The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2017 BASKETBALL RECRUITING The Maroon Giants were slated to play Holt in a March 15 regional game. "You want to be playing your best basketball now, and it seems like we've turned a corner," Nichols said. "I think we're playing our best basket- ball of the season." In Pennsylvania, Michigan guard signee Eli Brooks and his Spring Grove team moved to 21-8 and made history with a 49-48 win over West Scranton in PIAA Class 5A play March 10, the first state tournament victory in program history for the Rockets. Spring Grove had qualified for the state tournament by finishing in the top four of its district. Brooks scored 26 points for Spring Grove, pulling within one spot of No. 2 on the Yorks-Adams Conference all- time career scoring list. His two free throws with 25 seconds remaining were the difference. Spring Grove started its playoff journey with an easier-than-expected 73-46 victory over New Oxford in the first round of its district play. Brooks scored 21 in the Feb. 20 game. "Spring Grove always finds a way … that's what I love about that team, except when I have to coach against them," New Oxford coach Sean Bair told the York Dispatch after seeing his team lose to the Rockets for the third time this season. New Oxford ran a box-and-one on Brooks, but the future Wolverine still finished as his team's top scorer, in- cluding a "spectacular" dunk in the third quarter, when Spring Grove out- scored New Oxford 19-9. Brooks and Co. rallied from seven down with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to beat Manheim Central and advance to the PIAA Class 5A District semifinals Feb. 23. The win also clinched a berth in the state tournament. Brooks didn't play his best game, but he still scored 25 points in the victory. "We sped Central up and got them into a couple turnovers," head coach James Brooks, Eli's father, said. "They started fouling Eli at that point, and we were able to score with no time coming off the clock. He made 10 free throws in the fourth quarter." One of his teammates hit a crucial one down the stretch, as well, at the same time a fan accidentally turned off the lights in the gym. It created a sur- real atmosphere, James Brooks said. "The last game for Eli and the se- niors there, to have the lights go off, to come back like that … it was great," he said. Brooks' free throws were critical. He had been limited to only seven points at halftime. "We have total confidence in him. … We always say, 'When you make it Eli, we'll get back on defense,'" Spring Grove's Austin Panter told Game- TimePa.com. Brooks reportedly finished the game with a scar on his right ear after tak- ing a knee to the head while driving through the lane, and he had been told he might need stitches, indicative of the physical nature of the game. He was at his most aggressive at the end. "There was a big emphasis on try- ing to get as many points as possible with the clock stopped," James Brooks noted. The Rockets next faced York-Adams Conference champion Northeastern at Hershey's Giant Center March 1 in the semifinals. The two teams split their meetings this year, and Northeastern took the rubber match, 78-58. Brooks scored 35 of Spring Grove's 58 points, knocking down four triples and going 7 for 7 at the free throw line. Spring Grove hung around for the first half, but the Bobcats outscored the Rockets, 21-7, in the third quarter to pull away. The Rockets faced Hershey in the third-place game, losing 87-76 March 5 despite 44 points from Brooks. He made three triples and 15 of 16 free throws in the loss. At 6-1, Brooks is only a Rivals.com three-star prospect, but his offer list — and his recent play — indicates he's got the potential to be much better. His coach might be his father, but he knows a good player when he sees one. He's already thinking ahead to life without his son. "We're excited for him to be up there at Michigan. Now it's getting closer … he'll be up there in June, so he's get- ting really excited," James Brooks said. "Everybody keeps asking me what I'm going to do next year. That's the bigger thing. I've been around him, seen everything and coached every- Future Wolverine Eli Brooks, a 6-1 guard at Spring Grove (Pa.) Area High, scored 26 points to help lead his team to a 49-48 win over West Scranton in the first round of the Pennsylvania Class 5A state tournament. PHOTO BY JOSH VERLIN/CITY OF BASKETBALL LOVE