Koby Brea is trying to 'level-up' even more as his role continues to expand

Koby Brea didn’t come to Kentucky expecting to play the role of lead guard, but that’s the situation he finds himself in as injuries continue to wreak havoc on the Wildcats.

Starting point guard Lamont Butler played just eight minutes Thursday night in Kentucky’s 85-84 SEC Tournament win over Oklahoma before reaggravating his left shoulder injury and sitting out the rest of the way. Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa have long been ruled out for the season. Head coach Mark Pope is down to limited backcourt options. But Brea has embraced the opportunity of helping fill in those gaps.

“Just trying to be aggressive,” Brea said after the ‘Cats beat Oklahoma 85-84 in Bridgestone Arena. “Trying to level-up a little bit and just bring something to the team, make an impact on both ends. I feel like I had a pretty good defensive game too… At this point, our team needs all of us to kind of step up a little bit. And that’s just what I was trying to do.”

Brea was excellent against the Sooners. He finished with 22 points in the win, one off his season-high, on 8-12 shooting with a 4-7 clip from deep. The Dayton transfer chipped in four rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes. It was the second straight game he played as many minutes, and his 10th time recording more than 30 minutes over his last 13 games played.

While Pope has been figuring out his lineups amid nonstop injuries, Brea has been a constant among the guard rotation. Over his last 13 games, Brea is averaging 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and two assists in 33.1 minutes per outing on 41.6 percent outside shooting. Cut that down to just his last six games and you get even better numbers: 15.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per contest on 42.9 percent three-point shooting.

Contrast all of that to his first 19 games of his season and we’ll notice plenty of differences: 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 23.5 minutes per outing on 46.4 percent outside shooting.

The three-point numbers have dipped a few percentage points compared to early in the season, but Brea is now being asked to do far more than just fire from deep. He’s morphed himself into a capable playmaker and steady defender. He’s driving to the rim more and busting out an efficient floater. As injuries happened around him, Brea accepted new responsibilities and learned from them. His calm presence as a passer, in particular, has been impressive as of late.

Back in November, Brea probably wouldn’t have been comfortable operating in the pick-and-roll on a consistent basis. Now, he’s welcoming that type of coverage.

“I’ve been reading the floor a lot better,” Brea said. “Just seeing how I’ve been guarded and now the teams are putting two (defenders) to the ball when I’m in ball screens. It’s just about not thinking about myself and making the right play.”

In the event Butler is unable to go Friday night against Alabama, Kentucky will be down to Brea, Otega Oweh, Travis Perry, and Collin Chandler in the backcourt. Only Perry would be considered a point guard, and even then, he’s better served as a shooter. None of them would be considered floor generals, but they’ll all take turns doing their best to be one throughout the rest of the season.

“Obviously we don’t want this to be the case, but it’s kind of a good opportunity for me to step out and show I can do other things,” Brea added. “I feel like I’m a good playmaker so I just gotta continue to make the right reads.”

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