UNC Basketball: Garrison Brooks enters transfer portal
UNC basketball standout Garrison Brooks has decided to enter the transfer portal.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA decided to provide winter sports athletes an extra year of collegiate eligibility to use. Additionally, with the new one-time transfer rule in place, student-athletes have a rare chance to find a new home while not having to sit out a full year of competition.
Even before the college basketball season ended, the transfer portal has been absolutely crazy. Thousands of student-athletes have been exploring other options, and the portal continues to add new athletes by the day.
According to Matt Denitz of AL.com, the UNC basketball program is on the verge of losing another key player.
Have learned that North Carolina basketball forward Garrison Brooks, an Alabama native and product of Auburn High School, has entered the transfer portal. Has been a four-year starter at UNC and was a second-team All-ACC in 2019-20.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 10, 2021
On Twitter, Denitz reported that senior Garrison Brooks has entered the transfer portal. Brooks will become the third Tar Heel to enter the transfer portal, following fellow big men Walker Kessler and Sterling Manley.
At this point, it appears that Brooks’ time in Chapel Hill is officially over. With the hire of Hubert Davis as the Tar Heels new men’s basketball coach, there were rumblings that Brooks could return for his “super senior” season. However, with Davis being so adamant about bringing back Kessler, it could be that Brooks is simply the odd-man out in the team’s future equation.
Regardless of where he ends up, Brooks had a tremendous career as a member of the UNC basketball program. As a starter for the majority of his four years on campus, Brooks joined the illustrious 1,000 point scorer club, as he accumulated 1,276 total points.
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With the Tar Heels being loaded on offense throughout his first two seasons, Brooks served as a steady presence down low, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Heading into his junior season, Brooks was called upon to be more of an offensive force, and he was certainly up for the challenge.
During the 2019-2020 season, Brooks averaged 16.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per-game. Although the Tar Heels struggled as a unit, Brooks was definitely a major bright spot, as he earned second team All-ACC honors.
Although his numbers (and minutes) went down during his senior season, Brooks was still a steady contributor and served as an important leader for the young Tar Heels squad. The program saw an improvement from the disappointing prior year, and Brooks was one of the key figures that helped guide the turnaround.
With one year of eligibility left, plenty of teams should show interest in Brooks’ services. It will be interesting to see where the Lafayette, AL native decides to close out his collegiate career.
Regardless of where he ends up, Tar Heels fans should wish the absolute best for Garrison Brooks. During his collegiate career, Brooks was a tremendous representation of the program both on and off the court. Wherever life ends up taking him, expect great things from Garrison Brooks.
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