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Michigan guard Phat Phat Brooks enters NCAA transfer portal

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie04/09/25CSayf23
Phat Phat Brooks
Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Phat Phat Brooks was Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan as a recruit. (Photo by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Phat Phat Brooks has entered the NCAA transfer portal, TheWolverine.com has learned. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder just wrapped up his freshman season and has three years of eligibility remaining.

The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central product was Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan in 2024. He was a three-star prospect and the nation’s No. 181 overall player in his class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Brooks committed to Michigan under former head coach Juwan Howard but was the lone 2024 signee to stick with the Wolverines through the coaching change to Dusty May. Classmates L.J. Cason and Justin Pippen joined the fold following May’s hiring.

Brooks appeared in 15 games as a freshman but played sparingly, totaling only 49 minutes on a Michigan team that stacked 27 wins, won the Big Ten Tournament, advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished No. 10 in the Associated Press poll.

The Grand Rapids native totaled 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 2024-25. He shot 2-of-6 from the field, including 1-of-3 from three-point range, and made 7 of his 9 free throw attempts.

Brooks made a farewell post on social media.

“I’ve loved everything about [Michigan basketball] since I was in diapers and that feeling will never change,” he wrote. “It’s a special place, and I appreciate my teammates, coaches and every member of the maize and blue community who has supported my growth. Thank you all.”

May publicly encouraged and praised Brooks’ work behind the scenes this past season.

‘He’s been really good on scout team,” the head coach said Feb. 18. “It’s tough when you’re out of the rotation to just continue putting that next foot forward and putting that hard hat on every day.”

“We’ve had to challenge him a few days not to wait until next year. We need him this year. There’s gonna be a game when we’re gonna need him to come in and help us win a possession, help us win a couple possessions, and that’s the importance of being on a team.

“But also, he should be soaking it all in right now, what he’s learning from these older, veteran guards that have been through the fires.

“We’re not big believers in, ‘Let’s wait until next year.’ Like, his job now is to compete right now at a championship level every single day at practice, and challenge those guys and make sure we’re holding them to a standard where they can’t just coast.”

Brooks is the fifth Michigan player to enter the transfer portal this offseason, joining guards Tre Donaldson, Jace Howard, Justin Pippen and forward Sam Walters. Donaldson and Pippen have chosen new destinations, with the former heading to Miami and the latter committing to Cal.

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