Scottie Pippen’s son Justin Pippen reacts as Michigan transfer Sam Walters commits to Mississippi State

Justin Pippen made his thoughts known after Michigan Wolverines forward Sam Walters' time as a member of the program came to an end. Walters last played for the team on Feb. 8 earlier this year, when the Wolverines won 70-67 against the Indiana Hoosiers during the 2025 Big Ten play. He logged six minutes off the bench.

Walters no longer suited up for Michigan, as he went down with a back injury during practice and was ruled out for the remainder of the 2024-2025 campaign. On Thursday, it was announced that he is moving to the Mississippi State Bulldogs for next season after entering the transfer portal in April.

The news was confirmed by On3 and 247Sports, which college basketball recruiting analyst Dushawn London broke to the public on Instagram, triggering reactions from the collegiate hoops world, including Pippen.

"NEWS: Michigan transfer Sam Walters has committed to Mississippi State, he tells @247Sports. Former four-star recruit."

Justin Pippen, who is the son of six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen, commented a fire and raising hands emoji in the comments section of the post to support his now former teammate, who is looking for more opportunities for playing time with the Bulldogs.

(Image credits: @dushawn_london on Instagram)

The younger Pippen was in his first year of college basketball, wherein he shared the court with Walters. While Walters ultimately had a premature end to his second stint, Pippen played out most of the Dusty May-coached Wolverines' games.

Michigan eventually finished with an overall record of 27-10 and 14-6 during conference play and was trounced out of this year's national tournament during the Sweet 16 against the Auburn Tigers on March 28 in a 78-65 loss.

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Justin Pippen is moving to the California Golden Bears next year

On April 8, it was announced that Justin Pippen is also moving on from the Michigan Wolverines and is transferring to the California Golden Bears for the 2025-2026 season. This was followed by Sam Walters' transfer, with two of the team's young stars prematurely ending their stint with the program.

For his first campaign of college basketball, Pippen dropped just 1.6 points and 0.7 rebounds in around 6.6 minutes in 28 games, while Walters averaged 5.0 markers and 1.6 boards in about 12.7 minutes per contest.