Ex-Michigan State basketball guard Pierre Brooks II transferring to Butler
Chalk up another former Mr. Basketball winner leaving the state.
Former Michigan State basketball guard Pierre Brooks II, who entered the transfer portal last month, announced via Instagram on Sunday night, that he was committing to Butler and former Ohio State coach Thad Matta for next season.
“Let’s rock,” reads the caption of Brooks’ photo of himself in a Butler uniform posted Sunday.
MSU sophomore transfer Pierre Brooks on Instagram commits to Butler. pic.twitter.com/qXlYWLgOE2
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) April 10, 2023
The Bulldogs went 14-18 last season, their first under Matta, who was hired to replace former Michigan assistant LaVell Jordan. Long seen as a mid-major success story; Butler’s NCAA tournament drought is now going on five seasons.
Brooks, the former Detroit Douglass star who was named the state’s top basketball player in 2021, saw his minutes steadily decline in his second season in East Lansing. He finished the season averaging 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 14.3 minutes a game, making 33.3% of his shots overall and 32.4% from 3-point range.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound sophomore swingman from Detroit Douglass became an important cog in Tom Izzo’s rotation early in the 2022-23 season, particularly after both Malik Hall and Jaden Akins went down with injuries in mid-November. Brooks averaged 6.8 points in 22 minutes over MSU's first 13 games, making 39.2% of his 3-pointers in that span. In a five-game starting stretch, he played 31 minutes and scored 9.4 points with 4.0 rebounds and an assist, hitting 5 of 11 from beyond the arc.
But after the New Year, with the return of both Hall and Akins, Brooks' minutes and shooting steeply declined. He averaged just eight minutes a game over the Spartans' final 16 regular-season games, posting 1.3 points and 0.8 rebounds while making just 17.4% of his 3-point attempts and shooting 22.6% overall. Brooks did not play in the NCAA tournament after getting four minutes in MSU’s Big Ten tournament loss to Ohio State. He missed his only two shots and did not grab a rebound while getting just 18 total minutes in his final five games as a Spartan.
Of the state's past six Hal Schramm Mr. Basketball winners, only one will start the 2023-24 season playing in Michigan: Former Detroit King star Chansey Willis Jr., the 2022 winner who spent this past season at Saginaw Valley State, announced his transfer to Western Michigan last month. He averaged 12 points in 31.6 minutes a game for the Division II Cardinals.
Tyler Jamison, the 2023 winner, is headed to NCAA tournament-darling Fairleigh Dickinson.
2020 winner Scooby Johnson went to Butler but was dismissed from the program after 2021 sexual assault charges.
2019 winner Romeo Weems went to DePaul (where he played two seasons before turning pro).
2018 winner Foster Loyer spent three seasons at Michigan State before finishing his career with two seasons at Davidson in North Carolina.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pierre Brooks II transferring from Michigan State basketball to Butler
