What Does Losing Eli Brooks Mean for Michigan?

Cameron Young- News Editor

Michigan has already won the Big Ten regular season championship, and is nearly a lock for a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. After a demoralizing loss to Illinois and a close loss on the road to rival Michigan State in the last week however, Michigan fans have a reason to be nervous headed into the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. To make matters worse, senior guard Eli Brooks seemed to have a legitimate ankle injury against Michigan State last Sunday, causing him to miss the rest of the game. While Brooks’ status remains unknown, Michigan will have to find a way to survive and advance for the rest of the season.

Brooks is to Michigan what many call the “glue guy” of the basketball team. When he is on the floor, it seems that everything is able to come together for Michigan. He plays phenomenal defense, he shares the ball, he is able to run the point to take pressure off of Mike Smith, and he is able to knock down any shot on the floor when the opportunity presents itself. While senior transfer guard Chaundee Brown is able to fill the role of knocking down open jumpers and playing fantastic defense, it does not justify what Brooks can bring to the floor for Michigan. Also, it looks like freshman guard and Toledo native Zeb Jackson will need to play very important minutes in the absence of Brooks, and has to get better every second he plays.

Even if he is able to make it back in time for either tournament, the Wolverines cannot miss the chance to prepare without Brooks, for in their three loss season, they are 0-2 when Brooks does not play considerable minutes in the game. Juwon Howard is going to have to be creative with scheme and incorporating the bench if Michigan wants to be a championship team.

Despite how important of a role Brooks plays for the team, Michigan is a top five team in the nation for a reason. They have amazing players all over the floor who are capable of coming together to beat every team in the country. It will be very interesting to keep an eye on how Michigan handles this early-March adversity.