As the Michigan basketball season has gone on, Dusty May has gotten contributions up and down his roster.
That includes from a pair of freshmen, L.J. Cason and Justin Pippen, son of NBA Hall of Famer Scotty Pippen. While neither have been every day players, or even key pieces in this team’s run, each has had some nice moments in relatively high-leverage moments.
Pippen has played in 16 games, averaging seven minutes per contest, and on the road at Rutgers hit a big 3-pointer and had four assists while Tre Donaldson was in foul trouble during a 66-63 road victory. On Sunday, in Columbus, Cason also hit a long ball and had an aggressive take to the rack as he finished with five points in what ended as a three-point U-M win, 86-83.
But there’s a third freshman on the roster, Durral ‘Phat Phat’ Brooks, out of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, who was named Michigan Mr. Basketball in 2023-24. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard, however, has not played since the calendar turned to 2025.
“He’s been really good on scout team,” Michigan head coach Dusty May said Monday. “It’s tough when you’re out of the rotation to just continue putting that next foot forward and putting that hard hat on every day.”
Brooks has played in nine games, all of which were non-conference contests. Since he played 12 minutes in the season-opener against Cleveland State, he has logged 30 total minutes in eight games and none since Dec. 29 against Western Kentucky.
Even though it’s been 50 days since he played, May said he can feel that U-M will need him sometime soon.
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“We’ve had to challenge him a few days not to wait until next year,” May said. “We need him this year. There’s gonna be a game when we’re gonna need him to come in and help us win a possession, help us win a couple possessions, and that’s the importance of being on a team.
“But also, he should be soaking it all in right now, what he’s learning from Tre Donaldson and Roddy and Rubin and these older, veteran guards that have been through the fires.”
Brooks has made 1 of 5 field-goal attempts (20%), 6 of 8 free throws (75%) and has nine rebounds, three assists and three steals compared to two turnovers.
The 12th player in program history to have earned Mr. Basketball honors in the mitten state, there remains plenty of internal optimism around the former three-star guard, who came to Ann Arbor as the No. 204 overall prospect in the Class of 2024.
“We’re not big believers in, ‘let’s wait until next year,'” May said. “Like, his job now is to compete right now at a championship level every single day at practice, and challenge those guys and make sure we’re holding them to a standard where they can’t just coast.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball expectations of ‘Phat Phat’ Brooks remain sky high
