‘She’ll make you not sleep for three nights.’ Coaches sound off on UK’s Georgia Amoore
If you ask Kenny Brooks, Georgia Amoore has “made Kentucky women’s basketball cool.”
From Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, to Blacksburg, Virginia, to Lexington, Amoore has etched her name in several record books; an All-America selection during her time at Virginia Tech, she graduated as the program’s all-time leader in assists (656) and assist/turnover ratio (1.8), second in made 3-pointers (293) and third in both games started (121) and career points (1,853), among other accolades.
In lieu of declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft upon the conclusion of her senior year of college, Amoore opted to exercise her additional season of eligibility in favor of one final year of development under Brooks. She was, of course, rewarded with a fourth-place finish in the Southeastern Conference, 22 wins and counting, including five against programs ranked within the Associated Press Top 25.
Amoore, who Brooks called “the best point guard in the country,” following her 16-point, four-rebound, three-assist performance in the Wildcats’ regular-season finale loss at South Carolina, was called upon to help build the foundation of Brooks’ Kentucky program, and serve as a leader for a predominantly inexperienced roster after primarily being relied upon as a facilitating point guard while at Virginia Tech. An added benefit to her fifth season came in the form of navigating a flurry of different defenses attempting to contain her production, adding Southeastern Conference experience to her arsenal.
Brooks noted that, within a game setting and outside of it, the 2025 ESPN Transfer of the Year is “in constant communication with me,” discussing different coverages and how to circumvent them.
“She came over from the ACC and came into the SEC for her final year,” Brooks said. “And I think it’s been a blessing for her because the defenses that she’s faced this year, it’s going to be great preparation for her in the future. And what she’s going to be able to see, and the way she’s been able to handle it, it’s a way more physical league, you know, the amount of bumps, bruises, scratches that she gets during a game. But she was able to have success against it and get easy opportunities.”
Announced this week as a second-team All-America selection by The Sporting News, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Associated Press, Amoore will embrace her last dance in the NCAA Tournament as not only one of the most decorated players in Kentucky women’s basketball history, but also one of the most influential.
“With the recognition that she has,” Brooks said. “So many people know her. We go through the line at the South Carolina game, and she knows all those kids because of their experiences. Because she’s been elevated to go to the same camps in the summertime, the Nike camps, the Kelsey Plum camps that they all go to. And so they got to see her, they got to recognize her and her greatness.”
Despite a shift in responsibility and competition, Amoore has improved her averages across five statistical categories — 19.1 points, 6.9 assists and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 42.5% from the field and delivering a 2.2 assist-turnover ratio. She is also the only active Division I college basketball player, men’s or women’s, to have at least 2,300 career points and 800 career assists; the distinction puts Amoore in good company, joining Iowa legend Caitlin Clark (2020-24) and Oregon icon Sabrina Ionescu (2016-20) as the only D-I women’s basketball players to eclipse the markers. Amoore is a finalist for the 2025 Nancy Lieberman Women’s Point Guard of the Year Award, a semifinalist for the 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year, and is one of the 15 players on the ballot for this year’s John R. Wooden Award.
Amoore making the Wildcats cool isn’t just seen in the handshake line; Brooks said he regularly receives calls detailing prospects who want to be like Amoore. In fact, Conner Goetz, head coach of Providence Academy (Minn.) girls basketball, told the Herald-Leader in November that he and 5-foot-8 UK 2026 point guard commit Maddyn Greenway took notice of the 5-foot-6 Amoore and her development as a shorter floor general years ago — and saw how Amoore’s game overlapped with Greenway’s.
“Recruits do the same thing,” Brooks said. “I get calls all the time where people, you know, want to be the next Georgia Amoore, our Georgia, and Georgia. And so she’s really put us on the map, and it gives us an opportunity and a credibility. And I think that’s going to last for a long time because I think that she’s going to continue with her career, and the association with Kentucky women’s basketball will be there, and I think it will linger through and help us out in the future.”
Coaches sound off
Ahead of Amoore’s last dance — during which the Wildcats are sure to face more opponents with the All-American circled at the top of the scouting report — here’s a non-exhaustive collection of compliments paid to her by coaches throughout her final season of college basketball.
Jimmy Garrity, Wofford
Nov. 12 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 20 Kentucky 76, Wofford 42
Amoore: 11 points, three rebounds, seven assists, one steal
“Georgia’s one of the best in the country,” Garrity said. “Coming off ball screens, coming off dribble handoffs, she does a fantastic job of even faking those.”
Jeff Walz, Louisville
Nov. 16 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 20 Kentucky 71, No. 18 Louisville 61 (OT)
Amoore: 19 points, one rebound, nine assists, two steals, one block
“Amoore’s as good as there is,” Walz said. “And what I was impressed with her is, as rattled as we got her, I mean, she turned the damn ball over eight times, guys. We did a heck of a job, but she kept playing. And that’s what I’ve always admired about her, is no matter how rattled we got her, you never saw it on her face. And that’s the sign of a great point guard. And she is, you know, I’ve got a ton of respect for her. I always have.”
Courtney Banghart, North Carolina
Dec. 5 at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill: No. 16 North Carolina 72, No. 14 Kentucky 53
Amoore: 10 points, eight assists, one steal
“Georgia Amoore’s a really good player,” Banghart said. “... Before tonight, she had 58 assists and she had taken a total of 103 shots. So she’s a kid that wants to facilitate, right?”
