Sophomore guard Larryn Brooks will be leaving the IU women’s basketball team, as confirmed today by her high school coach Robert Cooksey and also by the University.
Brooks was the Hoosiers' leading scorer this year with 11.8 points per game. She also led the team in assists with 4.0 per game.
“I think a fresh start was needed,” Cooksey said. “Sometimes when there is a coaching change, it’s a difficult transition for some kids.”
She is the third player to leave the program in as many days, joining sophomore guard Taylor Agler and freshman guard Maura Muensterman.
IU Coach Teri Moren released a statement about the slew of transfers.
“I want to thank Larryn, Maura and Taylor for their work and dedication in our first year at Indiana," Moren said. "We wish them nothing but the best. We are committed to signing tremendous student-athletes who will earn a degree from one of the finest institutions in the country while working to lead us to a Big Ten championship. We know we will experience some growing pains as we build this program to compete at a national level. Indiana University is a special place and we are excited about the future.”
Brooks committed to IU under former coach Curt Miller and excelled in her freshman season, becoming the first IU freshman to score over 500 points in a season. She earned second team All-Big Ten honors as well as being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Miller stepped down over the summer and Moren took over Aug. 9, 2014. Under Moren, Brooks was still the primary offensive weapon. Her field goal percentage actually increased from 37.9 percent to 39.9 percent, but her scoring did go down by 4.4 points per game in Moren’s system.
“I don’t think that means it’s anything toward the coaching staff that they have, but I think a fresh start was good for her,” Cooksey said. “It was a decision she thought a lot about.”
Moren often refers to how Brooks and her share a bond as Moren is a former point guard. Both herself and Brooks need to be the leaders of the team. At the same time, Moren says she needs someone to step up as the leader of the team.
Brooks echoed this in a January interview.
“She told me all the time, ‘You’re the leader, you’re the point guard. I need you up in the office,’” Brooks said. “’We need to be talking about offense, we need to be talking about game plan. We need to be talking about anything after games: good things, bad things.’”
Now, IU has four scholarship spots open with Brooks’ departure. Her Twitter bio no longer has any IU information on it, just the phrase, “Everything happens for a reason.”
Cooksey said there has not been any word on a next step.
“Just with talking with her, I know she really loved IU, loved playing for Indiana,” Cooksey said.
