Keion Brooks returning to Kentucky for sophomore season

Keion Brooks Jr. is returning for his sophomore season, his dad, Keion Brooks Sr., revealed to CatsPause.

Brooks Sr. added that his son did request feedback from the NBA, but they both know Jr. is going to be back in Lexington for a second season of college basketball.

While this was widely expected to happen, there have been several instances where that was the case with a certain player, only for him to test the NBA Draft waters and come close to keeping his name in the draft (EJ last year, PJ the year before, and Hami the previous year).

Brooks Jr. certainly has the potential to be in the NBA someday, and had this been a normal offseason, he would have had the chance to have private workouts with teams and showcase his talents.

But due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there will be no workouts and meetings with NBA teams, which pretty much locked Brooks into returning for another year of college.

Brooks ended his first year on a high note, helping UK rally from an 18-point deficit to win out Florida in what was ultimately the final game of the Wildcats’ season. Brooks hit two threes and two driving shots to help UK score the win, and in the process, showed the kind of potential that should have scouts firmly locked into him for the next level.

Heck, the way Brooks played, had he been able to replicate that in the postseason, we could be talking about him being a second-round prospect in the upcoming draft. But because the postseason was wiped out, Brooks never got that chance to show if he could consistently be the kind of impact player we saw him become in Gainesville.

I’d look for Brooks to make a PJ Washington-like jump in Year 2. He may not become the caliber of player that Sophomore PJ was, but I think he make that kind of improvement from the 4.5 point, 3.2 rebound per game player he was this past season.

Be sure to read the full CatsPause interview for more insight into Brooks’ decision to return for Year 2 and his first year in Lexington.

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