Kentucky Forward Keion Brooks Enters the Transfer Portal

Keion Brooks‘ time as a Kentucky Wildcat appears to be over. On3’s Matt Zenitz reports Brooks has entered the transfer portal. He has also entered his name into the NBA Draft pool, testing the waters as an early entry while maintaining his college eligibility.

In 2021-22 Brooks started in 33 of UK’s 34 games, scoring in double figures 17 times. He averaged a career-best 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the field.

Brooks says Farewell

Brooks could probably feel this day coming when he shared this message following Kentucky’s first round NCAA Tournament loss to Saint Peter’s.

“The ending doesn’t change how I look at these guys at all. I love every single one of them,” he said. “I love the progress and the progression that we made throughout the whole year, how we came together, how we got better as a team, how guys got better individually.”

Brooks added, “I love and enjoy being around the staff, having really good and great times. My tenure here has been a little funky and difficult, a little different, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Coming here, I’ve learned a lot beyond being a basketball player, but Coach Cal has done a great job of shaping me into a better man and that being said, I don’t regret anything that I’ve been through as long as I’ve been here.”

A former five-star recruit, the Ft. Wayne, In. native was a Top 25 player in America when he committed to the Cats in 2019. Brooks played sparingly as a freshman and his sophomore debut was delayed by a lengthy injury. An inconsistent contributor, his lows cannot overshadow his highs, particularly his 27 points and 8 rebounds in a blowout win at Kansas, the eventual 2022 National Champions.

Next Man Up

Kentucky still has options at power forward without Brooks in the fold. Jacob Toppin is testing the NBA Draft waters, but John Calipari expects the incredible athlete to be back for one more season in Lexington. The Rhode Island transfer took dramatic steps forward between his first and second season in Lexington. If Daimion Collins can make a similar leap by getting more minutes on the hardwood, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better frontcourt in college basketball next season.