The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 57 BASKETBALL RECRUITING thing he's done. The coaching part, I know he's in good hands, but it's one of those things where I'm going to have to get used to sitting in the stands." The younger Brooks was averaging 29.9 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game heading into the state tournament, the Rockets' second straight appearance. He was slated to see Michigan play at Rutgers in February, but he was being honored with an award as Male Athlete of the Year by a local rotary club the same night. Brooks did make it to Washington, D.C. to see the Wolverines win the Big Ten Tournament. As proud as he is of his son as a player, the parent in James Brooks is even prouder of the man he's be- come. "Eli has really done exceptionally on how we do things, why we do things, giving back to the commu- nity, all those things that get to that," he said. "We've always really talked about how it can easily be taken away; what people remember you for. That's really been a driving force for him." On the court, Brooks has taken his game to another level. He was approaching 100 triples for the sea- son as of March 9 and shooting 57 percent overall. If he's having an off night in one area, he makes up for it in other ways. "That's the amazing thing. If he has a game where he just doesn't per- form well, where everybody comes expecting something and it doesn't happen, he fights through that," James Brooks said. "He's going to score, but if his three-pointer isn't falling or he isn't shooting that well that night, we know we'll get free throws and re- bounds out of him, and he'll be try- ing to guard and defend someone. That's the key to always shining no matter what. "This season has really reinforced what he went through this summer when people started recruiting him. When everybody gave him that rein- forcement that you are at this level, it motivated him to showcase it each and every time." Many have wondered whether he's got the ability to be a point guard at the next level. His father believes he does, and the film shows a poten- tially elite passer. "He's a point guard in the sense that he knows where the ball needs to go," he said. "There are people with better handles, who dribble lower, all those things, but [Michigan assistant] Billy [Donlon] will work with him. He doesn't lose the ball one on one with someone, and he's got to fight through some hard traps and might get caught once or twice. He'll have to tighten that up. "But leading, getting them in the right spot … he's made some great passes and made our guys better this year. I think he can make guys at that next level shine immensely." Finally, signee Jordan Poole (6-4, Rivals.com's No. 98 senior nationally) was averaging 14 points per game for 26-1 La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere as of March 13. He notched 15 points in a 107-43 win over Gary Lighthouse CPA Feb. 21 and 15 points in a vic- tory over Gateway Legacy Christian Academy (Ill.) March 3. La Lumiere had three games remaining at most — and all were elimination games, part of the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals to be held March 30 to April 1 in New York City. La Lumiere is the nation's No. 2 prep team nationally according to USA Today. DAVID DEJULIUS, EAST ENGLISH VILLAGE ELIMINATED EARLY Detroit Cass Tech beat Michigan 2018 pledge David DeJulius and East English Village for the second time in a few weeks, this time 72- 67, to eliminate them from the state tournament in the District Class A semifinals March 7. DeJulius (6-0, Ri- vals.com's No. 126 junior nationally) scored 18 after averaging 28 in the regular season. Cass Tech concentrated on slowing the junior while East English stand- out senior Greg Elliott sat for long stretches due to foul trouble. "Dave missed a lot of free throws during that stretch, probably be- cause of fatigue," East English coach Juan Rickman told MLive.com. "Our struggle this year has been getting the supporting cast to kind of step up. This year, we just lacked experi- ence. "You can't cheat the process. You've got Dave and [Elliott] as good as they are, and the rest of the guys are freshmen or sophomores and they're trying to figure it out." East English twice had bus trouble, including a breakdown on the high- way, and struggled in a 73-58 loss to Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edwards Feb. 24. DeJulius led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-24 shooting. "The odds were against us since this morning," Rickman said after the game. "But we're not one for excuses. It was good to come out and play in an atmosphere like this, where you know the odds are going to be against you. Sometimes this is how it's going to be in the states [playoffs]. "They [St. Edward] have a good program, they're nationally ranked, and we just have to keep on getting better." DeJulius averaged 28 points per game for 17-5 East English Village, which finished No. 11 in the AP state Class A rankings heading into the playoffs. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Junior U-M commit David DeJulius, Rivals. com's No. 126 player in his class nationally, averaged 28 points per game this year for Detroit East English Village. PHOTO BY BRANDEN HUNTER