Four-star 2021 shooting guard set to make college decision on Wednesday

The 2020 Michigan Wolverines basketball recruiting class is now in the rearview mirror as the attention turns now to the 2020 cycle. Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers tweeted on Monday that 2021 four-star guard Pierre Brooks II will make his college commitment on Wednesday.

Brooks is a 6-foot-5 guard from Douglass Academy in Detroit. 247Sports has him compositely ranked as the No. 96 player in the country and the No. 2 player in Michigan, behind only Kobe Bufkin of Grand Rapids Christian High School (who does not currently hold a Michigan offer).

The odds don’t really seem to be in Michigan’s favor on this one as he is currently a 100 percent crystal ball to the Michigan State Spartans.

Brooks addresses abrupt end to basketball season

Michigan point guard Eli Brooks joined Andy Katz of Big Ten Network for a video interview about an assortment of things, including the first season with head coach Juwan Howard and how the 2020-21 roster is shaping up, among other things.

Brooks started by discussing the untimely end of the season by saying, “It shocked everybody. We couldn’t put it into words. There was a lot of quiet time. People were processing it at different paces.”

However, it oddly brought the team together as Brooks continued, “I think the best part about it was our whole team on the bus ride back to Ann Arbor had a rap session and it was something that brought our team together and it was a moment I will never forget.”

In the time of crisis, Howard seemed to rise to the occasion and help the players cope with the untimely ending of their season as Brooks praised his new head coach.

“There were ups and downs but that comes with any team. I think (Howard) handled it great. He showed a lot of his character and there is nothing but good things that I can say about coach Howard. I respect him so much and it’s only been a year that I’ve known him. He gained my trust pretty quick and everything that he says is spot on with how he acts.”

When it comes to next season, Brooks thinks there could be a pretty good team in Ann Arbor. But he has concerns of how the virus could impact the roster.

“We have the pieces and a lot of talented players, it just comes down to how well we mesh together. I feel like that is how it comes down to every team.

“Chemistry is big, so it will be interesting how this plays out through these times because a lot of the stuff that goes on in the offseason is team bonding and getting the trust of the new players. It will be interesting to see how that works without this time together.”

Top OL target Nolan Rucci has Wolverines in top 9

2020 five star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci announced his top nine on Monday:

Rucci narrowed his list to nine after receiving 30 high profile Division 1 offers. Lucky to make the cut are the Michigan Wolverines who will be vying for the No. 13 player in the country and the No. 3 tackle in the class.

The Lititz, Pennsylvania native has a heavy lean toward Penn State, but Clemson has earned a quarter of the crystal balls.

The Wolverines will compete with three other Big Ten schools for his services including Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The three most recent national champs are also in this cut: Clemson, LSU and Alabama.

National Brews

• Marlins CEO Derek Jeter will forgo his $5 million salary after he told members of the teams baseball operations he could only guarantee them pay through the end of May.
• Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez will reportedly make a bid for the New York Mets.
• Check out this Twitter thread of some massive beef between Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and Jags owner Tony Khan:

Ngakoue is frustrated with the team as he has been on the trading block for weeks after Jacksonville franchised him. He is a name that could come up on draft day on Thursday.