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Kentucky Wildcats sophomore forward Keion Brooks Jr. has bee named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Player Development Coalition. He is one of 11 Division I men’s basketball student-athletes who have been selected to the coalition, which will meet quarterly and address issues to the NABC Board of Directors and NCAA committees.
In addition, the coalition will provide members with professional and personal development experiences.
“The importance of the coalition is to make sure the players’ voices are heard because the players are what make the NCAA go,” Brooks said in a press release. “I also believe it’s important to educate players beyond basketball, with social justice issues and how to carry yourself as a professional.”
Other members of the coalition include North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, Colorado’s Evan Battey, Brooks, Harvard’s Kale Catchings, Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Michigan State’s Joshua Langford, Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr., TCU’s RJ Nembhard, Syracuse’s Bourama Sidibe and High Point’s John-Michael Wright.
“Our priority as coaches is to support student-athlete development both on and off the court,” NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson said. “As the NABC continues its advocacy and policy work on issues impacting our game, it’s vital that input from student-athletes be central to those efforts. Whether it’s NIL, transfer parameters, social justice, COVID-19 or a host of other important topics currently impacting college basketball, we will make sure student-athletes’ voices are heard. We will also structure the Player Development Coalition to be an impactful experience that benefits these young men well beyond their college years.
Brooks, UK’s leading returner in 2020-21, appeared in all 31 games for the 2019-20 Wildcats and made six starts. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game as a freshman whole shooting 47.2% from the field.
UK needs Brooks to be a leader for a fresh batch of new Wildcats this coming season, so it’s great to see he’s becoming a stronger leader off the court as well.