For all of you who like to debate the merits of Eli, why not keep it in a separate thread and quit polluting other ones.
Here’s my take–he’s pretty close to an elite defender at this point. Can make threes and deep twos, though he’s going through a bit of a shooting slump right now (some of which may be due to Livers’ absence though…) Struggles to get to the rim and doesn’t have a good floater/shot for that awkward 8-12 ft. range. He can also struggle when asked to run point and dribble under pressure.
While DDJ may be playing himself into more minutes, I don’t understand how any intelligent basketball fan would want Brooks on the floor for less than 25 minutes a game with this team. His IQ and positive contributions are simply necessary for our success. Get over it. All players who have matriculated through here have had limitations–for some reason many on this board love to put the spotlight on what Eli can’t do.
I think Brooks is a solid teammate and good rotational piece for a quality team. Flawed player, yes. Limited athletically, yes. But there’s a reason why Coach Beilein trusted him as a rotational player as a FR and SO. And there’s a reason why Coach Howard and Coach Martelli trust him to play 30+ mpg this season. That’s a lot of smart basketball people, who clearly see benefits in what Brooks brings to a team…and he contributes without needing the ball in his hand, which is valuable when you have ball dominant players like Simpson or a slew of talented players like what seems to be shaping up for next year’s squad.
But, ideally, at least in my opinion, next season he’s pushed to a lesser role…closer to 22-25 mpg rather than the 30-32mpg he’s seeing this season.
Off-topic a bit but I hear “limited athletically” a lot for both Simpson and Brooks. I don’t see this as true at all. Of course they’re not world beaters with their athleticism, but they’re both very athletic guards, which is a big reason why they’re elite defensively. They’re both 6 feet and can acrobatically and explosively dunk, it just usually doesn’t show in their offensive game as Simpson plays cerebrally and very smoothly, and Brooks is more of a perimeter guy without the requisite skills to attack the basket efficiently.
Not attacking your opinion here; I agree with basically all of it other than the “limited athletically” part, which I felt like pointing out.
This is my view exactly. He is a solid rotational piece, but ideally would not be starting or playing this many minutes. Unfortunately this team doesn’t have enough quality depth to make that happen. Particularly with Livers out.
Yeah, something tells me the kid probably will end up about 35/36% for his career though. On the whole, I agree with some of the takes on this thread. It’s still weird to me that what he is draws so many extreme takes on this board. The moderate view isn’t all that controversial:
-on this team, he probably needs to play ~30 mpg. DDJ should absorb about 4-5 Brooks minutes, and all of Nunez’ minutes to get to the same number.
-If you actually pay close attention and understand team oriented man defense, Brooks is pretty indispensable on the defensive end. Full stop, end of story. gobluemd had a great analysis of his D against Purdue that all haters should watch. He does that consisently–that’s why two coaching staffs have given him minutes for three years despite inconsistent and for 2+ years some unproductive offense
-he’s limited on offense, but has made strides this year. Not quite the secondary creator that he appeared to be early on and against weaker competition–but still necessary given our current personnel. He may not be an elite or above average shooter, perse, but there’s little doubt he’s in a bit of a slump.
-may see a decreased role next year if recruiting goes to plan. Probably makes sense, too–but as a seasoned senior, he’s not going to disappear from the rotation on an extremely talented team. That says something…
There’s no disputing Brooks defense. He’s an intelligent player having a bad stretch on offense. Hopefully it’s not the norm for the rest of the season.
Can I “like” this comment like TEN times!?! The kid plays excellent defense, and he is usually matched up with someone either 2 or 3 inches taller than he is or someone who is quicker than he is, i.e. a point guard, or both. He does it with intelligence, positioning, and great effort! He is definitely struggling to put the ball in the hole. No question. I’ll bet he would be the first to admit that. But there is no hanging his head, no pouting, just hard work.
By the way, he also moves the ball very well on “O” and handles it better than almost anyone will give him credit for. I would definitely want Eli Brooks on my team, that’s for sure!
I am a huge Bajema fan and have been, and I would love to see him get the opportunity to get some minutes, but they’re not, necessarily, at the two. I wonder if he could back up Franz at the three for those times Franz has to sit a bit with fouls or fatigue, AND maybe slide to the two occasionally. Hmmm…
Dude, Bajema must certainly not be ready if Howard is keeping him on the bench. That’s the only reasonable explanation for Nunez playing ahead of him. I mean, Howard has a 10 man rotation. I have to believe Bajema hasn’t earned his way, despite promising performances in blow outs. Suggesting Cole should take any of Brooks’ minutes is, at this point, just absurd.
I don’t know. It’s definitely not a freshman aversion because he’s let Franz work through a lot of freshman mistakes. Nunez isn’t like Brooks where he’s a lockdown defender, he’s one of the worst defenders I can remember seeing in a Michigan rotation. Bajema probably isn’t very good on that end either right now, but he’s created more offense in 15 minutes than Nunez has this whole season. It might just be a similar stubbornness to the one that keeps us from doubling people who Teske can’t stop one on one.
Who knows unless Bajema is put in meaningful game situations! I doubt he’d be worse than Nunez, who’s seeing court time in Big 10 games. Bajema has a really sweet stroke, would like to see what else
Brooks can’t play PG in this offense effectively because he can’t handle or pass the ball. I never want to see him at the 1. If he gets hot for a game or two it’s gonna be at the 2.
He’s not in a shooting slump. He got hot for a few weeks in the Bahamas. Show me when he was a consistently good 3 pt shooter.
He was a REALLY good shooter in HS and has shown an ability to score against weaker competitors at UM.
He missed multiple layups and 3pt shots today. The reason I’ve been on him is because HE NEEDS to produce for us to win with Livers out. He’s just not consistently capable against B1G competition. I’m not “hating” on him. He is what he is.
Just as Davis has passed Castleton in being productive component for the team, DeJulius needs to be given more mins to showcase his ability to consistently produce. He has more tools. He’s no slouch in D and has 2x the ability on offense. If he can’t, we’re really in trouble because we need a third scoring option. No reason we should lose to that type of Minn team today.
I wonder if he could back up Franz at the three for those times Franz has to sit a bit with fouls or fatigue, AND maybe slide to the two occasionally. Hmmm…