Michigan head coach Juwan Howard made it known more than once how much he loved his senior class, saying repeatedly each had an open invitation to return after the NCAA granted athletes an extra year due to COVID.

It was a foregone conclusion Isaiah Livers would leave, having come very close to bolting after his junior season. He’s on track to graduate in May and just starting a six-month recovery from foot surgery.

Point guard Mike Smith is giving the NBA a shot — if he doesn’t make it, he’ll have several options in the private sector — and wing Chaundee Brown thought about it, but he’s ready to pursue his professional path.

Fifth-year senior Austin Davis, meanwhile, is looking at a pro career overseas.

That left Eli Brooks.

Of all the candidates to return, he might have been the most important. He made Howard a happy man when he told him April 14 he’d be back. He did it in the usual Brooks way — no fanfare, just a tweet from the program that the captain would return.

His dad and former coach, James Brooks, told us a few months ago what we were all thinking … that such a move could be huge for the program, though he had no idea what his son would do.

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“I think it would be great for Michigan if Eli came back because he’s the right personality for the younger guys to see what the work ethic is (that’s needed) and how you make yourself good,” he said. “Learning the plays … he’s a teacher and he understands stuff.

“From that aspect, I think it would be good.”

So did Howard, which is why he deemed him “The Professor.”

But the lucky few hundred in attendance when Michigan pounded Michigan State to clinch the Big Ten title found out his dad had bestowed another nickname upon him long before.

While the confetti fell and the family members in attendance watched the seniors receive their framed jerseys, a tribute played on the massive Crisler scoreboard. That’s when James Brooks revealed the secret after telling his son how proud he and his wife, Kelly, were, and how much they loved him.

“One last thing,” he said. “You know him as number 55, but we know him as ‘The Muffin.’”

That left everyone to wonder … was it something to do with the hair? Was he privy to the pastry when he was a kid?

It turned out he got the nickname years earlier because he would rise up under pressure, like a muffin in the oven. In that respect the nickname fit perfectly. He’s hit big shot after big shot the last few years, the guy to take it upon himself to end another team’s run or apply a dagger down the stretch.

He was the reason the Wolverines were in the round of 32 game with LSU early when the Tigers looked ready to run U-M out of the gym, making several triples. Nobody was certain Brooks would ever reach that level during his first two seasons in Ann Arbor. Though he’d had his moments, he’d had some struggles that affected his confidence.

Brooks wasn’t sure what to think when Howard replaced head coach John Beilein, either. But Howard’s approach was just what he needed, and he continued to blossom as he had under Beilein.

“When coach Howard came, I think what really happened was he really got to know who Eli was and saw that with his ups and downs, there was the flash that this could be something good,” James Brooks said. “He really empowered Eli to really think that he was good. You can say somebody is good, but your actions speak so much more than what your words do.

“With coach Howard, there were times I was like as both a dad and his ex-coach thinking, ‘my goodness — stop him from doing that!' [Howard] would let him go and he would get himself out of it. He’d say, ‘wow, coach Howard really believes in me and lets me have some freedom. I feel empowered on the court … they believe in me. I’m going to take this and I’m going to be strong with it.’”

But James Brooks still wasn’t sure if his son would opt for a fifth year. It hadn’t been a typical four years of energy, he noted — a lot of on and off the court happenings that took a lot out of him — and when his brother asked months ago if he’d consider a return, he wasn’t even ready to think about it.

“He said, ‘let me get through the season,’” James Brooks recalled. “If I still get joy about being in Ann Arbor and I’m doing well, maybe I’ll consider it.’”

He was and he did, and now he’s back for another season to lead what should be another talented, albeit different-looking, Juwan Howard team.

The muffin is set to rise again, and his teammates, Howard and Michigan fans couldn’t be happier.

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