Eli Brooks talks defensive upside, more ahead of season opener vs. Buffalo
Michigan basketball opens its 2021-22 season on Wednesday in a crusade to compete for a national championship. In order to do so, they will lean on a stout defense that KenPom ranks first in the country ahead of the new campaign.
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Fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks is Michigan’s captain and will look to set the tone on the defensive end of the floor. He has help this year in the form of Coastal Carolina guard DeVante’ Jones, who has drawn rave reviews for his defensive prowess.
The chemistry between the two is already high.
“DeVante’ is a really good defender,” Brooks told the media on Tuesday afternoon. “Him coming from a different school, they have different principles. They have different concepts between Coastal and our defense. He’s been picking it up really well. It’s nice to have someone out there who likes to play defense and is really good at it. It does take a lot off my plate.”
Michigan has possessed a top-five defense on KenPom for three of Brooks’ four seasons in Ann Arbor. He expects this year to be in the conversation for the best he has been part of.
“Our ceiling is really high defensively because we have a lot of athletic guys,” Brooks said. “Now it’s just about teaching technique and having that connection on the court. We have athletes like Moussa (Diabate), Brandon Johns. You have a 7-foot-2 (Hunter Dickinson) guy in the middle. DeVante’, myself, Caleb (Houstan). We have athletes that can guard. Now, you have to buy into it. We have the pieces to be the best defensive team in the country. It’s buying the defense and different teaching techniques.”
Michigan basketball’s youth and passing the torch
Michigan comes into the season with high expectations, but with several new faces. They bring in six freshmen this year, along with a transfer guard in Jones.
Brooks knows that things will not come easily, especially early on.
“The majority are young guys, so there’s going to be a lot of mistakes and room to grow. We have a lot of people that know the game and that helps a lot with learning in being able to apply it. And then Coach does a really good job asking people how they learn. If that’s film or actually doing it on the court. He respects that. Having the ability to adapt to learning styles and have a group that’s willing to learn goes a long way.”
Freshman guard Kobe Bufkin projects to come off the bench to spell both Brooks and Jones. While known as an explosive scorer, he has taken to the teaching of the Michigan coaching staff in all areas.
“To be able to get a lot of experience is big, especially early on,” Brooks said. “It allows you to see what you have to work on and what works. Kobe really embraces the teaching aspect so I think under Coach Howard and Coach Eisley, he’s going to be able to grow a lot in these games.”
Brooks sizes up Buffalo
Michigan basketball’s opening opponent is not a typical tuneup game. Buffalo is expected to be one of the teams to beat in the Mid-American Conference and will provide a challenge on the boards.
Forwards Josh Mballa and Jeenathan Williams combined to average 17.6 rebounds per game last season. Mballa was the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21. The Wolverines are on high alter.
“They had the No. 1 offensive rebounder who’s their four-man (Mballa) this year,” Brooks said. “They can really score the ball and were fifth or sixth in scoring last year. They attack offensive rebounds. It’s going to be a good test for us and I’m excited to take that challenge on.”
Wednesday night’s game tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET from Crisler Center and will be live on Big Ten Network. Michigan will raise its 2020-21 Big Ten regular season championship banner prior to the contest.
