Michigan Basketball, Eli Brooks Update: Hope For A Quick Return
"Michigan lost a huge contributor to its success early in Sunday's game when Eli Brooks went down with a left ankle injury. Without him, U-M was out of sorts on both ends in a 70-64 loss at Michigan State.
It looked bad when he Brooks had to be carried off the floor, but he was later walking gingerly on it in a walking boot.
Tuesday, Michigan Director of Player and Personnel Development Jay Smith said on a Michigan Alumni Zoom call with former Fab Fiver Jimmy King and SID Bruce Madej he was hopeful Brooks could return as soon as Friday. "
Cross your fingers.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:22 PM ^
forgot the source:
https://michigan.rivals.com/news/michigan-wolverines-basketball-eli-brooks-update-hope-for-a-quick-return
March 10th, 2021 at 12:27 PM ^
Yes please.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
Avoided a serious injury
Even if he doesn't play this weekend, which it seems like he will, it's encouraging for our post season chances that he will most likely be back for the first round of the big dance
March 10th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
If this is true, it feels like we just won a huge game against #1 seed Ankle Sprain. Can absolutely see this as a massive boost for the squad given the downturn in the past week.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:46 PM ^
Boy you’re interpretation of this quote is much more optimistic than mine. I would be pleasantly shocked if he will actually contribute Friday. And even if he could I’d prefer that he doesn’t.
I read it as a nothingburger too. Hell, I'm "hopeful" he'll return too but that doesn't mean much, and it could even be a head fake to mess with other teams' scouting.
It could have been worse.
could have said "season ending" could have said several weeks.
I don't care if he contributes Friday. But it implies that he will be able to actually contribute by the time we will need him in the big dance.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:53 PM ^
Agree. When he had to be helped off, I feared a high ankle sprain which has a fairly long recovery time, even on the short end. I think it would be a benefit to sit him, if possible.
I think Michigan can beat msu or MD without him, maybe Purdue and tougher time against osu. If it comes down to Michigan and Illinois, though, play Brooks and shut up the Illini.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
I actually don't care about the BTT, so if he isn't ready quite yet, I wouldn't push it. Get everyone 100% and let's win 3, 4-team tournaments in row.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:53 PM ^
Yeah, I would prefer for him to sit out the B1G tourny if that means being more healthy for the big dance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us win the B1G tourny without him. But his experience will be crucial for the NCAA tourny.
I mean we kinda lost to two of the worst big ten teams in the only two games he missed, so maybe let's pull back on that claim a bit
I would be VERY surprised to see us win the BTT without Eli.
Absolutely. Let him skip the BTT regardless. Get healthy for the real tournament.
I absolutely agree that he shouldn't play Friday unless he's truly healthy/ready, but can't say I don't care about the BTT. It would awesome to get a second banner for the season and shut up Illinois
March 10th, 2021 at 12:36 PM ^
Ah yes, the proverbial "pat yourself on the back when you call your shot on a blog". As I said, looking at Eli's demeanor Sunday - it was not the actions of a man who played his last college game. About to do my victory lap...
March 10th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
Maybe he's coming back next year? He could. So could Smith. I don't see great guard depth on the current roster and freshmen are always a crap shoot. Bring 'em back. They are not NBA players so what do they have to lose other than getting a master's degree?
Would be nice but people often understandably choose to move on with their lives after 4-5 years of college.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
Let it be so.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
Says great things about the overall severity that there is a chance, I absolutely would not play him this weekend though. Not even close to worth it. We can absolutely beat anyone but IL without him.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:44 PM ^
because you know Eli's ankle better than Eli and his doctors.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
Well we are 0-2 when he plays less than 2 mins in a game and those 2 losses were to the 8th and 13th best teams in the Big Ten. So I'm thinking its more like not sure we can beat anybody in the Big ten without Eli...
March 10th, 2021 at 12:57 PM ^
The coaching staff (and Brooks' replacement) certainly has to help pick up the slack if Brooks is out, but he got hurt during the MSU game and the Minnesota game, if I remember correctly, he was announced to be out the day of so they probably knew a day or 2 before. Replacing a starter mid-game or the day of is exponentially worse than having a week to prepare the new rotation.
So, can Michigan beat any team in the Big Ten (sans Illinois) without Brooks? Maybe, though the top end teams it would take quite the group effort to get there. Can Michigan not beat anyone without Brooks? Given a week to prepare, they better do better than losing to a 9 seed even if it is MSU. General talent level and coaching chops should be able to absorb Brooks' absence against a lower seed.
those 2 losses were to the 8th and 13th best teams in the Big Ten
Brooks is important but some context is important here.
Minnesota, when healthy, looked like a tournament team and beat not only Michigan, but also Iowa, OSU and Purdue. It was after they were hit by injuries that they collapsed.
MSU was a total Jekyll/Hyde team this year. On the road they were putrid. At home MSU not only beat Michigan, but also Illinois and OSU, and was a last-minute collapse from beating Purdue.
