Michigan Basketball: Grading the Wolverines against UCF

Guards

Eli Brooks: A-

Brooks is one of my favorite Michigan basketball players and that’s because he just does whatever it takes to win. He will play point guard, off guard and defend the other teams best guard every night.

There is a reason Brooks leads the Wolverines in minutes (32.4 per night). He’s their best defender and he’s just a smart offensive player. Against UCF, he scored 10 points, dished out five assists and hit two treys. That’s on top of being the top-rated defensive player in the starting lineup. He did have four turnovers, which dropped his grade slightly but he deserved the A.

Mike Smith: B-

It was kind of a so-so night for Mike Smith, who scored just four points and dished out four assists. The senior point guard only made one bucket, but he also had just one turnover against a defense hell-bent on creating them. And after watching Michigan turn it over an average of 17.5 times the prior two games, Smith was key in limiting that number to 10.

My biggest worry with Smith is that he’s shooting just 11 percent from 3-point range. That’s much lower than his career number and that jumper is the biggest thing missing from his game right now.