Former Kickapoo star Anton Brookshire transferring to Austin Peay to join Gipson, Haney
Headed to his third Division I school in three years, Anton Brookshire laughed and promised that he's found his final destination.
After committing to Austin Peay in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, the state championship Kickapoo point guard said that he's finally found somewhere he considers "home."
"I love the culture that they are building," Brookshire said in a phone interview with the News-Leader. "It wasn't just one thing and it was 'there's no better place than this.' It's not that far from home so the family can come to see me play if they wanted to and all that good stuff."
Brookshire committed to Austin Peay, where he will join a former high school teammate and a head coach who has recruited him since he was a freshman in high school.
Austin Peay is led by former Missouri State associate head coach Corey Gipson, who took the job at his alma mater after one successful year guiding Northwestern State. Among those to join Gipson's new team in Clarksville, Tennessee, are former Dora, Kickapoo and Missouri State guard Isaac Haney along with former Missouri State guards Demarcus Sharp and Ja'Monta Black — all three having also followed Gipson to Northwestern State in 2022-23.
"Coach Gipson is a guy that I always wanted to play for since my Missouri State visit," Brookshire said. "But it was never the right fit. He's now at a different school and the relationship has built and we carried it over. He recruited me well and I couldn't say 'no' to this opportunity."
Brookshire's decision follows a two-year journey that started at Mizzou and then 17 hours away at Iona where he made the NCAA Tournament playing for one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history.
After Rick Pitino took a job at Saint John's, Brookshire entered the transfer portal for the second time and chose a school closer to home.
"I learned so much from him," Brookshire said. "Just playing someone under somebody at that high of a level was so prestigious. You get nothing but the best every day. Just talking to him and getting knowledge out of him and being around him was a pleasure. It was a big chapter of my life and it just makes me want to go back to the NCAA Tournament, not settle for anything less."
Brookshire said Haney and Gipson teamed up to bring him to Austin Peay while he was also heavily pursued by Milwaukee (where AAU teammate and former Catholic star Zach Howell plays), Texas State, Green Bay, Jacksonville State, Holy Cross, Southern Utah, Chattanooga, Appalachian State, Morehead State, South Alabama, Portland State and Pacific.
This past season, Brookshire played in 32 games and averaged 9.4 minutes per appearance with 4.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per outing.
At Mizzou, under former coach Cuonzo Martin, Brookshire played in 18 games and an average of 8.9 minutes per night. He averaged 1.5 points, 0.8 boards and 0.8 assists.
With him and Haney, the star backcourt of the 2021 Class 6 state champion Chiefs alongside Arkansas' Trevon Brazile, likely having to sit out a year due to already using their one-time transfer, Brookshire said the excitement of showcasing what the pair can do at the college level down the line excited him.
"We've always had this brotherly love, this brotherhood," Brookshire said. "For us to do what we did at Kickapoo and to be able to take our talents over to Austin Peay, I think it'll be pretty exciting and so much fun."
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Former Mizzou, Iona guard Anton Brookshire transferring to Austin Peay
