UK basketball team chemistry is great and Keion Brooks has been “unbelievable,” per report

The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team struggled mightily last season, that’s not a secret. But why did such a talented team on paper struggle so much? It all goes back to team chemistry.

Multiple reports surfaced after the season of the team chemistry being off with last season’s squad, with Kentucky Sports Radio’s Jack Pilgrim saying on more than one occasion that members of the team had formed “cliques” and isolated themselves.

And speaking of isolation, that’s just what the team did in their spare time away from practice and games. The team was not able to have a normal college season, spending more time alone in their rooms than they did on the court for the first few months.

But now? The team chemistry is back, according to a report from Kyle Tucker of The Athletic.

“But more than anything else, we really, really liked the chemistry and energy we saw this summer, and we were very, very cognizant of trying not to f*** that up. Anybody that you introduce to it could f*** it up. We were very deliberate about that.”

We all expected Keion Brooks to take that leap similar to PJ Washington last season, but a calf injury held Brooks out for the first half of the season, leading to a slower start for the sophomore.

But according to Tucker’s report, Brooks has been “unbelievable.”

“Keion has been unbelievable,” says one source.

Brooks, who has teased some ability to become a threat on the perimeter, has been “shooting the s*** out of the ball” this summer.

With 12 legit ball-players on the roster, this will be the deepest team Calipari has fielded since 2014-15, but could this team be akin to one we saw just two seasons ago?

Tucker wrote that, “Another source says these Cats remind him of the 2019-20 team.”

“This team is built like that one, the source says, only “deeper and with more competition. Everyone on the roster can really play.”

If you’ll remember, that team started off the season 9-3, with losses to Evansville, Utah, and Ohio State, but rallied in conference play to win 15 SEC games, winning the regular season by three+ games and went 25-6 on the season before Covid cut the season short.

Be sure to read the entire article at The Athletic.