Five observations from Kenny Brooks’ introduction as UK’s new women’s basketball coach
On Thursday afternoon, University of Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart officially introduced Kenny Brooks as the ninth head coach of Kentucky women’s basketball.
The former James Madison and Virginia Tech head coach addressed a variety of topics in both his opening remarks and his answers to media questions, from his belief in the power of the university’s resources to his passion for the continued growth of women’s basketball.
Here are five takeaways from Brooks’ introductory press conference, which was delivered to a full audience of media, boosters, players and administrators, among others.
Brooks wasn’t planning on leaving
The question was never, ‘Why would Kentucky want Kenny Brooks?’ Rather, ‘How in the world could a school manage to pull him away?’
“I sort of chuckled a little bit and said, ‘There’s no way he’s leaving Virginia Tech.’ I didn’t think that was something he would do.” Barnhart said. “There was an outreach, and there was an interest. Frankly, the brand of Kentucky basketball and the Southeastern Conference was a big draw for us. So, I think that was important. But at the end of the day, it was an easy conversation. That’s what made it so nice. Just in terms of how he explained the game and how he wanted to coach the game and how he wanted to teach the game, what it meant to be part of a department that was successful top to bottom.”
Brooks made it clear in his opening remarks that he wasn’t looking to leave Virginia Tech, where he had served as head coach since 2016.
“When I was approached about a situation that could possibly be with Kentucky basketball, I wasn’t looking,” Brooks said. “I wasn’t looking. We had a wonderful thing going, what we did at Virginia Tech was very, very special.”
In four seasons leading the Hokies, Brooks assembled an overall record of 180-82 while making four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2023 trip to the Final Four, and picking up an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title (2023) and a league regular season championship (2024) along the way. But it was ultimately Brooks’ interpretation that Kentucky was a “sleeping giant,” — the same conclusion he drew about Virginia Tech years ago — that convinced he and his wife, Chrissy, that Kentucky was their next chapter.
“When I got to Virginia Tech, I felt like it was a sleeping giant,” Brooks said. “And as I continued to research everything about Kentucky, I know that the academics here are wonderful. I know that the fan base is very passionate. I know that resources will allow you to get to a level where you can compete with anyone. I know it’s in the rich history of the SEC. And the SEC’s leadership and where it’s going, you want to be aligned with that to try to create something very, very special. And so, when I added all that up, what I came up with was it was going to be a sleeping giant and it just needs to be awakened. And I’m here and I’m going to come in here and we’re going to work.”
The importance of growing the game
Brooks noted that one of the things he was most proud of during his tenure in Blacksburg was creating “a buzz for women’s basketball,” and said that he looked forward to doing the same in Lexington.
“We created a buzz for women’s basketball that is much needed and much deserved,” Brooks said. “So I was extremely proud about that. And our fight, you know, through those years, we needed to win basketball games, but we needed to bring awareness to women’s basketball. And I’m looking forward to that challenge here.”
Brooks went on to ask the media to join in the fight to bring awareness to both the sport and Kentucky women’s basketball.
“I know Big Blue Nation is very passionate about their Wildcats,” Brooks said. “And I need each and every one of you and your efforts, your support in many, many ways to make this happen here at Kentucky.”
Wildcats in attendance
From sophomore guard Saniah Tyler — who was greeting attendees as they entered the Joe Craft Center — to seniors Eniya Russell and Nyah Leveretter, several members of the Wildcats’ 2023-24 roster were in attendance for Brooks’ introductory press conference. Also present were sophomores Cassidy Rowe and Amiya Jenkins, junior point guard Brooklynn Miles and freshmen Jordy Griggs and Janaé Walker, the latter of whom declared her intention to enter the transfer portal via social media on March 13.
Missing Thursday were leading scorers Ajae Petty, who announced she would be entering the transfer portal on March 12, and Maddie Scherr, as well as graduate guard Emma King, who exhausted her fifth and final season of eligibility this year. Leveretter, Russell, Petty, Scherr and Walker are not listed on the team’s online roster for the 2024-25 season.
Of course, just because a player up to this point has — or hasn’t — entered the transfer portal doesn’t necessarily mean they will or won’t be a part of Kentucky women’s basketball next season. Brooks said he looks forward to sitting down with each of the players to discuss next steps and best fits going forward.
“I don’t know if there’s a blueprint for today’s roster construction, or reconstruction, however you want to call it,” Brooks said. “I’m looking forward to sitting down with the young ladies and just talk about a lot of different things. The expectations, what they’re looking for. I’m just getting to know them.”
Building a staff
In addition to constructing his first roster at UK, Brooks is also tasked with building out his coaching staff. When asked how he likes to go about it, Brooks likened finding assistant coaches to recruiting the right type of players.
“When you go out and you try to recruit players, you want people who are gonna represent your program and make you proud,” Brooks said. “Coaching is the same thing. You want to get people in who are willing to sacrifice for the team. And they got 10 toes down, they’re not worried about, ‘OK, hey, I’m trying to get a job.’ I’m going to work hard, I’m going to abide by the philosophy and spread it. Spread that philosophy throughout, we’re going to live it. So that, I’m not going to be around all the time, but to have trustworthy assistants who are going to really share the same message. I think that’s extremely important.”
Brooks said he’s had nine former assistants go on to become head coaches in their own right. Most recently, former Virginia Tech assistant-turned Chattanooga coach Shawn Poppie was hired by Clemson this week — further cementing Brooks’ impact on Power Five basketball.
Lessons from Lefty Driesell
Not only did Brooks play three seasons of basketball under coach Lefty Driesell at James Madison, but the Hall of Fame coach gave Brooks his first coaching opportunity, too. He joined the Dukes’ men’s program as a part-time assistant during the 1993-94 campaign, when James Madison won the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament and automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Brooks said he’s taken “almost everything” he’s learned from Driesell and incorporated it into his own coaching style.
“Almost everything except for his demeanor,” Brooks said. “He was a stomper. And I remember when I first started playing for Lefty, he would call me and he would say, ‘Kenny, and he would do like this (finger beckoning motion). And I would run over there and in front of 6,000 people he would rip me for about three or four or 5-10 seconds, felt like a minute. And probably about midway through the year he was stomping and he would call me over and I was ignoring him. And my teammates would go, ‘Coach is calling you.’ I said, ‘I hear him, but I’m not going over there.’”
Brooks went on to explain that Driesell did things differently from many other successful coaches, but it worked because it was authentically Driesell.
“I learned so much about the game within the game,” Brooks said. “When I played for him I thought he was crazy. I really did. I didn’t know what he was doing to me. And then I learned he wasn’t doing anything to me. He was doing it for me. He taught me how to be a man. He taught me how to be a husband. He taught me how to be a father. He taught me how you incorporate that all into a program to be successful. Because he had his wife who he loved dearly, his family was always around. And as I started to become a head coach, I wanted my family around. And so many people told me, you can’t have your family around as much. They’re a distraction. And I watched him do it, I watched him hug on his wife, kiss on his wife. I saw him bring his family into everything. And that’s what I’ve been able to take away the most from that.”
Driesell passed away in February at the age of 92.
“He was special. I love him, you know, he passed away not too long ago,” Brooks said. “And it really hurt. But it made me, you know, recollect on what he meant to me. And I wouldn’t be here today. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have the style today if it weren’t for him. And I owe him so much. And I was able to tell him that before he passed.”
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