Eli Brooks impressing at NBA G-League Elite Camp
From the Rivals article:
Eli posted a top 5 result in the spot-up shooting drill and had the highest make percentage in the 3 point star drill. In the combine portion, Brooks impressed with a 39" vertical and a standing vert of 31".
He also did well in live game action.
Scoring 14 points in almost 21 minutes, Brooks went 5/9 from the field including 2/4 from behind the arc. In the second scrimmage Brooks continued to shoot well going 3/5 from the field and 3/4 from three. That's 57% FG and 55% 3PT in the two scrimmages.
Damn forgot the link
A 39" vertical?! Go, Eli!
The odd player with a high vertical yet isn’t very athletic.
He's 6'0" and getting oops thrown to him. I'd say that's pretty athletic.
Didn't even think about that, but yeah. 6'0 players (listed 6'1) getting up there for some of those dunks he had is not something you generally see in college basketball. That was a really odd take by the guy.
Maybe you could argue he wasn't a top notch finisher for his athleticism. Idk. He definitely had some weird layup attempts over the years and was 54.5% at the rim last year per cowardly Bart Torvik's site (compared to 60.6% for Jones. And right around where Mike Smith was). I don't really know what elite looks like there for 6'0 players. Probably something like Zavier Simpson's 63% on double the attempts, which Trey Burke was also close to. But he certainly wasn't bad at finishing, just not great and sometimes awkward.
He's athletic but in kind of a weird way. Maybe it's a flexibility/stiffness thing, but I feel like he plays very upright.
Contrast to someone like Poole who's max vert was only 35.5", but he plays quite low, can dip his shoulder and snake around someone, finish around the rim at weird angles, etc.
I’m really impressed with his growth as a player. I used to curse Beilein for playing him back around 2018 and 2019. I am not being hyperbolic I legitimately believed that he was the worst scholarship player in division 1 basketball.
I’m glad that he stayed. We would have struggled with out him the last two seasons and his leadership seemed to have held the team together.
Worst scholarship player in Division 1?
I’d say you were being very hyperbolic …
I was confident about power 5. I wasn’t sure about D-1 as a whole. My only reference point was March madness and none of them jumped off the screen as worse.
go back and watch him in the 2019 B1G title game
I wouldn't advertise that take. That take says a lot more about your ability to assess talent/skill than it says about Eli.
Nobody thought Eli was a world-beater but come on.
That is a brutally bad take in my opinion. Loads and loads of P5 freshmen out there can't even see the floor. Brooks played 30 games and posted a below average, but hardly notable 92 ORtg. FAR from disastrous. Many freshmen look like Ibi Watson's freshman year one season prior, barely playing and posting ORtgs in the 70's. Or Kam Chatman with an 80.5. Or if you want an example of another borderline rotational player who played very similar minutes to Brooks, look at Terrance Williams with his 86 ORtg last season. He wasn't some terrible, unplayable mess of a freshman. That's just often how it goes.
I was confident about power 5. I wasn’t sure about D-1 as a whole. My only reference point was March madness and none of them jumped off the screen as worse.
go back and watch him in the 2019 B1G title game
It was Eli that was hyperbolic that year. After all, he was the 1 over X.
I remember back then; the whole board seemed quite negative about him. I remember thinking it might be best if he transferred. I root for our 'struggle bus' guys, and he definitely had a seat early on. I'd post a positive comment when he had a good play in a game hoping he'd follow it up with more so I wouldn't look silly.
He did.
Yes, he quickly joined the Mark Donnal train of guys who the forums just decide to unload on, but are simply meh players in bad situations.
🤩 ThreEli making it rain and jumping out of the gym!
Way to go, Eli!
Eli will spend more time in the NBA than Houstain.
I vaguely remember you being one of the most vocal critics of your namesake and claimed he wasn't ready for the NBA so your judgement is pretty suspect.
I wish you were one of my close buddies and also had $100 to lose.
I mean Houstan is five years younger. Pretty bold bet I would say.
Look i get it, houstan looks to me be unplayable in the NBA and Brooks is one of my favorite michigan players ever, but houstan is objectively miles ahead of where brooks was five years ago.
There are a lot of really dumb Michigan basketball fans.
I won't disagree. Of course, if you removed the words "Michigan basketball" from that sentence, you'd have a statement that is true for every school, city, and country that have any kind of sports team.
Must be nice to exist in a world where wrongness carries no punishment. Still doesn't exactly warrant behaving as though said wrongness carries no punishment.
https://twitter.com/umichbball/status/1345974377368662017?lang=en
The above film doesn't lie and there is no reason to be surprised by his vertical. And we always knew he could score, when featured, based on his numerous 20+ point outings against top tier competition like UNC, Iowa, Tennessee and LSU.
He graded out as one of the best defenders in the BIG 10 and I always felt like he played a role for the team that helped them win. He probably could have taken over more games if needed.
I really think the NBA can use a shooter like this with really good D.
> He graded out as one of the best defenders in the BIG 10
The problem is he struggled terribly against players with elite first step and quickness and in the nba that will be every single player he guards. Love the guy and basketball IQ wise he is as good as anyone in the NBA but he's going to be a 10 year allstar in the euroleague.
Eli's comin'!
Gotta respect a player that grinded it out for Michigan for multiple years. Seems to be in short supply lately..
the dreaded double post shenanigans .. calling all and any moms to delete
Feels like a guy who'll bounce around a bit but I could see him getting a shot in the league because he's reliable at shooting and is a good defender. Obviously a deep bench guy but teams need those guys.
The problem with Eli is he's a small G who isn't a PG and his position is SG. He is a good shooter but isn't a dynamic athlete so it's hard for me to see where he fits in the NBA. He needs to play with a tall PG to make it work.
I can absolutely see him getting on the summer league and G-League.
The problem is this blogs/posters track record of grading and projecting Michigan talent.
Robinson and Poole for example. The peanut gallery and the NBA scouts are so often off the mark and then we have players that come out of nowhere and do great things above and beyond our first rounders.
The ability to shoot goes a long way. Basketball IQ is huge. But more than anything, like almost everything, it comes down to hard work. Really hard work.
That's fine but Brooks isn't a PG and is 6'1" SG. There aren't many 6'1" SG in the league. Duncan is 6'8" and can shoot. Poole is a better athlete and can create. Eli isn't big nor is a creator. That limit his ability to stick on the NBA roster
Eli was better than both those players at this point of their careers.
Very consistent shooter.