Eli Brooks: 'A Champion' in Every Way
Michigan's two-time captain is praised for all he's brought to the program in five seasons by his coaches and teammates on Senior Night.
Photo Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Eli Brooks has spent more time at Crisler Center than any Wolverine ever has. Thursday night’s game was his last time on the court for a regular season game here in a career that has seen him play more games (154) and win more games (121-45) than any other player in program history.
Someday, Brooks will very likely return to the hardwood with the blue Block M at center court for a reunion with the 2018 Final Four and Big Ten Tournament championship team and again with the 2020-2021 Big Ten regular season champions.
However, despite a splendid effort by Brooks – who had 17 points, three rebounds and two assists – it wasn’t much of a Crisler finale for a standout player. Iowa (22-8, 12-7 Big Ten) held off a late comeback effort by Michigan (16-13, 10-9) to split the season series, gaining an 82-71 payback victory.
The best tribute to Brooks was something Michigan coach Juwan Howard said about him earlier this season: “I feel like we have the best leader in college basketball in Eli Brooks. That guy is our leader. He's been our leader last year. He's taken on that role in assembling his teammates. His teammates love him because he's like another coach out the floor and in practice. He gives so much to the team. night in and night out, every day in practice with his effort, his voice. He knows the system. He knows what we ask of our players from the offensive and defensive end. He also knows what his job and responsibility is too.”
Brooks, a 6-foot-1 guard, is a two-time captain. He was coached at Spring Grove (Pa.) High by his father, James, and the sons of coaches almost always end up being superb leaders. You also see that on this Michigan team in sophomore Jace Howard, son of Juwan.
Phil Martelli, the interim head coach while Howard serves a five-game suspension for an altercation at Wisconsin, made the most interesting comment about Brooks after playing him the full 40 minutes in the Feb. 23 win over Rutgers:
“He’s, like, an extraordinary dude. Who do I want with me? OK, he’s the first guy I want with me. I just think his experience, and not just his experience playing the game, but think about the teammates Eli has had and how he’s dealt with that. He’s dealt with Zavier Simpson, a strong, ball-handling guard, a strong voice. He’s played with Franz Wagner. He’s played with these guys and guys his freshman year that I don’t even know. But Eli has navigated the waters, and, man, I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Martelli wasn’t here for Brooks’ first two seasons. He was recruited by John Beilein, who had a way of finding under-recruited players he developed into something special. And in those years, Brooks played with future NBA players like Moe Wagner, Duncan Robinson, Jordan Poole, D.J. Wilson and Ignas Brazdeikis. Recent teammates Isaiah Livers, Chaundee Brown, Jr., Jon Teske and Franz Wagner also have made it to the NBA.
Brooks, in addition, has played with these very likely future NBA players: Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate and Colin Castleton – who has become a beast in the paint since transferring to the University of Florida. Don’t count out Terrance Williams II in that group, either.
And Brooks was influenced early by a great point guard in Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman – who played with the same great poise and had the same sweet stroke Brooks displays. He’s also teamed in the backcourt with a pair of hard-driving point guards: Mike Smith and now DeVante’ Jones.
I asked Martelli to speculate on where Brooks – who could play in the pros, coach somewhere or become a monk – will be in five to 10 years.
“He will be debating philosophically something,” Martelli said with a chuckle. “It could be basketball. It could be, hopefully, a better world. I don’t know how much money you can make in philosophy, but he will be a thought leader wherever he is.”
Brooks got a full Buddha arm tattoo last year and studies Buddhism. He also earned an undergraduate degree in general studies, and currently is pursuing a master’s degree in Michigan’s School of Social Work.
"We don't call him ‘The Professor’ for no reason," said Jones. "He does everything for the team. He defends the best players. He makes good reads and scores the ball at a high level. So, that's what we need from him. He's probably the best leader in the country, as Coach Juwan Howard would say.”
Houstan was asked what Brooks does best and said, “It’s his calm demeanor. He leads by example and also knows when to get vocal."
Juwan nicknamed him “The Professor” upon arriving.
"Eli's been rock solid the last three years and just grows," said Howard. "He gets better and better and we put a lot of trust in him."
Howard couldn’t be here under the stipulations of his suspension, and that was difficult for all. Howard sent the seniors texts, thanking them for their contributions and efforts. There weren’t any speeches during the pre-game ceremony where the seniors received framed jerseys with game photos, and mothers were handed flower bouquets.
“I’m always disappointed on Senior Night when you don’t get a win,” said Martelli. “The framed jerseys, the flowers, the parents on the court, the applause, the people are so kind – is terrific and well deserved. But a senior would want to go out feeling like a champion that particular night. So, I’m disappointed I was not able to deliver for those seniors.”
Forward Brandon Johns, Jr., also honored on Senior Night along with Adrien Nunez, Jaron Faulds and Brandon Wade, was the only one who played crunch-time minutes with Brooks over the last four years.
“It was very emotional,” Johns said of the night. “I’ve been with Eli since I got here (from East Lansing High) and he’s taught me so much. He helped me with a lot of different things that are unspeakable. So, I appreciate Eli more than anybody. Obviously, all the seniors and everybody, I’m going to miss. It’s been a great four years, a great ride for sure.
“So, we’ll see what’s next to come.”
Brooks has spoken with the media after many games this season, but didn’t meet with reporters after this loss to Iowa.
I scrolled back through the stories and found a comment from Eli that fit perfectly into the night’s theme.
“It’s about gaining different experiences,” Brooks said back in November. “Like from the first time I played in Crisler, it’s slowed down a lot because I’ve seen the different ball screen reads, things like that. Those in-game experiences go a long way.”
Nobody had more of them for Michigan than Eli Brooks, and he will be missed in Ann Arbor. That, when you get right down to it, is the greatest tribute any player can achieve.
Martelli, who recalled his mother, Kelly Brooks, while recruiting Eli as the head coach at St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, summed up Brooks’ career:
“With Eli – I think that he’s a champion,” said the coach who won the most games (444) at that school and lost an Elite Eight game in 2004 as national coach of the year. “The wins record here, the Final Four, (three) Sweet 16s and all that stuff.
“But he’s just a champion. He performs. He brings a championship mentality to everything that he does – whether it’s in the weight room, getting extra shots, his approach to understanding not just where his four guys are at, but he knows where the five guys on the other team are supposed to be.”
Brooks has scored 1,073 points, made 162 3-pointers, had 295 assists and grabbed 376 rebounds. He’s second on the team this season with 12.1 points per game, and leads with 29 steals and 35.3 minutes per game.
He started 12 games as a true freshman on that great team, but didn’t become a regular starter until these last three seasons.
Martelli added, “And as his grandfather and mother were walking across the court (in the ceremony), I thought back to him as a ninth-grader, walking down the hallway in my office at St. Joe’s. And I said that to his mother on the court: ‘Who would have ever thought this? That here I am on the court with him on his last home night.’ He’s got a lot more games to play.
“But I don’t think Eli’s legacy on this program is the wins, the 1,000 points, this or that. It’s the fact that he’s the epitome of a captain. When Juwan gave him that captainship two years ago, we’re better for having him in our lives and in this program.”
Great story! I didn’t know Coach Martelli recruited Brooks for St. Joe’s. Life really is funny that they’d be together for Senior Night after all.