Eli Brooks receives offers from Villanova, Ohio State
Two more days, two more scholarship offers for Eli Brooks. And these are both from two of college basketball's powerhouses.
The soon-to-be senior point guard out of Spring Grove High School said Monday he received a full scholarship offer from defending national champion Villanova University on Sunday night, followed by a full scholarship offer from Ohio State University on Monday afternoon. Text messages and phone calls have been pouring in ever since, he said.
Brooks, a 6-foot-1, 170 pound guard, averaged 25 points per game last season, registered 67 assists on the year and led the YAIAA with 79 3-pointers. He led the Rockets to their first league championship since 1971.
Villanova, located in suburban Philadelphia, just won the NCAA Tournament championship last April, beating North Carolina on a memorable last-second 3-pointer by Kris Jenkins. The Wildcats have made the NCAA Tournament 11 times in coach Jay Wright's 15 years at the school, and made it to the Sweet 16 round five times.
Two weeks ago during the Elevate Hoops Summer Icebreaker showcase in Philadelphia — where some of the nation's top college coaches were in attendance to scout regional talent — Brooks said Villanova would be his dream school to attend.
“I like how they get underrated players," Brooks said of the Wildcats on Monday. "They don’t necessarily get the top-ranked players, but they get players that fit them and buy into their system.
“I believe I’m (an underrated player). I’m not ranked on anybody’s radar, so I’d consider myself underrated."
The offer came from Wright via the telephone, while Brooks ate at a McDonald's in Hanover on Sunday evening.
"He explained how he envisioned my career being at Villanova if I went there," Brooks said. "Then he said, ‘you have a full ride to Villanova.'”
Ohio State had made the NCAA Tournament every year from 2009-2015, including a Final Four appearance in 2012. The Buckeyes have won the Big Ten regular-season championship five times during coach Thad Matta's 12-year tenure, and won the Big Ten tournament title four times.
To this point, Brooks has also received scholarship offers from Division I basketball programs Kansas State, North Carolina State and George Mason.
“I’m just gonna see what happens," Brooks said. "I’m gonna continue to talk to people and use my resources and try to find the best fit for me.”