Brooks led his La Lumiere High School with 20 points as they beat Oak Hill Academy for the right to play in the national championship game. I see why Cal recruited him. He is an all around 3-4 that can shoot three's, short jumpers or take it to the hole and is a very physical player. Kentucky fans are going to love his energy and skill set.
Keion Brooks
- Thread starter kl40504
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there aint any 3 about it....... kids a face up 4 ......... .....but thankfully Whitney is our 3.
I think Brooks ends up as our starting 4 man.
G Hagans (if he comes back) or Quickley
G Maxey
F Whitney
F Brooks
F Montgomery
Agree on the small-ball/stretch 4. I didn’t see the handles or lateral quickness to play elite college sf’s.
He will be a work in progress and hopefully the rational fans will temper their expectations. He looked good today on a number of plays and then bad on others with two 3's not even close, two bad passes for turnovers in key parts of the game and yet earlier complete domination on both ends of the court for a couple minutes in a row hitting driving shots and 3's. He was able to grab some rebounds in traffic but other times was out of position I liked that he could finish his shots but his defense is a lot of watching when his man doesn't have the ball and some jogging down the court. Typical high school player in that regard.
Good analysis.
If any coach can get him ready to contribute on both ends on the floor, it's Cal. He made a wise choice coming here. He'll drive us crazy in November and December, but be solid by March, like most Cal Freshmen.
He has a high motor. Everyone talks about his tremendous work ethic.
For the third year in a row, I think we will see a guy that was underrated by the recruiting gurus being our best Freshman (SGA, Herro, Brooks).
I really wish it would be Maxey, Herro, Whitney, Brooks and then either Sestina or EJ...... Cal just seems to do better with scoring pgs... but hopefully Hagans works his azz off on jump shooting.
Just can't see Herro in the equation.
Agree about Hagans and working on his jumper.
If Maxey is better with the ball, I would hope Cal will do what is best for the team and will put the ball in Maxey's hands.
Our only chance with Herro is the idea coming back could put him into the lottery... possibly top 10 depending on how hard he works to shoot consistently... at that point the increase in money per year is worth it. But I'm not allowing my self to hold out hope for it... I know thats not gonna happen here
Stranger things have happened. I think Herro may have learned a lot about his deficiencies in that loss to AU. He was beat as was our whole starting 5 in OT, but Auburn exposed that he lacks quickness and struggles to create a shot against more athletic players. We'll see, but this board has many dogmatic and negative posters who are constantly proving themselves to be wrong.
Totally disagree. The kid has the vision and handles to play the three. Even showed some range on his shots. VEry versatile player
If this is our lineup next year we don’t make a sweet sixteen. Very physically weak team
Im sorry but LOL at the handles to play the 3......... guy has the handles to drive past big men...... not sf's. we went through this with Poythress and Gabriel......... I figured people would be able to tell how good of a ball handler and fast a guy has to be to drive on opposing SF's... because they are usually 6'4 , 6'5 guards playing the SF spot.
Like his size and length - jumper is below average and that is not what the college game requires. Cal better start recruiting pure shooters and explsive scores or he scorers 60 inElite 8 and gets bounced again
I have not been able to watch much. But seems like he's been a standout in this Geico tournament.
Do people think he will rise in rankings come summer? I know RSCI does a few composite rankings within the year.
I love that he continues to keep playing in the tournament, and didn't go home in the first round. More reps, more experience, more exposure.
Do people think he will rise in rankings come summer? I know RSCI does a few composite rankings within the year.
I love that he continues to keep playing in the tournament, and didn't go home in the first round. More reps, more experience, more exposure.
This. We could be a disaster on offense next year if Herro doesn't come back. Hagans, Whitney and Brooks could be in the starting lineup together and none of them are consistent shot makers. And EJ is only potential at this point but he was awful on O this year too. If he gets subbed then NR comes in and you may have four non-shooters on the floor at the same time. Maxey may be the only guy who can consistently get a bucket unless Quickley improves a bunch. This is not going to cut it in modern day basketball.
A lot of threads about our players next year and a common theme I read is most are forgetting IQ. He's no slouch. He'll contribute next year for sure.
How many guys in this class satisfy being able to create offense, hit shots, play defense, play up and down, have the right body at 18, and are mentally sound? What, 2.. maybe 3 guys max?
Hard to find the complete package. You want a guy like Steph Curry, Jimmer, Trae Young, but they can't play defense and need to bulk up. Everyone liked what Jamal Murry could do on offense but he was a revolving door on defense.
