Spring Grove down by 7 at the half. The stream is terrible, not really worth watching. Brooks is getting doubled every time he touches the ball, and his teammates are turning it over. Level of competition is awful. He has 13 pts, 9 reb, 2 blocks, 2 assist.
Iām from the York area where Eli plays. You are right, the level of competition is not very strong here but Brooks canāt control that. He is going out and doing what you would expect him to doā¦dominate. You can tell he was brought up in the game. He is extremely cerebral in his play. Knows the right spots to be in and gets his teammates involved even though he is hands down the best player. Will he come in and dominate next year, maybe not. Can he contribute, absolutely. Is he the type of guy you wonāt have to worry about getting in trouble for something stupid, absolutely. He is going to represent your program in the right way. He will also be one of if not your hardest worker.
3 Likes
I wasnāt trying to disrespect Eli by pointing out the competition level. Just an observation. He has the drive and dish for a three down to a science, but his teammates canāt really convert. But he does it anyways, which is admirable. Whatās impressive is that he dominates without being ball-dominant.
Thats a sign of a great player. He takes care of business against weaker competition. It is like when UM plays guarantee games they win big. Future is bright for Eli here.
My post before wasnāt meant to downplay him either. I believe heās the real deal but I was wondering if there was more film floating around. The film I saw he was very solid but I felt it was hard to get a total feel for him. Iād like to see more. Hopefully he comes in ready to give us some minutes.
1 Like
Love the fact that Eli can shoot off of screens from both midrange and distance.
That said I wasnāt particularly impressed with the brief display of ball handling, as he was high with the handle and not particularly tight with it. Also the jump shot off the dribble looked very mechanical and there was no lift on that shot.
Also I think Eli has decent verticality, but heāll need to learn to get into the defenders chest rather than avoiding contact with the up and under finishes. Heās not athletic enough for that to translate in college IMO.
Would love to see him live or more film, but the more I see of Eli Iām convinced heās simply a 5ā11 shooting guard. I donāt think heās a primary ball handler in any way at the next level at this point.
Does he have Yogi Farrell potential?
Nowhere near the first step quickness or ball handling ability. Not even close IMO
Hi guys long time follower first time poster. Iām from the York Area and was able to attend this game last night and MattD is spot on with his observations just from this short clip. Some caveats do apply in the fact that Eli plays on a very poor team and routinely is doubled and tripled team at times. With that being said I was surprised to see that Eli was playing off the ball for most of the game and when he did handle it he had quite a few turnovers. In my opinion he wonāt be an immediate contributor other than a guy that can catch and shoot and he does that very well. Very quick release on his shot. I did not see a guy that can particularly create very well for others but hereās hoping that when he plays with better teammates that opens the floor for him more and that changes. He finished last night with 30 points and 5 three pointers in his teams loss. Very nice kid as took the time to take a picture and talk to my son before the game. Iām going to try to make it out to a few more games this season
1 Like
Couldnāt agree more on the character of Brooks, really good kid.
So the recruiting profile continues to be:
- High character student-athlete
- Presumed ability to hit a jump shot
1 Like
And you could argue that 4 of our 5 most probable starters next year are lacking #2
Nah. Wagner is a center who is hitting 47% from 3; DJ Wilson is a PF hitting 39% from 3. Those are very good shooting numbers from the 4 and 5 positions. Simpson has taken 6 threes all year, so Iām not ready to write him off as a shooter (and heās still hitting 33%). Then Poole or Robinson are more likely to start than MAAR, especially if shooting is an issue. I donāt think we need to worry about Beileinās abillity to recruit players who can shoot.
2 Likes
Oh Iām not worried I just find it ironic that we are criticizing him for only recruiting one on-court skill (shooting) and on paper thatās one of the most glaring weaknesses in our starters next year. Iām with you in hoping Poole or Robinson start. And no doubt Mo and DJ are good options compared to other front courts in shooting ability.
My point is āpresumed ability to hit a jump shotā isnāt why JB took X, MAAR, Matthews, and Wilson.
2 Likes
Ah, gotcha.
Thanks for the on-scene take, hopefully you can provide some more. If he can be a quality catch and shoot guy from day one with decent size and athleticism at the guard spot, thatād be valuable. And weāll see what he can do after getting some coaching from JB & co. As you say, if heās on a bad team getting double/triple teamed it might be hard to identify his playmaking potential.
If I am not mistaken he is a coaches son. Will probably be real coachable. Until I see more film I am not ready to say his handle is less than adequate. Turnovers on a poor team can be the product of having to carry the team and make things happen to have a chance for your team to win a game.
I have seen Wagner and Wilson hit plenty of jump shots. Will one of them not be starting?
Agreed, but using that logic how can you say that his handle is adequate?