How do Kenny Brooks’ first 10 games as Kentucky coach stack up against his predecessors?
At the end of March, when University of Kentucky director of athletics Mitch Barnhart announced Kenny Brooks as the new head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball, Brooks made his intentions clear.
“I don’t plan on wasting any time building a positive atmosphere, winning environment and a persistent program that Big Blue Nation can be proud of,” Brooks said in the press release.
Now, nearly nine months later, Brooks’ first season in Lexington has catapulted Kentucky back into the national conversation.
At the time of the writing of this article, the Wildcats were ranked No. 16 in the nation by the Associated Press and considered a top-35 team in the NCAA NET rankings. They’ve positioned themselves as one of the more competitive rosters in the Southeastern Conference, allowing the fourth-fewest points (53.7) among league teams and averaging more blocks than any other program in the country (8.7).
Kentucky (9-1) has a projected first-round WNBA draft pick in Georgia Amoore — who eclipsed 2,000 career points against Purdue and is tied with Iowa State senior guard Emily Ryan in leading the nation in assists per game (7.2) — and two top-10 shot-blockers in Teonni Key, who ranks sixth in the nation with 2.9 per game, and Clara Strack, who ranks 10th with 2.6. Each of UK’s five starters — Amoore, Key, Strack, graduate guard Dazia Lawrence and junior forward Amelia Hassett — is averaging double-figure scoring while playing at least 27 minutes per contest.
The Wildcats have earned a pair of ranked victories during nonconference play and have national media predicting that they’ll make their first NCAA Tournament since the 2021-22 campaign; Kentucky women’s basketball, at least at first glance, looks — and feels— different.
But what happens if we look at the numbers? While acknowledging how much the game, let alone the greater landscape of college athletics, have changed, are this year’s Wildcats really different from the other ‘first teams’ to take the floor in recent years?
Brooks, the ninth head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball, is the third coach to begin his Kentucky tenure since 2007, joining Matthew Mitchell (2007-20) and Kyra Elzy (2020-24). How does Brooks’ inaugural roster stack up to those of Mitchell or Elzy through 10 games?
Using box scores, schedule and starting lineup information courtesy of UK Athletics, Associated Press, ESPN and Sports Reference, we assembled a comprehensive statistical breakdown of the three coaches’ first 10 games at UK. Here’s what we found.
Overall records and rankings
Though there’s plenty of season to go, what with SEC play still ahead, Brooks and the Wildcats are off to a strong start.
There’s a real possibility that UK surpasses its win total from each of the past two seasons (12) by early January, and, per UK Sports Network statistician Corey Price, the Wildcats have already made history; prior to this year, Kentucky women’s basketball has never won two games against Associated Press Top 25 teams in November.
Mitchell didn’t have a Kentucky team ranked by the Associated Press until his third season, when, in the Feb. 1, 2010, poll, the Wildcats debuted at No. 20 after a five-game win streak in the SEC that included an 11-point win over No. 18 LSU in Baton Rouge. That 2009-10 team finished with a record of 28-8 (11-5 SEC) and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, but Mitchell’s first Kentucky roster did not make an NCAA Tournament appearance and finished 17-16 (8-6 SEC).
Elzy, whose team had eventual top-overall WNBA draft pick Rhyne Howard leading the way, entered 2020-21 ranked as the preseason No. 11 team. Her roster hit a season peak of No. 9, achieved in both the third and fourth issues of the poll. The roster would build an overall record of 18-9 (9-6 SEC), and reach the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Brooks’ 9-1 start ties Elzy’s record through 10 games, and bests Mitchell’s 4-6 start.
Scoring
Brooks’ inaugural roster boasts the highest number of double-digit victories through the compared 10 games, with nine total. In fact, the Wildcats’ 72-53 loss to North Carolina on Dec. 5 is the only contest they’ve not won by at least 10 points. By comparison, Mitchell won three of his first 10 games with the Wildcats by double digits, while Elzy won seven.
Mitchell used six unique starting lineups across 10 games, twice as many as Elzy and six times as many as Brooks.
