With Michigan basketball’s season cut short just minutes before its Big Ten Tournament opener against Rutgers, the Wolverines had a chance to soak in every last minute together on the bus ride home.

“It was just a lot of crying,” junior guard Eli Brooks said of the scene after the news broke, in an interview with BTN’s Andy Katz. “People were processing at different paces. I think the best thing about it was our entire team, on the bus ride back to Ann Arbor, we had a rap session. It was one thing that brought the whole team together. That was one of the moments I’ll never forget.”

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The bus ride home could’ve been the last time the 2019-20 U-M team will be together, and the players realized that.

“I just remember everyone being connected, just having fun, being around each other in what could be the last time. And then, it ended so quick. We felt like the ride there took forever, but there wasn’t enough time on the bus on the way back that could’ve been spent with those guys.”

Now, it’s time to turn the page to next season. Brooks will be a senior, counted on to provide leadership as a likely captain on a new-look team.

“We have the pieces,” Brooks said. “We have a lot of talented players, it’s just a matter of how well we mesh together. I feel like that’s how it comes down to every team.

“Chemistry is big, so it’ll be interesting how this plays out through these times, because a lot of the stuff that goes on through the offseason is team bonding and getting the trust of the new players, bonding a new team and seeing how pieces fit, so it’ll be interesting to see how that works, not having that time together.”

The approach for stepping into that leadership role is simple: Brooks has seen great leaders come through U-M during his time in Ann Arbor, and will use what he learned from those players in his own leadership.

“I feel like, playing at Michigan, we’ve had great leaders all my time here since my freshman year,” Brooks said. “So, just being able to take some of those skills like the Muhammads [Abdur-Rahkman], the Duncans [Robinson], the Moes [Wagner], Charles Matthews, X [Zavier Simpson] and Jon [Teske] — learning from those people should put me in a good position, just taking what they’ve done because it’s worked.”

• Brooks was asked his thoughts about head coach Juwan Howard in his first season at the helm. He praised Howard’s coaching abilities and trustworthiness.

“It was great,” Brooks said of Howard’s first season. “There was ups and downs, but that comes with any team. I think he handled it well. He showed a lot of his character, and nothing but good things I can say about Coach Howard. I respect him so much, and it’s only been a year that I’ve known him. It takes a while for me to trust people, but he gained my trust pretty quick. Everything he says is spot on how he acts.”

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