Kenny Brooks looking to awaken a 'sleeping giant' at Kentucky

Earlier this week, Kentucky Women’s Basketball named Kenny Brooks its next head coach. On Thursday, he painted visions of grandeurs during his introductory press conference.

“As I continued to research everything about Kentucky — I know that the academics here are wonderful,” Brooks said. “I know that the fan base is very passionate. I know that the resources will allow you to get to a level where you can compete with anyone.

“I know it’s in a rich history of the SEC, and the SEC’s leadership and where it’s going, you want to be aligned with that to try to create something very, very special. When I added all that up, what I came up with was it’s gonna be a sleeping giant and it just needs to be awakened.”

It won’t be Brooks’ first time waking a sleeping giant. Brooks was the head coach at Virginia Tech from 2016-24. When he arrived, the program was consistently fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. When he left, Virginia Tech had made four straight appearances in the Big Dance and reached the Final Four in the 2022-23 campaign.

This past season, Brooks led the Hokies to a 25-8 overall record and a 14-4 mark in conference play, earning the program the ACC regular season title. Virginia Tech ultimately fell to No. 5 seed Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kenny Brooks ready to establish pride in Kentucky WBB

Now, Brooks hopes to bring similar success to Kentucky.

“I’m going to come in here and we’re going to work,” Brooks said. “We’re going to put a product out there that you are going to be very, very proud of. And, I’m not just saying you’re going to be proud of them in [Memorial Coliseum], but if you see them at Target, you see them in Kroger — wherever you see them — you’re going to be able to approach them and you can be very, very proud that they represent the University of Kentucky and that’s how you build a program.

“That’s how you build awareness for women’s basketball that these young ladies need and deserve. We’ll be able to get to that point we’re going to capitalize on it. I’m extremely excited to get to work.”

Kentucky WBB has been in a deep slumber lately. After winning the 2022 SEC Tournament, the Wildcats have had two disastrous seasons in a row. In the past two seasons, Kentucky has only won a combined six games against SEC opponents. Brooks hopes to wake the Wildcats from their nightmare.