Michigan State wing Pierre Brooks working to become best version of himself

East Lansing, Mich. – Recent injuries to Michigan State’s Malik Hall and Jaden Akins have propelled sophomore Pierre Brooks from a spot-minute role as a freshman to a full-fledged starter eight games into his sophomore season. 

Brooks has shown flashes of improvement on defense and as a spot-up shooter as his role has expanded, but doing these things consistently will be key for Michigan State as it remains without two of its best players. Hall is out until at least Christmas. Akins is questionable for Sunday’s home game against Northwestern, at 7 p.m. at Breslin Center.

Brooks and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo both know this, and both are looking big-picture as Izzo continues to work Brooks hard in practice. 

“I pick on Pierre so everybody can know I pick on Pierre, because I think that he has a chance to be a heck of a player,” Izzo said. “He’s a better Morris Peterson at this age, and that’s a long time ago but [there are] similarities.

“He takes coaching pretty well and he wants to be a player. So I have faith that he’s going to.”

Brooks made his first-career start against Alabama in Michigan State’s first game of the Phil Knight Invitational on Thanksgiving. He played 33 minutes that night – easily the most of his career until that point – but scored five points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 from deep. 

The next two games, though, were an improvement. Brooks scored a career-high 15 points against both Oregon and Portland. He shot just 6 of 16 (3 of 11 from three) against the Ducks, but rebounded with an efficient 5 of 7 (4 of 4 from three) performance against Portland. 

But the question for Brooks has never been scoring. He was a prolific scorer at the high school level, playing at Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit, being named Mr. Basketball for the state of Michigan in 2021. He also led the Lansing-area Moneyball Pro-Am summer league in scoring in 2022.

Defense is the true key for the sophomore, and both he and Izzo know that. 

“He knows it, but it’s a matter of focusing in and doing something about it because he’s good enough to do it,” Izzo said. “Now I think playing the number of minutes he’s had to play in those short times hurts him a lot. In fairness, we have no choice on that. So it’s not all his fault. But if he gets better defensively, he’s going to be a heck of a player.”

Brooks took a step back against Notre Dame on Wednesday. He scored just three points (1 of 4 from the floor) and looked a step slow on defense for much of the night. Izzo chose to start walk-on Jason Whitens over Brooks for the second half of that game. 

“He was thrown in,” Izzo said of Brooks’ increased role. “It’s the old watch-what-you-wish-for.

“‘I want to play more.’

“OK, now you’re playing more.

“‘I want to play a lot more.’

“OK, now you’re playing a lot more. There goes a responsibility with that, and the responsibility is you better be in the best shape of your life. So things maybe that you didn’t do as well early, you don’t get away with now. And people go at you. One thing about scouting on this level, they know a weak link, they know a strong link, they’re going to go at somebody. So he just has to improve.” 

That’s not to say he was the only Spartan who struggled against the Fighting Irish, however. 

Michigan State had only a three-day break between its last game in Portland, Ore. and the trip to South Bend, Ind., and much of that stretch was altered due to travel. Izzo’s club has faced a grueling stretch of games, one that would tire out any player, let alone a relatively inexperienced one like Brooks who has not been playing at his best weight. 

On the other hand, Brooks is gaining valuable experience through his increased role. From averaging 3.7 minutes per game last season to 23.4 so far this year, Brooks has taken advantage of his jump in playing time. 

“Playing 30-plus minutes has given me experience, given me ways I can help the team out in different ways,” Brooks said. “I feel like my role has stepped up a lot. I didn’t play well last game [against Notre Dame]. I had two good games against Portland and the team we played before that. I’m still learning, I’m still trying to grow, and I’m looking forward to this process.”

Brooks appears to be taking Izzo’s strict coaching style well. He knows his coach expects a lot from him, and he looks forward to meeting those expectations.

“It starts in practice,” Brooks said. “I’m getting way more reps now. Watching film is definitely going to help in the long run. Fixing the little mistakes I’m making, trying to evolve on those, and always getting better on the defensive end and offensive end as well.”

Brooks said he noticed teams naturally trying to take advantage of Michigan State’s defensive limitations with Hall and Akins out. He doesn’t want to be one of those limitations, and he’s working hard at improving his awareness and agility on that end of the floor. 

“I think it’s just being where I need to be most of the time,” Brooks said. “I’m giving the best effort I can and I think coach knows that and I think that’s why he’s on me so much. I haven’t really had to play defense in high school because I played for my dad, so I’m trying to get better with that. Moving forward, I’ll definitely be better defensively, but coming right now, I think I still have a ways to go in that but I feel like I can definitely improve and become a better defender for sure.”

Brooks said Hall, a senior who Izzo described as the team’s “acting captain,” has been a good vocal mentor since Hall has been out with injury. 

“He’s helped me out in every way he can while he’s out,” Brooks said. “He’s telling me where to be, telling me the spots I need to get to. I feel that defensively, Malik has really helped me as I’m starting.”

It remains to be seen how Brooks will respond from the tough game against Notre Dame when the Spartans face Northwestern on Sunday. Like the Irish, the Wildcats will be hungry for an early-season statement win, and Brooks will once again be called upon to prove himself, especially on defense.

Michigan State’s schedule will slow down significantly after the Northwestern game on Sunday and the Penn State game the following Wednesday. The work Brooks puts in over the holidays, when the Spartans play only three games in 20 days, will prove significant to the outlook of Michigan State’s season, even as Akins and Hall return. 

“Doing all the things I did and making a lot of jumps and improvements from last year, I felt that I was ready to come in and ready and able to help our team out when the guys are out,” Brooks said. “I’m looking forward to having those guys back as well. I feel that Jaden and Malik coming back are two great additions for us and I feel like we can win a National Championship with those two guys on our team. But me having to step up, I would say just having that mindset where just being in the right spots, being in the right mindset and right frame is good for us.”