Keion Brooks Jr. is playing with the right amount of energy

As Oscar Tshiebwe and TyTy Washington bud into Kentucky’s superstar players, Keion Brooks Jr. continues to play his role like the three-year veteran that he is.

It was another impressive evening for the 6-foot-7 junior. Brooks dropped nine points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal on 4-7 shooting in a dominant UK victory over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. It was a follow-up performance to his 14-point outing on 6-8 shooting over the weekend against Georgia. In three of his four SEC games this season, Brooks hasn’t been the focal point for UK, but he’s made significant impacts simply by outworking his opponent that has helped lead to blowout Wildcat victories.

Barring an unexpected leap in his offensive production over the next few weeks, that’s how he’ll continue to make an impact. Brooks’ offensive game is limited to inside the 3-point arc (even though he did hit his first triple since Nov. 29 on Tuesday night) and he’s not a primary ball-handler. But what he can do better than most players in the country is jump higher and run faster.

Brooks did just that against Vanderbilt, going up and over opposing Commodores to grab rebounds at the highest point. He was diving for loose balls and running the floor. His energy levels are right where his head coach wants them.

“I just want to go in every day and try to build on the next day and that’s playing hard, having energy, doing the stuff that everyone doesn’t want to do,” Brooks said in the postgame press conference. “Coach (John Calipari) has really been on me about making sure that I play with high energy and continue that throughout the whole game. I just got to use my God-given gifts; my length, my speed, and my athleticism to go out and make plays.”

When Brooks uses those God-given gifts to his fullest advantage, the results tend to swing in Kentucky’s favor. UK is 5-0 this season when he scores at least 13 points. Finding consistency will be the next step. It’s been a “two games on, one game off” type of season for him so far, especially of late. Brooks had just two points in 14 minutes in the loss to LSU and five points in 13 minutes against Western Kentucky. His teammate Jacob Toppin lurks as a similar archetype player who could (and has during certain situations) steal some of his clock.

Brooks isn’t concerned with personal accolades though. As long as he plays with the same energy he did against Vanderbilt, he’ll find plenty of playing time. The outcome is what matters most to him, which is exactly what fans want to hear out of a glue guy.

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether that’s rebounding or defending, or if I have to score a basket, do whatever I can to help the team win,” Brooks added.

While Brooks might not be great at one thing, he’s very good at a lot of them, most importantly being a springy athlete. When he brings the level of energy he did down to Nashville, those natural abilities make him incredibly tough to gameplan for.