2020 at 8:03 PM ^
He reminds me of Aaron Henry but not quite as athletic
January 7th, 2020 at 12:47 AM ^
He reminds me of Henry Aaron but not quite as baseball playing.
January 7th, 2020 at 6:09 AM ^
thank you for that. that is a pretty calm looking AAU game. he looks smooth out there.
kid also looks thick, as in, has worn a football helmet thick. another poster earlier lists him at 6' 5", 180, and he looks not quite that tall and over 200 to me.
January 6th, 2020 at 7:30 PM ^
6'5" 180 lbs. out of Detroit, crystal balls say msu, does U-M now offering change that at all, Matt?
January 6th, 2020 at 7:36 PM ^
He leaned Michigan State while Beilien was our leading man. We will see if that changes under Juwan Howard. He's a bit more influential with in-state kids to say the least.
January 6th, 2020 at 8:00 PM ^
Brooks isn’t exactly the type of player that Howard has been going after as of late as he’s ranked ~120th. Is Brooks a guy who you see rising in the recruiting rankings or this just an effort by Howard to lock down the state of Michigan at a position of need?
January 6th, 2020 at 8:04 PM ^
No offense to the mainstream sites, but they're wrong. Brooks is definitely a top 100 prospect and will be reflected as such in my updated rankings in May.
Mainstream sites are extremely slow to come around on Michigan kids that aren't high profile underclassmen.
I was literally the only service pushing Akins, Brooks, Roper and Bufkin 6 months ago and now they're all somewhere in that 100-150 range at minimum.
Moral of the story is this - mainstream rankings are basically useless until a prospect's senior year.
January 6th, 2020 at 8:13 PM ^
Brooks is a hot and cold mediocre player at best
January 7th, 2020 at 6:45 AM ^
Could be true... What are your crootin' bonafids so's we can compare them to Matt's? I mean, we need some reason to believe your 100% opposite thoughts about this kid, right?
January 6th, 2020 at 8:17 PM ^
Matt, it is my assumption that you have seen this young man play, correct? Film can make you look both better or worse than you are. His shot is "interesting". What say you here? I am also assuming that there other parts to his game that are attractive???
January 6th, 2020 at 8:21 PM ^
I've probably viewed Brooks live more than any evaluator in the country, and yes, his shot mechanics are not ideal. That said, he can handle the ball fairly well for a kid that size and is an absolute nightmare to deal with at the elbow area.
He likely projects to a combo-forward spot at the college level that is a real matchup problem for the opposition. He's got more talent/skill than Williams IMO.
January 6th, 2020 at 8:29 PM ^
Matt, If he is a combo forward, will Michigan pursue Roper and Bufkin for more of a sg role? Which of Roper, Bufkin and Akins have been offered by Michigan.
January 6th, 2020 at 9:01 PM ^
Roper, Bufkin and Akins all are getting various levels of interest from Michigan.
Roper visited last week, Akins and Bufkin visited in September. Akins also attended elite camp in August and absolutely dominated.
January 6th, 2020 at 10:58 PM ^
Matt, If Akins attended the elite camp in front of Howard and staff, combined with his play recently, wonder why he hasnt been given an offer yet? I think you said on here once that you had Akins in front of Lander as far as who Michigan should take?
January 7th, 2020 at 7:02 AM ^
Akins is about 165 pounds right now, which isn't in line with Coach Howard's philosophy of offering Day 1 contributors. I'm inclined to believe the focus will start to transition to the 2021 class and we'll see where it goes.
January 6th, 2020 at 8:45 PM ^
Said it before and will say it again Matt is the best talent evaluator I have read. I appreciate that Matt tells it like it is and admits when he hasn’t seen enough to make a full evaluation. I wish others did the same.
January 6th, 2020 at 9:04 PM ^
Thank you for the kind words. I’m far from the best, but I have zero issue admitting I haven’t viewed a kid live when that is the case.
This is the precise reason I advise to refrain from putting much into mainstream rankings until the senior season. I’ve actually viewed the rankings process from one of the mainstreams and it was rather, uhh, enlightening.
January 6th, 2020 at 9:08 PM ^
I value Matt's opinion very highly. Can't think of a time he was wrong off the top of my head. He told everyone to temper their expectations of Franz Wagner. That's been right so far. He was one of the first people to say that Jaden McDaniels was one of the best players in the country. Soon after he goes from outside the top 100 to the #8 player in the country. Those are just a few things I can think of he was right about and we're lucky to have him
January 6th, 2020 at 9:28 PM ^
Trust me, I’ve been wrong on plenty of occasions. Not to proud to admit it either.
And I’m lucky that Brian, Seth, Ace & company thought highly enough of me to bring me aboard. I’m literally in awe of my colleagues in terms of their knowledge/analysis of all things Michigan and their corresponding content. It’s an honor to be surrounded by those guys. I learn something every day.
Also lucky to have thoughtful dialogue with the best sports community in the world here at MGo and the Michigan alumni and fan base in general. At the end of the day I’m a Michigan alum that happens to attend live basketball events at the prep level. What makes it special is the ability to share it with you guys
January 7th, 2020 at 6:52 AM ^
Unless one is just spouting at the mouth, there is no fault in being wrong - we are all wrong fairly often, about a host of things. If you're trying to get it right, nobody really cares - mistakes happen. The guys that get shit on for being wrong are the ones that did no homework, the ones that didn't care enough to try to get it right, the guys that shit on everyone else for panning them. Those guys are asshats...
Keep up the good work work, Matt. You give us more good information about bball croots than we've had on this site since I've been here (2016), and its appreciated. Ace knows bball, but he can't travel around watching croots...
January 6th, 2020 at 9:52 PM ^
Matt, if you had to guess who Michigan has the best shot at for the 2021 class, who would they be? Obviously the scholarship situation is unknown at this point. Maybe just a few to watch st each position with some Michigan momentum?
January 6th, 2020 at 10:00 PM ^
The in-state talent looks pretty good this year. I'm a big fan of what I've seen of Akins and I hope he gets offered, Roper seems pretty good too.
January 6th, 2020 at 10:16 PM ^
I'd take Akins, Roper and Brooks for 21 and not bat an eye. Akins at pg, Roper for SG, and Brooks for a combo forward like Terrance Williams.
January 6th, 2020 at 10:03 PM ^
This has been such a drastic change in recruiting strategies and I am excited to see what Juwan does with his players. Matt, not to divert from the thread topic, but what do you think the percentages are on Todd sticking around instead of going overseas?
January 7th, 2020 at 6:58 AM ^
Todd has been a question since Juwan got here! At this point, I really don't care anymore if he stays or heads out. The class is pretty good without him, although he'd be a helluva player. I'm not sold on the one & done's just yet, it seems like the distraction of whether he'll stay in the class might be disruptive. I doubt it, just 'croots for now, and certainly doesn't impact the team on the court today. But I'm tired of the question!
January 7th, 2020 at 9:35 AM ^
Matt would be crazy to answer such a question-he is not crazy.