@KentuckyMBB
Sitting out of all contact training since the beginning of October and the first nine Kentucky games of the season with a complicated calf injury, sophomore striker Keion Brooks Jr. has returned in full force.
Finishing with 12 points from 6 to 8 shots, six rebounds, four assists, a block and a ball steal in 24 minutes, Brooks was one of the main reasons Kentucky managed to win 76-58 and move to 3 0 in conference piece.
After months of uncertainty and training limitations, UK coach John Calipari was thrilled to have a “stabilizing force” back on the Kentucky team.
“The only thing he was unable to do with us was anything with contact. He was practicing, conditioning, and I said, “You better, because we will know something in the next few days. You improve the condition. “And it has been,” said Calipari. “He’s just a disciplined and conscientious (player). It is good to have a stabilizing force. … There was a lot of good. “
The impressive debut performance comes after an exciting week for the sophomore striker, where he expected news of yet another delayed return from the team’s doctors.
“I told the team this, when he spoke to the doctors, he seemed scared to death, he thought it would take longer. Her hands were shaking. He came to see me, they cleared him, and he and I were thrilled and I hugged him. “
After the news, Brooks was not concerned with where he would fit in the rotation or how many minutes he would receive immediately. The veteran striker was only concerned with doing what was best for the team.
Considering the team’s recent public and private turmoil, Calipari was quick to use Brooks’s response and general message as a lesson for the team.
“I said,” I need to find out how I can put it in. ” He said: “Coach, I trust you, you do what you think is best for this team”. I told the team that, ”said Calipari. “I said,“ Think of some of you. You are submissive, and some of you are like, “Why did you submit me ?!” Think of yourself. Think about how he responded to that. He is a leader by example. He’s not a confrontational guy, that’s not what he is. “
As for his presence on the court, Brooks took advantage of his impressive New Year’s Eve performance in Gainesville last March, presenting himself with balance and confidence. You could see the slight rust, but Brooks made the right goal, pass and defense decisions more often than not.
“You saw the type of athlete he is,” said Calipari. “You see that he is much stronger physically than where he was. He’s much more mentally patient, the game has slowed down for him. It’s a big deal. We’ve been playing without him, I mean, come on. “
Calipari compared Brooks to a coach on the court, praising the sophomore striker for his guidance and leadership in his season debut.
“He can calm them down on the court, so he takes that away from our team,” said the UK coach. “This is what makes it amazing, in the state of Mississippi, how we did it without him. How we did it and how they stayed together. He is a special young man, a great human being, a great teammate and a skilled basketball player. Very talented.”
Combining with Brooks for the first time in his career, transferred senior guard Davion Mintz struggled to find words to describe the 1.80m striker’s game on his debut. For simplicity, it was a game changer.
“You watched the game, you saw it,” said Mintz. “He gave us a totally different element to the game. Keion was amazing today. It was super fun. I’m speechless, really. It was fantastic.”
Interestingly, Mintz could feel that an impressive day was coming for Brooks after talking to him during the warm-up before the game. There were no nerves, zero pressure.
Brooks was grateful to be back on the ground.
“Keion has been doing good practices. He’s making it easier. But in order not to discredit their practices, it has not been anything like the game. He just turned on a different button, it was amazing, ”said Mintz. “We were testing him, seeing what he can do. (…) We knew that he would play well, but we didn’t know that he would come in and make the impact he had. That’s just a credit to your work and rehab, the guys who have been helping you.
“… He has no pressure on him. He told me before the game: “I’m just going to go out and have fun, I have nothing to lose. I am blessed to be playing now. “As soon as I saw that he had that attitude, I knew,” OK, good morning to Keion. ” And he did. “
As for Brooks, he was confident in his ability to produce on his debut, crediting coach Rob Harris of Kentucky for keeping him in shape while his calf injury kept him out of competition.
“I have always believed in my ability to come back and play well. I was constantly working out, keeping myself in top shape, ”said Brooks. “A big shout out to Coach Rob Harris, our strength coach. I don’t even like to call him that, he’s much more than that. Not only did he do a great job keeping me in great shape, but I spent a lot of time with him, so he was always in my ear to stay positive. The conversations we had, it really helped me to get over what I was going through. “
Above all, in addition to production, Brooks was happy to serve as the leader of a team that has been desperate for one since the start of the season. He wanted to bring a positive and contagious attitude to the ground, and that passed on to his teammates.
“You hit the nail on the head, my leader. I just try to bring energy and hope that my energy will infect my teammates, ”said Brooks. “They also did a great job of staying with me the whole time I was injured. I didn’t want to go around and let them down, not play by their standards, not be as engaged as they are, not have as much energy as they would have. This works both ways.
“My leadership depended a lot on them and on allowing me to be a leader. Everything went well tonight. ”