Keion Brooks seeking to convince NBA he’s ‘more than just an athlete’
During this pre-draft period of assessment, which for him includes this week’s NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago, Keion Brooks senses that he has made a good impression off the court as well as on.
“In the interview process, they said they love the way I answer questions,” Brooks said in a telephone conversation Monday. “They say it tells them I’m smart and I’m intelligent.”
This brought to mind hearing the former UK player’s father say that he bounced questions off his young son in the hopes of preparing him for future interviews.
“My parents were very big on me being more than just an athlete (and) continuing to show people I have more to offer than putting the ball in the hoop,” Brooks said. “So, I feel that has helped me as I go through this process.”
Brooks’ off-court résumé is long. As a freshman, he made the Southeastern Conference First-Year Academic Honor Roll. The following year he made the SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll and served on the league’s Council on Racial Equity and Social Justice plus the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Player Development Coalition.
Brooks was a leading voice in a UK team video produced last year that called for greater racial harmony and an end to systemic racism in this country. The players and UK Coach John Calipari wore T-shirts bearing the words “Black Lives Matter” on the video. Brooks set a moving tone by saying a Black person in the United States can feel “hunted.”
Brooks acknowledged that the reaction to the video and the UK players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem before a game at Florida was mixed.
Of critics, he said, “if they couldn’t understand the message that I was trying to get across, then they’re not the ones I was talking to.”
When asked to explain the message he sought to convey, Brooks said, “my biggest thing about that was just creating conversations, to open dialogue, to get people to understand each other more. I feel like people shut each other out too much. So we don’t get anywhere.”
As for on the court, Brooks said the feedback he has received from NBA people has been a mix of compliments along with advice on how to improve.
“They tell me they love my ability to defend and switch and guard multiple positions …,” he said. “They want to see me shoot the ball better.
“But I believe I’m an NBA player. I’ve just got to convince them of it, as well.”
Brooks made only seven of 30 three-point shots last season (23.3%). In making the case that he’s a good shooter, he noted that he shot free throws and two-point shots well for UK. Last season he made 52.2% of his two-point shots (132 of 253) and 78.3% of his free throws (72 of 92).
“I just didn’t shoot the ball well from three,” he said. “So, obviously, there’s nothing mechanically wrong with my shot. I just don’t think I got enough game reps up to build that confidence and prove to people that I can shoot a three.”
Brooks described his three seasons for Kentucky as “three different chapters”: learning as a freshman, dealing with adversity as a sophomore in the form of a left leg injury that limited him to 16 games and an enhanced role as a junior.
“The biggest thing I take from each and every one of them is the relationships that I made from each year,” he said. “I’ve made connections and friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
Brooks said he entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal in order to keep open the option of playing another college season. Then he added, “I don’t plan on going back to school.”
He said he entered this year’s NBA Draft because he felt ready to play professionally thanks to his three seasons for Kentucky.
With Kentucky synonymous with players entering the NBA Draft after only a season or two, Brooks was asked if there was a stigma attached to playing four seasons for UK.
“People probably do view it that way,” he said. “That’s not for me to be concerned with. My journey is different than anybody’s else’s. So I can’t get into a game of comparing myself or trying to emulate what someone else did.
“God put me on my own path, and I’m ready for it.”
