Brandon Johns And Eli Brooks Embracing Larger Roles, Newfound Confidence
When the Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team hosted its annual Media Day event on Oct. 17, two players specifically mentioned confidence as an area of their respective games that had grown significantly in the offseason — sophomore forward Brandon Johns and junior guard Eli Brooks.
That newfound confidence was on full display for Brooks in the season-opening win over Appalachian State on Nov. 5, with the junior pouring in a career-high 24 points (his previous high had been nine) on 5-of-11 shooting from deep, while also making his final five free throw attempts of the game as the Mountaineers were mounting their furious comeback.
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“I see a lot more confidence — not even just in scoring, but also in the way I look out there on the court and with my presence,” Brooks revealed yesterday when asked what the biggest difference he’s noticed in himself after watching film of the Appalachian State victory.
“[I was] talking to people on the court and not just worrying about myself, and was also trying to organize other people out there as well.”
Johns, meanwhile, didn’t stuff the stat sheet the way Brooks did, but still scored five points and pulled down three boards in a career-high 19 minutes.
The 6-8 sophomore also threw down two enormous dunks during the Nov. 5 win, one off a beautiful one-handed pass from senior point guard Zavier Simpson, and the other off an impressive assist from senior center Jon Teske.
“Jon has the passing ability of a guard, because he sees the court so well for a big,” Johns explained. “It’s something he worked on a lot over the entire summer.”
Head coach Juwan Howard showed a tendency to use two bigs at once against the Mountaineers, playing both Teske and sophomore center Colin Castleton together for spurts.
“It’s like having two huge towers out there, and it’s great working with each other,” Johns said of the multiple-big look.
“Our size causes offenses to slow down, so I think it’s helped us out.”
Out of the 10 Creighton players who have seen action this season, only two stand taller than 6-7 — freshman forward Nic Zeil (6-8) and senior center Kelvin Jones (6-11).
The Blue Jays’ lone contest so far this season was an 81-55 victory over Kennesaw State on Nov. 5, meaning (like Michigan) they’ve also had a week to prepare for tonight’s game.
“They’re a great team who can shoot the ball in transition very well,” Johns exclaimed. “They also like to run in transition, so we’ve been working on that aspect all week.”
The Wolverines’ new up-tempo transition approach on offense received mixed reviews against Appalachian State, with the club committing 17 turnovers in the win, more than they had in any game last season.
Some will cite that a higher number of possessions will automatically lead to turnovers, and while that’s true to a degree, the Maize and Blue were still way too sloppy and careless with the ball at times.
“Working on the fundamentals and getting them down will help us out on our possessions, so that’s our biggest thing right now,” Johns explained.
“We’ve done passing drills and have worked on not traveling, and I think they’ve helped a lot — we’re starting to get it back down.
“We’re kind of bringing those basics back a little bit, like landing on two feet and catching the ball with both hands.”
Notes
• After averaging 19 minutes per game through the Wolverines’ first six contests last season, Brooks’ role decreased mightily, with a lack of confidence admittedly playing a factor.
The then-sophomore only wound up averaging 12.9 minutes on the year, to go along with 2.5 points per outing.
“If I missed a shot last year, I’d turn down a lot of other shots,” Brooks recalled. “Having the first one go through is always big, but even when that’s not happening, I still continue to shoot.
“It [the starting role] plays into it too, but even last year, Coach [John] B[eilein] would tell me to shoot it and I’d still pass up shots.”
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