Bart Brooks, Belmont
Dec. 20 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 16 Kentucky 84, Belmont 78
Amoore: 23 points, three rebounds, five assists
“She’s really good,” Brooks said. “And she’s good because she’s got a great change of pace. She’s explosive, but she’s fast when she needs to be, not fast all the time, and that’s really hard to guard. And she needs no space to get her 3 off. And you know, unfortunately, she she caught fire there for a stretch in the second half. I thought we did a pretty good job on her for a good chunk of the game, but, man, when she shakes loose, she can score in a hurry in bunches, and that’s why she’s really good.”
Greg Collins, Western Kentucky
Dec. 28 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 16 Kentucky 88, WKU 70
Amoore: 21 points, three rebounds, nine assists
“I enjoy playing this team,” Collins said. “... I think that, and Georgia is a phenomenal player, but I didn’t see any less fight in our number three (Alexis Mead). Our number three played just as hard as their number three. Now, (Amoore) made a few more shots, but I felt like (Mead) went out there and didn’t back down.”
Shea Ralph, Vanderbilt
Jan. 5 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville: No. 16 Kentucky 96,Vanderbilt 78
Amoore: 24 points, two rebounds, nine assists
“Georgia Amoore is a great point guard,” Ralph said. “She set her team up for success. There wasn’t anybody — she was the best player on the floor today. There wasn’t anybody on our team that could guard her. She knew exactly what she needed to do, she knew exactly what her teammates needed her to do. How to set them up, and she did that. From start to finish. And then she defended, as well. She was the best player on the floor.”
Johnnie Harris, Auburn
Jan. 12 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 15 Kentucky 80, Auburn 61
Amoore: 21 points, two rebounds, 11 assists, one steal
“She’s a three-level scorer,” Harris said. “She can shoot the jumper, she can shoot the 3 and she can get to the rim, so it’s just really hard. And she’s a really good ball handler, so it’s really hard. You can’t guard her for just one thing, and then she’s a great passer, so it’s just tough guarding her one-on-one.”
Joni Taylor, Texas A&M
Jan. 23 at Reed Arena in Bryan-College Station: Texas A&M 61, No. 11 Kentucky 55
Amoore: 15 points, three rebounds, five assists, one steal
“Kentucky is so good,” Taylor said. “Georgia Amoore is so good.”
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Kristy Curry, Alabama
Jan. 30 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 12 Kentucky 65, No. 22 Alabama 56
Amoore: 16 points, three rebounds, nine assists
“You know, their point guard up close and in-person is really, really special,” Curry said. “So I think you have to credit her because I thought she controlled the tempo in the game and found open people. And, around her, they all understand their jobs and responsibilities and do a really great job of being balanced.”
Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma
Feb. 2 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman: No. 12 Kentucky 95, No. 13 Oklahoma 86
Amoore: 43 points, one rebound, eight assists
“Georgia Amoore happened, and she just single-handedly picked us apart,” Baranczyk said. “And then they spaced us out. And I don’t think we responded. I think that, you know, and they’re a challenge, they’re different than a lot of people, and she’s different, and she’s bouncy...This isn’t like, ‘Oh, this is just a really special night for her.’ I know she shot the ball well, but she’s been there, she’s done that. She’s got great experience, and she elevates the level of the play of the people around her. I think that’s the highest compliment that you can give anybody, when you can make everybody else around you better. That’s what she does. And so she makes you get into a rotation, and the second you mess up, she finds the open person.”
Vic Schaefer, Texas
Feb. 13 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 3 Texas 67, No. 8 Kentucky 49
Amoore: 14 points, one rebound, three assists
“Obviously, Georgia’s really good,” Schaefer said. “She’ll make you not sleep for three nights before you play them. ... We talked a lot about her. I mean, you have to. She’s hunting. She’s hunting baskets for herself, and she’s hunting them for her teammates. So when the ball is in her hands, you’ve got to be ready.”
Kim Mulkey, LSU
Feb. 23 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 7 LSU 65, No. 14 Kentucky 58
Amoore: 16 points, five assists, three steals, one block
“It’s a different style with Kentucky,” Mulkey said. “Tall, spread the floor on you, a tremendous point guard who makes everybody else better. Not only can she score it, but she can get her teammates open looks. ... (On if Amoore reminds her of herself back in the day) Yes, except she can shoot it, and I didn’t. Didn’t have to shoot. ... I just told her at the end there, I said, ‘When are you graduating?’ You know, same thing I told (Caitlin) Clark, it’s like, I’m tired of seeing you. As a compliment, don’t take that the wrong way. And she said, ‘This year, this year.’ But what a tremendous player she is. She’s fun to watch, if you’re not competing against her.”
Kim Caldwell, Tennessee
Feb. 27 at Memorial Coliseum: No. 15 Kentucky 82, No. 11 Tennessee 58
Amoore: 18 points, one rebound, seven assists, one steal
“She’s a special player,” Caldwell said. “She makes everyone on her team better, and that’s rare, and she is able to score, but she’s also able to just create shots for other people.”
Dawn Staley, South Carolina
March 2 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia: No. 6 South Carolina 78, No. 15 Kentucky 66
Amoore: 16 points, four rebounds, three assists
“(Brooks has) got a really talented squad,” Staley said. “They’ve got chemistry, they work well together and they’ve got a really good point guard. When you got a point guard that can distribute the basketball, that can create her own shot, that can knock down 3s, that can read defenses, I mean, she puts people in great positions to just have to make a basket. And, when you have a leader like that, it’s gonna give you opportunities to win, and win a lot of basketball games.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 7:15 AM.
