STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State coach Ben Howland has signed former North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks as a graduate transfer after he had nearly 1,300 points and 800 rebounds in four seasons with the Tar Heels.

The 6-foot-10 Brooks, son of longtime Bulldogs assistant coach George Brooks, was the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason player of the year and averaged 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game as a senior.

Considered one of the nation's top transfers, he scored 1,276 points and grabbed 798 rebounds while starting 108 of 113 games with UNC. The ACC's most improved player in 2019-20 joins a Mississippi State team coming off a runner-up finish in the NIT.

Howland called Brooks "very tough and physical" in a statement Monday and added that he "will be a great player for us as he was at North Carolina, where he had a fantastic career as an All-ACC player."