March 11th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
Eli is important, but let's cool it with the hyperbole. Saying the team that won the conference can't beat anybody in the conference without him based on a sample size of 2 games is hyperbole. MSU beat other good teams at home as well and Minny was definitely playing better basketball at the time then they did to end the season.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
Are you Maizen?
March 10th, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^
"Hopeful."
March 10th, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^
Not sure how that double-posted.
Oh well. Still hopeful.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:47 PM ^
The BTT and our success hasn't been always indicative as to how we will perform in the big dance. We lost in our first game in 2013 and made the NCG and won the tournament in 2018 and made the NCG.
2019: BTT Runner-up/Sweet 16
2018: BTT Champion/National Runner-up
2017: BTT Champion/Sweet 16
2016: BTT semifinals/Round of 64
2015: BTT quarterfinals/N/A
2014: BTT Runner-up/Elite 8
2013: BTT Quarterfinals/National Runner-up
2012: BTT Semifinals/Round of 64
2011: BTT Semifinals/Round of 32
Strangely, the only year within the past 10 that we didn't win a game in the BTT was the year with our most talented team, and before that you'd have to go all the way back to 2006 for a BTT where we didn't win at least one game.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
I double checked it and Beilein never lost the first game in the BTT his whole time here. In 2013 UM was the 5 and beat Penn State in the 12/5 game before losing to #4 Wisconsin.
Oh good catch. I forgot about that. I remember being so upset about the way we ended the season, the Morgan missed tip, and the debacle vs Wisconsin. I remember something like 65 or 70% of brackets had us losing to either SDSU or VCU in the first weekend.
The Morgan missed tip was actually a block by Yogi Ferrell. He pushed the ball from behind Morgan's hand to cause it to rim out.
That loss to Indiana still stings. We had that game won, and we let it slip away. We were up by five with less than a minute to go, but we couldn't hit our free throws. And then there was Morgan's tip that seemed millimeters away from going in. To top it off, the loss cost us a share of the B1G Championship. AND it was senior night and the last game of the regular season. Ugh.
Yep, 12-0 in the first game of the Big Ten tournament and 8-1 in the first game of the NCAA tournament.
We are in uncharted territory as a 1 seed. Go back and look at the last 10 years national champions and if they won their conference tourney. 8 out of those 10 national championship teams lost in their conference tourney.
The BTT in the past, was a big deal for Michigan. Chance to hang a banner and move up the seed line.
We have the banner and we are a 1 seed. Of course you compete during it, but in no way should the outcome of this tournament make anyone feel any different about our chances headed into March. No one wants to see us starting next week.
True, but losing to Sparty or Illinois again would absolutely suck. Also, our loss in the 2019 BTT Championship Game still stings because it was to Sparty, because it was the third time they beat us that season, and because it kept us from hanging a banner of any kind that year (we lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Texas Tech).
March 10th, 2021 at 12:48 PM ^
Great to hear. Ankle sprains are weird. I am the farthest thing from a high level athlete, but I have had a few ankle sprains where I was shocked that my ankle wasn't broken based on how it felt in the first 3 minutes but was pretty much back to baseline 3-4 days later. The more you sprain them, the faster they seem to bounce back.
Yeah, also helps to be in your early 20's with access to a great medical team and the possibility of a cortisone shot or other things to make it easier to play on
March 10th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
It's consistent with some other rumors I've heard. Sounds like the injury was not as bad as it looked and at a minimum, he should be back for the NCAA Tourney.
I'm of the opinion that he shouldn't play in the conference tournament unless he's 100%. But I trust him and the staff to make the right call
Part of me feels like you make a run at every banner you can, but I get being a little conservative here. A potential side benefit would be getting Brown and Jackson some more minutes.
If he's anything close to 100%, then sure. But there isn't really a use in playing him Friday if he's still limited.
I don't mean to bag on players, especially freshmen...but Zeb has scored all of 10 pts this entire season and he is shooting 15% FG% just to achieve that number. We don't need more minutes from Zeb in the post season. He will be ready next year, but this year he adds no value.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:53 PM ^
Chaundee Brown having to get so many minutes at SG against MSU really made me appreciate Brooks' on-ball defense. It really is elite
That, plus Eli is more of a true point guard than Chaundee. Juwan's offense thrives on ball movement and having two true point guards on the floor at the same time.
If there ever was a player whose impact is so wildly disproportionate to his stat line that he is as indispensable to his team as its star or its leading scorer, it's Eli. Phil Martelli wasn't exaggerating when he called Eli the team's MVP.
March 10th, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^
It would be great to have Eli back by Friday, but give him a rest until, at least, Sunday. If we play on Sunday, then make the decision based on who we play - sit him against anyone but Illinois.
Fingers are crossed. Toes are crossed. Arms are crossed. Eyes are crossed. Here's to hope!!
It is my opinion that he didn’t need to be carried off. He could have been assisted off but Juwan is a foot taller and stooping over to help him put less weight on his ankle was harder than just carrying him.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from this was Jay Smith saying that Brooks is "officially day-to-day."