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The hallmark of a consistent program is strong freshman classes. Going into his first year as coach of the Michigan men’s basketball team, Dusty May feels he has that already. It is a four-man class consisting of four guards, with two standing out in May’s mind at Big Ten Media Days Oct. 7: L.J. Cason and Phat Phat Brooks.
Their journeys to Ann Arbor follow quite opposing paths; Cason went to high school in Florida and was initially committed to May at Florida Atlantic, meanwhile Brooks is an in-state kid who won Michigan Mr. Basketball this spring. Their differences don’t only lie in their backgrounds, though, as the biggest one is their style of play.
Cason is a strong scoring guard who has made his name with that exact ability — he can shoot, handle the ball and score at the rim with maturity. Brooks, on the other hand, is still coming along offensively, but is already touted as one of the best defenders on the team.
“Our coaches say it everyday in practice, you don’t want to go at Phat when he’s guarding you,” junior forward Danny Wolf said at Big Ten Media Days Oct. 7. “(He’s) super athletic and he’s just really really physical.
“If basketball was just defense … he’d be the best player on the court in my opinion.”
Brooks’ defensive reputation has already been set by his abilities in practice thus far, but you can’t get away with just excelling on one side of the ball in the Big Ten. Therefore, his and the coaching staff’s focus leading up to the season is to improve his comfort on offense.
“Brooks, in the last couple of weeks, has been exponential,” May said. “He went from a guy that was maybe even a redshirt candidate, to impacting practice every single day.”
His improvement has impressed his coach, and could even signal potential playing time as the season wears on. On the contrary, Cason has been an offensive-minded guard from his first day on campus — and his scoring ability could end up being very important for the Wolverines.
On a team that has numerous transfers and newcomers, along with a fresh staff that is searching for an identity, a player who can go get buckets off the bench when needed like Cason is vital. Being able to save dying possessions or score without a set play bridges the gap of miscommunications or coaching on the go, and makes Cason’s skills valuable.
“He has to refine some skills to be a guard who’s just as good at distributing and play making as he is scoring and creating shots.” May said. “But he’s made a jump. He has (the) ability to get to where he needs to get to with the ball.”
As with any freshman, the little details will have to come along. But certain raw abilities — especially on offense — just can’t be taught. Cason looks to be the biggest impact player out of the freshman group after the praise he earned from May, and he could signal a bright future for the program as well.
Growing pains will come with a bigger freshman class, but May has already found two players who he hopes could have an early impact. Their imperfections will have to be cleaned up as the season progresses, but their complementary strengths and growth thus far could make Cason and Brooks potential impact players in 2024-25 and beyond.
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