* Mitch Barnhart: It's a great day to be a Wildcat. Crowd at the Craft Center applauds, Brooks grins wide.
* Barnhart tells a story about getting to know Brooks as a guy he wanted to pursue. What he did at James Madison and VaTech... Smiles and says he's gone 2-0 against Tennessee and 3-0 against Louisville in recent matchups. Crowd applauds again, and we get another big grin from Brooks.
* Barnhart, Brooks hold up a blue Kentucky jersey with Brooks 24 on it.
* Brooks: It's an honor to be here at Kentucky. When you think about Kentucky, you think about basketball. Feels surreal. He thinks this program is a "sleeping giant that needs to be awakened" in the SEC.
* Brooks: We'll run a program that you'll be proud of, on and off the court, whether you see them at a game or at Target or Kroger. Will be approachable.
* Has won at other places with a team concept. You can't do it with one or two players, he adds. Will build a full team at UK.
* Came here because he felt Barnhart's passion for women's sports.
* Philosophy on style of play... Changes depending on what kind of players you have. "We will evolve."
* If you're going to be competitive these days, you have to be "in the ballpark" of the best programs with NIL. "It's a necessity to be able to compete in the best league in the country."
* Thinks he'll be able to recruit a high caliber of players with the brand of Kentucky behind him.
* No one thought we were going to go to the Final Four when I was at VaTech. But I said if Syracuse can go, why can't we. Said the gym went crazy, and even though he knew he may have put his foot in his mouth and had to back up that statement, they got there through hard work.
* On meeting Coach Cal earlier today and getting his offer of support... He was an assistant on the men's side for 10 years, so he knew a bunch of guys in the sport. Knew Bruiser Flint. Calls Cal "one of the best" and will pick his brain about Kentucky basketball. "It's an umbrella that you want to be under."
* "To the internet trolls who say women's basketball is not exciting... You're not watching the right games."
* On renovation of Memorial Coliseum... Not sure I'd be here if it wasn't happening. It's an arms race in college basketball. You need it. Compares it to shopping for a home. But stresses that it's what kind of people you have in the building that is most important.
