Kentucky star Keion Brooks Jr. makes major announcement on his future

Kentucky Wildcats star Keion Brooks Jr. just made a major announcement, revealing his plans for the 2022 season. Brooks said that he will be entering his name into the 2022 NBA Draft, but will maintain his collegiate eligibility as he tests the draft waters.

“First off, I would like to thank God for blessing me and putting me in this position,” Brooks said. “Secondly, I would like to thank all my teammates and coaches along the way for helping me prepare and pushing me to be the best player I can be.

“With that being said, I am looking forward to the next chapter and I will enter my name into the NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility. I appreciate all the love and support as I work toward chasing my dream of playing in the NBA.”

Blessed and ready for the next step 💙 pic.twitter.com/Y5AOBOJ28N

— Keion Brooks Jr. (@KeionB_12) April 4, 2022

Brooks is a former four-star recruit according to the On3 Consensus. He chose Kentucky over other offers from Illinois, Memphis, Ohio State, and Michigan State, among others.

Brooks turned into a key player for Kentucky this season

The 2019-2020 season was the first at Kentucky for Brooks. That year, he played in 31 games with six starts, averaging 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game. During the 2020-2021 season, Brooks played in 16 games with three starts. His numbers improved though, averaging 10.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 23.6 minutes per game.

This season, Brooks started all 33 games for Kentucky. He posted a career-best 10.8 points, also grabbing 4.4 rebounds and one assist per game while playing an average of 24.5 minutes. Shooting wise, Brooks shot 49.1% from the field this season, also shooting 23.3% from three-point range and 78.3% from the free throw line.

Kentucky could end up losing some serious talent to the 2022 NBA Draft, with Oscar Tshiebwe and TyTy Washington possibly gearing up to join Brooks in declaring for the draft.

Kentucky went 26-8 this season and had a 14-4 mark against SEC opponents during the regular season. The Wildcats lost in the SEC Tournament semifinal against Tennessee, and eventually lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s despite being a No. 2 seed.