2017 - PG - Eli Brooks (Commit)

Any evidence that his floater is as good as some have reported?

His entire game is suspect because of the competition.

Not recalling if I saw a floater or not. He got most of his points around the rim.

So far Iā€™m thinking Brooks is either awesome or Matt vogrich 2.0 (never really translates to college success). Itā€™s hard scoring 30 ppg even against suspect competition when youā€™re not 6ā€™10" so he could just be efficient and crafty and keep getting it done (think 12 ppg or better). Letā€™s hope he goes that way. Weā€™re all rooting for him.

Wasnā€™t X averaging 30+ in high school?

1 Like

I believe so. X is getting better game by game and I believe he will come into his own some point soon. Beginning of next year very likely.

Eli Brooks up to 29.1 points per game

1 Like

I think Dylan posted that footage 10 days ago.

Shoot first, noā€¦Light on assists due to weak supporting group

Eli signing Michigan gear for a local 6th grade youth team

4 Likes

Iā€™ve watched a couple of his games online since then. Itā€™s almost pointless for him to pass since his teammates canā€™t finish. But he still does it with good vision, which speaks to his selflessness. It will be interesting to see how ready (or not) he is next year.

1 Like

Hereā€™s a periscope of Eliā€™s most recent game I think from one of the writers at Michigan insiders. As noted earlier and often in this thread competition level is bad

Eliā€™s team stinks.

New footage of Eli from last night. My takeā€¦we shouldā€™ve went after Deshawn Millington if we had to recruit rural PA. Obviously horrible comp, but that kid has some tools.

Iā€™ll disagree on that take. If all you value is athleticism, then yes, but if thatā€™s all you value, then David DeJulius is not as athletic as a whole lot of PGs we could have targeted. And if, as youā€™ve said, AAU competition counts more with you than bad high school comp, then Brooksā€™ AAU results, admittedly at a level below eybl, but nonetheless at a reasonably high level, should trump in the comparison. Simply put, to my eye, Brooks is a clear take over the other kid unless, possibly, youā€™re drafting for a one on one competition.

Actually, thatā€™s the first recent film Iā€™ve seen where Brooks wasnā€™t double teamed every time he touched the ball, likely because of the other kidā€™s ability. Quicker release, taking the ball to the holeā€“I liked that film.

2 Likes

Feel free to disagree, as of course, that is your prerogative. That said, you are absolutely wrong with your implication that athleticism is the only way Millington is an upgrade over Brooks based on that film above. Fact is, he has a much better change of direction/handle than Eli Brooks. Has nothing to do with athleticism, at all, period. Millington appears to have the ability to score at all 3 levels, off the dribbleā€¦exactly what we need.

Simply put, to me eye, Brooks is not a take, at all. But thatā€™s just my opinion on the matter. I havenā€™t seen a single clip in which I came to the conclusion that Brooks is anything more than a 5ā€™11 SG at the college level. Like I said, I really like the kid personally based on my brief interaction with him, but his film isnā€™t very encouraging in my view, especially as it relates to our roster needs.

Did I hear Mo Bamba get a reference in the song for that video?

1 Like

Matt, Iā€™m not opening on whether Brooks is a take; we likely wonā€™t know that for a year or maybe even two. What Iā€™m saying is that heā€™s better than Deshawn Millington, a kid who, despite obviously great athleticism, doesnā€™t have a single D1 offer midway through his senior year, let alone offers from Villanova, OSU, NC State and Michigan. Coaches, scouts and fans can, of course, be wrong, but kids like Millington tend to get the benefit of a ā€œwe can coach him upā€ look as opposed to less athletic kids who are often viewed as having plateaued. And despite that, Millington has no offers.

Everything Millington does in that tape comes in the context of one on one actionā€“thereā€™s no ball pressure, handling in traffic, change of direction when confronted with help defenders in the lane, none of that. I donā€™t know how you can definitively say that he has a better handle/change of direction than Brooks without seeing that. You can say heā€™s quicker and a better athlete. Thatā€™s it IMO.

Where Iā€™m confused is that all of the things youā€™ve said about others seems to get flipped with Eli. Brandon Johns isnā€™t a take despite dominating crappy competition because his AAU performance was unimpressive, but Eli, who by all accounts was really, really good in AAU comp (admittedly at a mid, not upper, level), doesnā€™t get that benefit. Eli is a smaller, not incredibly athletic shooter, but so is Dave, and you love Daveā€™s game. Again, I donā€™t know whether Eli will turn out to be a good call or a bad oneā€“Iā€™m not defending the decision hereā€“but I think conclusions on him are really premature.

5 Likes

Yes. Bamba was mentioned in the song. Coincidence? Or Clue?!?

1 Like

Briefly

  1. Millington has no offers - so what? I limited the analysis to the film above. You claim that he we have to account for lack of ball pressure, trafficā€¦my counter to that is Brooks isnā€™t able to display any change of direction even with the lack of ball pressure, traffic, so in my view, there is a difference. So in my opinion, I think he displayed a significantly better handle in relation to Brooks. Again, if you disagree, that is your preference.

  2. Nothing gets flipped with Eli, his AAU competition is poor relatively speaking. Essentially, if you arenā€™t playing on a shoe sponsored circuit, the comp level is relatively poor. Having seen a ton of AAU games, EYBL is elite comp, Under Armour is above average, Adidas is average. I would not consider Brooksā€™ AAU comp to be ā€˜midā€™. So my conclusion is that heā€™s playing well against suspect competition once again.

  3. There is no comparison to Dave in my view, who shows the ability to create off the dribble and knock down shots after creating separation consistently. Again, if you disagree, that is your preference.