Georgia Amoore has been instrumental in getting Kentucky WBB to mesh

When Kenny Brooks came over to Kentucky, he had basically no choice but to hit the transfer portal for his roster. As a result, he ended up with 13 players from literally all over the world — 11 of which had never played for him before. From the beginning, it was clear that it would take some time for this team to find its stride.

So, the fact that Brooks brought over All-American point guard Georgia Amoore is a huge plus.

“[Our chemistry is] a work in progress,” Brooks said following the Blue-White Game. “By no means should it be perfect right now, but it’s a lot better than when we started. I think the first week or so, Georgia [Amoore] was in my office, and she had a little bit of a panicked look on her face, and I just told her, I said, you know, she’s going to be every bit as important to help iron some of those things out, and she’s taken on a wonderful position of trying to get everyone else comfortable, not only with what we’re trying to do, but with me.”

Amoore has been the link that connects Brooks to his players as they all have tried to learn one another this offseason.

“I can see her talking to them,” he noted. “I’m sure behind the scenes she’s like my translator, and if I say this, he really means that, you know. So, she’s done a great job in doing that.”

Brooks added, “I like where we’re going. They’re a very selfless group. That’s all they want to do is make the right play. There’s no one out there that’s hunting their shot or try to do something outside of the offense. We’re a little bit unconventional, obviously, with the injuries that we’ve had. We’ve had to play some people in different spots, but they’ve shown their versatility.”

Two players specifically who have shown that versatility? Clara Strack and Teonni Key.

“Clara Strack, who I’m just tickled with, because when we left Virginia Tech, there were some question marks, because all year as a freshman, we had to fight her with her conditioning, fight her to push through certain areas. She had a tremendous postseason for us, and that carried over into the summer and into the fall. Her versatility is going to be on full display for us this year.”

With Key, he’s excited to see that former Top 10 recruit potential start to take its effect.

“Teonni Key, like we unleashed the beast, you know. She’s playing carefree, but her versatility, she’s played the five, the four, the three and the two. Everyone stepped up and out their comfort zone, and it gives us some unique lineups.”