Mitchell’s six lineups included the likes of 2011 WNBA draft pick Victoria Dunlap, Jenn’e Jackson, Carly Ormerod, Samantha Mahoney, Chante’ Bowman, Sarah Elliott, Chelsea Chowning, Amani Franklin and Amber Smith. Only Dunlap and Mahoney started in each of the Wildcats’ 10 games. Mitchell’s starters combined for 489 of the team’s 689 total points across 10 contests. Mahoney led the team in scoring during that period with 16.9 points per game.
Elzy’s six lineups involved Dre’Una Edwards, Blair Green and Chasity Patterson, each of whom started in all 10 games, plus KeKe McKinney (nine), Rhyne Howard (eight), Emma King (two) and Olivia Owens (one). Elzy’s starters scored 578 of the team’s 802 total points across 10 games, with Howard’s average of about 18.8 points leading the way.
Brooks’ roster is led in scoring this season by Strack (16.0), followed by Amoore (15.6), Lawrence (13.0), Key (11.5) and Hassett (10.8).
As far as margin of victory (and loss) goes, Kentucky’s 61-point victory over Wofford on Dec. 19, 2020 under Elzy is the largest margin of victory among the compared 30 contests, making Brooks’ 55-point win over South Carolina Upstate on Nov. 4, 2024, the second-largest. Brooks’ 19-point loss to North Carolina is the worst margin of loss across the 30 contests.
Defense
Strack and Hassett are two of the SEC’s best rebounders this season, averaging 9.9 and 9.8 boards, respectively. Add in Key’s 9.7 rebounds, and three of Brooks’ starters are more aggressive on the boards than any of the 2007-08 or 2020-21 Wildcats starters through 10 games.
“(Hassett) adds an element that makes us one of the better rebounding teams in the country,” Brooks said. “Because you have Clara Strack, who has a knack for the basketball. You have Teonni Key, who’s probably one of the most impressive rebounders that I’ve ever coached, with her athletic ability. And then Amelia just has a nose for the ball. And while they’re in there boxing everybody out, she really kind of runs free. And she’s come up with big rebound after big rebound after big rebound for us.. ... She has great hands. When she grabs it, she usually grabs it, pulls it away and secures it for us. So that’s a weapon for us. It’s a weapon, and that’s going to bode well for us as we continue on down the schedule.”
Elzy’s best rebounder out of the gate in 2020 was Edwards, who averaged 8.8 boards across 10 contests, while Mitchell’s roster was led by Dunlap, who grabbed 6.4 boards per game.
For Brooks’ roster, it’s a block party each and every game. As previously stated, this season’s Wildcats block more shots on average than any other SEC team. But Kentucky leads everybody else, too — UK’s 8.7 blocks per game, bolstered by Key and Strack, puts the program 1.5 blocks per game ahead of Southern California, which ranks second nationally. Kentucky is the only program in the country with two players ranking within the top 30 for blocked shots per game.
Brooks’ starters have combined for 68 blocks through 10 games, while Mitchell’s (18) and Elzy’s (29) together totaled just 47.
Amoore, and everybody else
No buts about it, Amoore is one of the nation’s best passers. It’s what the quarterback of this UK offense is known for, her bread and butter.
In addition to being tied for first nationally in assists per game this season, she also surpassed 700 career assists in the Wildcats’ 77-61 victory over Arizona State on Nov. 26. Amoore has dished 728 career assists, including 72 this year, and her efforts are a big reason why UK ranks eighth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.54.
To put Amoore’s average into the greater context of Kentucky women’s basketball this century, Mitchell’s starting combination dished fewer than 80 assists collectively through 10 games, while Elzy’s combined for 119.
“What she’s been able to do for us, she’s been a facilitator,” Brooks said. “As a matter of fact, she’s been the best facilitator in the country. She’s leading the country. ... She’s been phenomenal this year, more so than any ... 2,000 (points), over 700, probably pushing 800 assists now, that’s a remarkable player. And she’s only going to continue to get better as she gets more and more comfortable.”
Friday
Belmont at No. 16 Kentucky
When: 6 p.m.
TV: SEC Network+ (online only)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630
Records: UK 9-1, Belmont 5-5
Series: Kentucky leads 5-1
Last meeting: Kentucky won 70-50 on Nov. 29, 2020, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington
