Encouraging update on Keion Brooks and Davion Mintz

With the transfer portal dominating news across that Bluegrass recently, there are still several current Kentucky Wildcats who have yet to decide where they’ll be hooping next season.

We still don’t know what senior guard Davion Mintz and sophomore forward Keion Brooks plan to do, as neither has announced if they’ll test the NBA Draft waters, return to school, or even enter the transfer portal.

Mintz isn’t going to the portal, but there were rumors Brooks might enter it when the offseason began.

The Athletic reporter Kyle Tucker just released an article detailing what Brooks is planning to do. Brooks does plan to test the NBA Draft waters, so it’s still untelling where he’ll be next season.

However, as of now, Brooks has no plans to transfer and will likely be playing at Kentucky ‘if’ he’s playing college hoops this fall.

“He’s going to put his name in the draft, see what that does and then go from there,” Brooks’ father, Keion Brooks Sr., told Tucker.

If Brooks Jr. stays in college next season, “it wouldn’t be nowhere else but Kentucky, unless he throws me a curveball,” Brooks Sr. added.

As for Mintz, while he’s still mulling over whether to go pro or return for a sixth season, his family is hoping he sticks around Lexington for one final ride.

“Me and the family here, we’re selfishly hoping he comes back, because we had a heck of a time there,” Mintz’s father, Sean Mintz, told Tucker. Even with a minimal number of people at the games, they always treated us well and told us how much they loved Davion being there.”

So, overall, this is fairly encouraging update if you’re a Kentucky fan. Brooks is unlikely to be drafted, so he’ll likely be highly encouraged to return to school by NBA personnel. And if that happens, it sounds like Kentucky is going to be where he’s playing next season.

As for Mintz, while it’s ultimately his decision to make, it certainly helps that his parents are hoping he returns to school.

And maybe I’m reading too much into this, but the fact that Mintz’s father would openly say he’s hoping his son returns makes me feel like there’s a good chance it happens.

Be sure to read Tucker’s full article at The Athletic, which includes a significant update on Isaiah Jackson and a connection to PJ Washington, who returned for a sophomore season after it looked like he may be a one and done.