'You're gonna see it a lot.' Kenny Brooks will play Clara Strack, Clara Silva together this season

Kenny Brooks likes size on his teams, and that’s apparent when you look at the roster that he put together this offseason. Just look at Clara Strack and Clara Silva, who stand at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7 respectively.

Of course, having all of that size is a luxury in itself, but being able to play them together really adds to the size advantage that Kentucky will have against basically every team they play. Brooks plans on playing the two together, and he cites Strack’s diverse skill set as the thing that allows for that to be a possible and effective strategy.

“It’s not a tease. You’re gonna see it a lot. It’s something that’s good,” Brooks said. “They’re too talented not to have them on the floor together. That’s where I gush with, you know, just excitement, [Clara Strack’s] versatility allows us to do that. She honestly can play four positions and play them well. It’s not like a gimmick — the one is a little bit different. She’s one of the smartest players that I’ve had, and she just understands it. She understands my offense. If it’s a play, she knows why she’s supposed to go from A to B to get to C. It’s not just ‘hey, connect the dots’ and ‘hey, he said go here, then I gotta go there’. She knows why she’s supposed to go there and what she’s doing. I’ve been extremely proud of her.”

Brooks continued, “She’s watched Liz Kitley do it. She’s watched Georgia Amoore do it. She’s directing people on the floor. If someone has a little bit of a hiccup or a brain freeze, they don’t know exactly where to go, she’s telling them where they should go in a manner that is very respectful, and the kids really listen to her. So, she’s being groomed to be a leader of our program because she knows it extremely well.”

Because of what all Strack can do, Silva can now shine too as she helps create one of the biggest frontcourts in the country.

“They’re gonna play, and they’re gonna play together,” Brooks noted. “[Clara Strack has] had that experience last year playing with Kitley, where she can play the high post. She can do a lot of different things, and that allows Clara Silva to be on the floor even more.”