With 17 and 18-year olds, you sort of have to choose. Give me athleticism, if it burns us on a bad shooting night, so be it. Duke has had great shooters (and supposed great shooters who were "meh" at this level) and it didn't get them any further.
Yeah I think IF hagans were to leave everyone would move down a spot basically so it would be Maxey/Whitney/Brooks/Mcdaniels ( who I think we get) / EJ
With that being said I think Hagans comes back after going to the combine and learning he ain't a 1st rounder or even an early 2nd rounder so this isn't a worry .
If Hagans was smart he wouldn't go near the combine. Tell the NBA "You just have to draft me or not" and hope someone takes a flyer on him. Because if he goes to any sort of workout or camp, it's going to be ugly for him.
These kind of comments are a joke.
Haven’t we learned how foolish it is to project what a group of players will be 5 months down the road let alone 11 months from now.
I’d love Maxey, Herro, Whitney, Brooks, Montey as our five!! That’s legit!
I would feel more confident if we had better balance. We know Cal likes the long, athletic types but often times those guys flat out can't shoot. And in the NCAAT where you will be faced with close games, you need guys who can hit shots and FREE throws. They're called FREE throws for a reason but our guys can't seem to make them in the tourney. Now I agree we need those guys but we also need guys who can put the ball in the hoop. It doesn't look like we will have enough of those especially with our lack of bulk and inexperience.
brooks was shooting great before today......... as long as we dont have 3 games in 3 days........ his shooting should be fine next year.
Indeed. Especially with an evening ending and then a 12:30 tip the next day.
This is why I think we are screwed next year no matter what. The only way we have a legit shot at a title is if pj and Keldon came back and that’s not happening. We weren’t able to make a FF this year and except for Maxey, the players we are bringing in aren’t as good as what we are losing. I just can’t get excited about next year.
Lack of size killed Auburn this year, didn't it?
Luckily they never faced any big physical teams like UT, KU, UNC, or UK. LOL!
Seriously, though, basketball is about playing a style and opposing your will on the other team.
Cal has been playing a pound it inside style in recent years and has failed to make the FF.
I think he has realized he needs to go back to a DDMO system.
Look at the team he has assembled. Talented guards and wings (Quickley, Baker, Maxey, Whitney, Brooks, Allen). A big man that can shoot (Sestina). Hopefully, returning a versatile, athletic big (Montgomery).
That roster is tailor made to spread the floor and drive. Our bigs aren't going to clog the lane.
Also, with a couple of wide bodies coming off the bench (Sestina and Richards), we should be able to matchup against more physical teams if need be.
We may not make it out of the 2nd round, but we barely did this year. It's all about getting the right matchups and imposing your style of play on the other teams.
Auburn has men they aren’t physically weak and under developed. That’s a terrible assessment
I know we have allen coming in but due to his injuries and the uncertain status of herro id love to see us take a look at lester quinones. Fantastic shooter
I don’t understand the doom and gloom some in this thread already have. We’re going to have a good blend of freshman talent and experience next year.
It’s hard to say how good we’ll be, but I can say with confidence the top of the SEC won’t be nearly as strong next year, and the bottom may be even worse than this year.
A concern I have if Herro doesn’t come back is consistent shooting but that’s a worry of mine virtually every year. That’s why I think the Sestina pickup is great—we need someone big to stretch the floor.
It’s hard to say how good we’ll be, but I can say with confidence the top of the SEC won’t be nearly as strong next year, and the bottom may be even worse than this year.
A concern I have if Herro doesn’t come back is consistent shooting but that’s a worry of mine virtually every year. That’s why I think the Sestina pickup is great—we need someone big to stretch the floor.
You weren’t excited about this year or last year or any year. You are either a genetically negative person who has never felt positive about anything or you are just pretending to be a Kentucky fan. Sad way to live either way.
I cant recall EVER hearing ANY excitement from you about ANY team. Thats being 100% honest. I have never seen any kind of positive post from you. I havent even seen you LIKE a positive post. Even the posts you like are negative.
I actually do see your point about next year. I will always be excited for the next year, that goes without saying but I agree that we need a guy to return to get to that championship level. We need either KJ or Tyler to come back. I am expecting Ashton to return, so Im not counting him. You make a good point but the first part threw me off cause unless Ive just missed it, Ive never seen an excitement post from you.
The only shot UK has for a title is for fans like you to go pull for some other team. You would fit right in with Louisville fans.
Yes, Cal has already said he will be used like Knox. So looking for him to shoot and score a lot.
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