The unpredictability of the college basketball season wasn’t easy for sophomore guard Eli Brooks to handle.
As a freshman, Brooks experienced the ups-and-downs of a long season first hand. Brooks earned early playing time, starting 11 straight games beginning in Michigan’s game against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational.
However, after starting at Iowa on January 2, Brook’s minutes dwindled, and he found himself on the outside of the rotation as the Wolverines made a run to the NCAA Championship game. Brooks only had four points total the rest of the season after that start at Iowa.
While it wasn’t an easy experience for Brooks, he learned from the disappointment of the end of his freshman season.
“At first, it was a little frustrating, but you have to see the bigger picture and I think I saw the bigger picture,” Brooks said. “I worked a lot in practice, not just waiting until next year to get better, getting better throughout the season even if I wasn’t playing. I’ve got a lot more confidence this year.”
That confidence should help him with his shot. Last season, Brooks struggled to shoot the ball and finished the year shooting 30.2 percent from the field.
It was even worse from three.
From beyond-the-arc, Brooks shot 24.4 percent in his freshman campaign, but he said with his added confidence, his shot is coming along. He said he knew what drills to work on to improve his shot and with added repetitions, his shot should be improved.
Brooks could’ve gone in the tank last season, but he continued to work and be an integral part of Michigan’s practices.
“He handled it last year really well and it was hard for him,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “He got chances to go back on the scout team and really get reps in. One of the reasons, remember, he played was flow. He just understood flow. He just sees the game slower than others, and that's a good thing.”
In his first season as a Wolverine, Brooks hit a bump that he couldn’t get over, but is in a good place with his second season ready to start.
“Sometimes every player, he when I played in college, we all hit that wall once upon a time,” assistant coach DeAndre Haynes said. “You try to get through it and he just couldn’t get out of that funk. But he’s back and he’s looking good. I tell him every time, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ I called him the other day and told him, ‘The things you’re doing right now, will really help this team out.’”
When Brooks hit his wall last season, he turned to his teammates to get him through the difficulties of college basketball. He leaned on the leaders who told him to keep his confidence up, even if the numbers weren’t there.
“The other seniors last year helped me through a lot,” Brooks said. “Muhammad (Ali Abdur-Rahkman) helped me through just talking to me, talking to me about his story. Duncan (Robinson) also. His struggles in college.”
What Brooks went through last season wasn’t easy, but he’s now using what he went through to help the younger guys on the team.
“One thing is he’s a better leader,” Haynes said. “He’s talking to Iggy, Adrian, our freshman class, he’s actually teaching them and it’s great to see that. Muhammad left a great footprint on him.”
While Brooks described his freshman season as a roller coaster, he knows it helped him grow as a person. He stayed the course and is hoping there’s more ups than downs in his sophomore season.
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