Former Ohio State Guard Janai Crooms Transfers To Michigan State

Former Ohio State guard Janai Crooms, who spent her first two collegiate seasons with the Buckeyes, announced on Twitter that she will be transferring to Michigan State.

Crooms first announced she would be entering the transfer portal on April 23, saying in a statement that she “would like to take this opportunity to thank Ohio State University for allowing me to fulfill my dream of playing Division-I basketball.

“However, after much thought, prayer and consideration, I feel it is in my best interest to enter the transfer portal and explore other options.”

The Spartans were a .500 team in the Big Ten last season, finishing with a 9-9 in-conference record and a 16-14 record overall. In Michigan State’s one meeting with the Buckeyes, the Spartans defended their home court with a 68-65 win on Jan. 16.

In her sophomore season with Ohio State, Crooms averaged 6.8 points and 3.4 assists per game, with the assist total finishing second on the team. She shot 46.7 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from three.

These totals were coming off a freshman year where Crooms averaged 8.8 points and 2.2 assists per game while starting in 19 of the 29 games. She was very effective from the field in her first year, hitting on 48.0 percent overall and 46.5 percent from deep, both of which led the team.

After starting the first 10 games of the 2019-20 season, Crooms, along with freshman guards Kierstan Bell and Kaelynn Satterfield, were suspended one game for a violation of team rules and then came off the bench for the remainder of the season.

Both Bell and Satterfield have also transferred out of Ohio State with the former choosing to go to Florida Gulf Coast and the latter transferring to Xavier. The Buckeyes also lost forward Aixa Wone to Georgia Tech.

Crooms was a four-star prospect out of Barrington (R.I.) St. Andrew’s in the 2018 class, and will have to sit out the upcoming season barring a petition to become immediately eligible.

For four free issues of the print edition of Buckeye Sports Bulletin, no card required, sign up at the link here: http://www.buckeyesports.com/subscribe-4issue-trial/