Garrison Brooks is headed to the Big Apple.

The former Tar Heel big man, who spent last year playing at Mississippi State, signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the New York Knicks Friday.

Under an Exhibit 10 contract, Brooks will sign with the Knicks for one year at the league-minimum salary. Brooks will have the opportunity to participate in the NBA’s Summer League with New York, but his deal will not count against the Knicks’ salary cap unless he makes the active roster for the regular season.

Brooks played four seasons at Carolina, starting at least 16 games in each. He started 92 of 96 games in his final three seasons, which were also the final three seasons in the career of head coach Roy Williams. Brooks’ best statistical season came in 2019-20, when he averaged 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and was named second team All-ACC. He scored 30 or more points twice during the season. Unfortunately, Brooks was only a bright spot in what was a miserable season for Carolina, one which saw the Tar Heels finish with a 14-19 record before the pandemic ended the college basketball season.

Brooks was named Preseason ACC Player of the Year before the 2020-21 season, and though he did not live up to those lofty expectations, he once again started for the majority of the season and helped Carolina go back to the NCAA Tournament. Following the conclusion of that season, Brooks used his extra “COVID year” to transfer to Mississippi State, where his father is an assistant coach. Since then, Brooks has stayed close with the UNC program, attending a game in the 2022 NCAA Tournament with Williams and returning to Chapel Hill for the program’s basketball camp earlier in June.

Brooks could potentially be the third Tar Heel to suit up for the Knicks in the last three years. Reggie Bullock and Theo Pinson, both now with the Dallas Mavericks, each played for the Knicks in 2020 and 2021.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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