Michigan State basketball: Brandon Garrison is intriguing transfer option

Michigan State basketball will likely be looking for a center in the transfer portal and Brandon Garrison could be the perfect option.

It doesn’t take much to convince Michigan State basketball fans that a certain big man in the portal is good enough to start in East Lansing. We just watched one of the worst seasons in the post in Tom Izzo’s tenure and the big man rotation left a lot to be desired.

So when Oklahoma State big man and former top-45 McDonald’s All-American prospect Brandon Garrison hit the portal, it felt like something worth monitoring. It was even more intriguing when known MSU basketball expert DK on Twitter (X) pointed out that Garrison would be a nice fit in East Lansing, I took immediate notice.

🎥 study on 6’11” 245lb C Brandon Garrison of OK State. Physical, fluid moving athlete with good length and comfortable touch around the rim. Smooth mid range jumper. Former top 45 prospect who played with Jeremy Fears, Jr in the MCDAA game. pic.twitter.com/wUyKoGk7wv

— DK (@SpartanHoops_DK) April 1, 2024

After watching the highlight reel that DK shared on Twitter (and another from 247Sports’ Justin Thind), I’m about ready to say that Garrison would be an ideal fit at the five next to Xavier Booker next season.

vs Dickinson, as a true freshman btw: pic.twitter.com/iUWD42UwqH

— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) April 1, 2024

Garrison wasn’t recruited by Tom Izzo or the Spartans out of high school as most of his offers were from the Big 12 and SEC country. But the Oklahoma City native could find a home up north at Michigan State. His fit in the starting lineup would be perfect.

He averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 57 percent from the field in 22.6 minutes per game as a freshman.

While Garrison isn’t a 3-point shooter, by any means, he can hit the mid-range jumper and has soft touch around the rim like DK stated above. He has soft touch around the basket which is something no one but Jaxon Kohler can say they have in the MSU post rotation. Plus he has the ideal size at 6-foot-11 and 245 pounds. Michigan State basketball needs a strong-bodied five and he could be just that.

Imagine a line up:

• Jeremy Fears Jr./Tre Holloman
• Jaden Akins
• J’Vonne Hadley
• Xavier Booker
• Brandon Garrison

That’s a floor-spacing starting five and one that could legitimately make a push for a Big Ten title and a Final Four next year. If Fears develops a nice long-range jumper, that starting five could rival any in the conference.

If Izzo wants to get Michigan State basketball back to deep runs in March “or die trying”, Garrison would qualify as “die trying”.

Make the call, Tom.