Phat Phat Brooks not 'running the show' quite yet, but still impacting: 'I can defend dang near anybody'

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan Wolverines basketball freshman guard Phat Phat Brooks was the head of the snake at Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central, breaking the program records for career points and steals and being named Mr. Basketball in Michigan as a senior.

Like most Big Ten players, Brooks was ‘the man’ in high school, but he has to work his way up in college. He’s playing early, though, totaling 15 minutes through two games, and served as an end-of-half defensive specialist in Michigan’s 72-70 loss to Wake Forest Sunday.

“They’ve been fun,” Brooks said of his first two games. “Obviously, not getting as much time as I would like, but I’m just staying ready for my opportunity, ready for my name to get called and being appreciative of any opportunity that [head] Coach [Dusty] May gives me.

“I kinda just keep my head down and work. I don’t really want to walk in and seem unappreciative. I’m just workin’, trying to stay focused, show him that I’m willing to work hard, I’m not going to complain about anything and I’m just here to get better. And then for whenever he’s ready to give me a chance, then I’m ready.”

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At Big Ten Media Day in October, May said he originally pegged Brooks as a redshirt candidate, but his ascension throughout the summer put him firmly in the bucket of someone who will earn minutes as a freshman. Brooks was asked why a developmental year was being considered.

“Well, I wasn’t considering it,” Brooks said with a smile. “I didn’t really have that conversation. They kinda came to me … I came in, I did struggle a lot. I did struggle. And then, I don’t know, I started to get more comfortable. That was a decision they made to not do that, so that wasn’t really my choice.”

Averaging 26 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists as a senior in high school, Brooks was a ball-dominant guard, carrying his team at times, especially in the postseason. He’s playing off the ball more at Michigan, and that’s been an adjustment in the Wolverines’ read-and-react system.

“Probably just getting more comfortable offensively,” Brooks said of what he’s working on. “In high school, I was kinda like the guy running the show. And then I got here and I didn’t really lose confidence, but I didn’t really feel as comfortable. Every day, I’m just getting more comfortable. Once that sets in, then I think it’ll be a big step for me.

“I think that’s going to be a big learning curve for me, learning when to cut, when to do clides [cut and slide], when to do kill cuts, where to be, what spacing to give the ball. I didn’t really learn that in high school, because I kinda had the ball in my hands the entire time. I think, yeah, just learning different spacing and where I need to be at certain times, when to screen and when to cut, different things like that.”

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Michigan freshman’s role starts on the defensive end. The Wolverines put him in at the end of the first half against Wake Forest, and he put the clamps on guard Cameron Hildreth, who was dribbling with time winding down. He couldn’t get around Brooks, but Michigan junior guard Tre Donaldson was aggressively helping and went for a steal, which freed up guard Davin Cosby. Hildreth hit Cosby at the top of the key, and he made a three-pointer with two seconds left in the half.

Before Brooks could tell Donaldson that he didn’t need that kind of help, the upperclassman said it was his bad.

“He came to me first. He was like, ‘My bad, I knew you had it,'” Brooks recalled. “But obviously, it’s basketball. He was just trying to make a play. We all do that. I’m sure I’ll have some slip-ups where I do that. I do that in practice all the time.

“Coaches told him. He came to me and was like, ‘My bad.’ He owned up to it. That’s the great thing about our team: We all own up to our mistakes and we just keep going from there.”

Donaldson kept going from there, alright. He nailed a long three at the buzzer to put Michigan back up four points heading into the locker room.

Phat Phat Brooks not as nervous in college

Brooks is embracing his role, and said he’s playing freely out there, even though he’s just two games into his college career.

“It’s definitely exciting, knowing that I feel like I can defend dang near anybody,” the Michigan guard said. “It’s actually kinda weird that I don’t get as nervous. I feel like I was more nervous in my high school games than I am in college.

“I don’t know, it’s exciting, especially being from Michigan and having a bunch of fans know who I am. Obviously, our other teammates have fans, but that came with them playing games and stuff like that. Growing up, having everybody know who I was and being able to put on for the city is exciting.

“I really don’t know what it is. I’m honestly so confused. I don’t know why I’m not nervous in college. I feel like I would be more nervous in college than I was in high school, but it’s kinda switched, which is not really heard of.”

Brooks committed to and signed with Michigan under former head coach Juwan Howard, who was fired in March. He stuck with the Wolverines under May, though, and has been pleased with the program thus far.

“I think we expect to win a lot more, especially with a lot of the guys we have, a lot of vets, a lot of people that came from winning programs,” Brooks said of his experience versus what he expected when he committed under Howard. “It’s a lot faster than I thought, so that’s good. And then I like the practices. The other practices, I went and they were kinda like a lot of drills. But now when we do practices here, it’s like an hour and a half max, maybe. And then we play a lot of five-on-five. So I think that’s kinda the differences that I see, at least.”