Spring Grove's Eli Brooks taking his professional basketball career overseas

Eli Brooks is taking his talent overseas.

The Spring Grove basketball legend has signed a contract with Italian basketball team Pallacanestro Trieste, which announced the move Thursday morning. Located in northeastern Italy, Pallacanestro plays in the top tier of Italian professional basketball.

The franchise features a number of former NCAA Division I players like Jalen Hudson (Florida), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Skylar Spencer (San Diego State) and Frank Bartley (Louisiana).

Brooks will leave to join the team in mid August.

It's not surprising that Brooks has found a professional opportunity in Europe. Throughout his career at the University of Michigan, he acknowledged that he would relish the chance to play overseas.

Still, he had such a strong end to his career that the NBA seemed like a possibility. While just 6-foot-1 and not quite as explosive as a typical NBA guard, Brooks combined excellent defense with a high basketball IQ, strong leadership and timely scoring. He scored over 1,000 career points and led Michigan to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 the last two seasons of his five-year career.

He earned the nickname "The Professor" for his intelligent play and calm demeanor. Michigan assistant and former legendary St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli often called Brooks the team's most valuable player.

"He has a chance to play at the next level in the NBA as well as Europe," Michigan coach Juwan Howard said during Brooks' senior year. "Because a coach is going to see all the intangibles he brings that results in winning basketball."

After going undrafted in 2022, Brooks signed a free agent contract with the Indiana Pacers. He spent this past season with the franchise's G-League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, and averaged 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 24 minutes per game before an injury ended his season.

Last month, he played for the Pacers' NBA Summer League team alongside fellow York County native and first-round pick Jarace Walker. Brooks played in three of the team's five games and averaged 6.0 points — hitting a couple of key 3-pointers.

More on Brooks: Spring Grove legend using five years of lessons as he writes final collegiate chapter

But it's not easy to make the NBA as an undrafted player or even to get promoted from the G-League. Playing in Europe will likely give Brooks a chance to find stability and make more money.

Brooks isn't the only former YAIAA standout to find a basketball career overseas. Dallastown grad Four McGlynn has played for a number of teams since 2016 including a recent stint in Slovakia.

A 2017 Spring Grove graduate, Brooks finished second in YAIAA boys' basketball history with over 2,400 career points. He was named GameTimePA YAIAA Boys' Basketball Player of the Year his junior and senior seasons.

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone. 

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Former Michigan basketball star Eli Brooks signs with Italian team