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3 thoughts on Durral Brooks’ commitment to Michigan Basketball

By Chris Peterson

Michigan guard Eli Brooks talks with third-year head coach Juwan Howard near the sideline as the Wolverines go to the line to shoot a pair of free throws late in the first half against Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in State College. Howard helped give Brooks the nickname "The Professor" and said, "It's great to have a teammate like (Eli) because he cares about you. It's like having another coach on the floor."Hes Dr 020822 Elibrooks
Michigan guard Eli Brooks talks with third-year head coach Juwan Howard near the sideline as the Wolverines go to the line to shoot a pair of free throws late in the first half against Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in State College. Howard helped give Brooks the nickname "The Professor" and said, "It's great to have a teammate like (Eli) because he cares about you. It's like having another coach on the floor."Hes Dr 020822 Elibrooks /
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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – MARCH 05: Juwan Howard the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines in the 75-73 OT loss to the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on March 05, 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – MARCH 05: Juwan Howard the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines in the 75-73 OT loss to the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on March 05, 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

A better range to recruit in

When it comes down to it, recruiting in the 50-100 range might be the most fertile ground for Michigan basketball.

The vaunted No. 1 recruiting class didn’t yield much. It did lead to what will be three NBA draft picks after Kobe Bufkin is selected but those players didn’t play anywhere near their best basketball at Michigan.

Jett Howard also joined Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan as one-and-done prospects. A one-and-done that wasn’t even that great in college is about the worst thing. Howard was a great shooter but struggled in a lot of other ways.

Houstan and Diabate were far from finished products. By the time they could be big-time contributors, they left for the draft, just like Bufkin.

I’m not saying those players did the wrong thing. But Michigan basketball would be better to get more players in the range of Brooks. You can develop them to play for 2-3 years while filling any position needs still in the transfer portal.

Brooks didn’t have a huge offer sheet. But the Michigan State offer tells you all you need to know. This is a legitimate Big Ten guard and if the Wolverines get a guy who sticks around for 3-4 years, it will make his commitment even more valuable.

Next. 15 Best Michigan basketball careers ever in the NBA. dark

And with some rare exceptions, these are the kinds of players Juwan needs to recruit. The one-and-done guys don’t really help you win, but top-100 kids that stay for 2,3, or even four years, do and Michigan basketball needs to find more of them.

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