For those first few weeks at Kentucky, coach Kenny Brooks was a bit lost.
Not in building a basketball program or a roster; he had done that before. But quite literally, Brooks was lost. He needed his GPS to drive to and from work, and more than once he found himself turned around when making his way from his office to the practice facility in Memorial Coliseum.
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During campus visits with recruits, he made it very clear he wasn’t so much giving the tour as he was on the tour with the players he hoped to sign with the Wildcats. If he was asked about a certain building or directions on campus, he’d defer to his assistants.
“I felt like I was one of the student-athletes,” Brooks said. “I was getting on the back of the golf cart, acting like a student-athlete, because I had no idea what was what.”
Life had moved pretty quickly in March. Brooks’ season with Virginia Tech, where he had coached for eight seasons, ended March 22. He accepted the Kentucky head coaching jobMarch 26 and was in Lexington two days later for his introductory media conference. In addition to getting his bearings, he also needed to hire assistants, meet players, recruit players, get to know his new colleagues and boosters — the general rigmarole for every new coach.
More than two months have passed since then, and everything is starting to slow down and come into focus. Kentucky is beginning to feel like home, and no, he doesn’t need the GPS anymore. He can find his way to the practice courts perfectly well as he gears up for summer workouts with his new team.
New is the right word.
BROOKS IN THE BLUEGRASS!
Got our coach, #BBN. 😼👏 pic.twitter.com/wliM5nh2EE
— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) March 26, 2024
When Brooks arrived at Kentucky, he sat down with every potential returner, but ultimately, all but two entered the transfer portal: Saniah Tyler (13 starts) and Cassidy Rowe (16 starts). This wasn’t enough for a starting lineup, let alone a promising outlook for a team that needs to battle through the SEC slate. But Brooks has been (almost) here before. Last season, the Hokies returned just three players who had been on the floor for him: Liz Kitley, Georgia Amoore and Cayla King. So two returners versus three didn’t feel all that different, and in the era of player movement, coaches are growing increasingly accustomed to the reality that any offseason might require a roster rebuild.
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After Brooks’ announcement, three of his Hokies — Amoore and freshmen Clara Struck and Gabby Brooks — made the move to Lexington too. Two incoming players — four-star guard Lexi Blue and 6-foot-7 Portuguese center Clara Silva — who committed to Virginia Tech switched to Kentucky. Tanah Becker, who had committed to UK under former coach Kyra Elzy, stayed on board with Brooks.
Then, Brooks made his way into the portal, signing four more players, including All-Ivy League guard Jordan Obi and All-AAC guard Dazia Lawrence.
Now, with 12 players in the fold, the challenge of getting everyone on the same page and bringing players together feels more familiar … even if it’s a new school and conference. Like last season, he’ll begin offseason workouts with just three players who’ve been through his system, but that means he knows what to expect for the learning curve and growth points over the next few months. With the amount of roster turnover in today’s college sports landscape, few coaches feel overly confident on Day 1 even if they have faith in their teams’ potential.
“That’s going to be the norm,” Brooks said. “You really have to come together over the summer, and it’s going to take a little while to develop that chemistry. … I think it’s going to be fun. I think it’s going to be a good fit.”
Built for Kentucky. 🐎🧲🏁@georgia_amoore pic.twitter.com/uSWbv1wrCX
— Kentucky Women’s Basketball (@KentuckyWBB) May 21, 2024
Brooks’ decision to leave Virginia Tech surprised many, considering the fit there seemed so right. He had lifted the Hokies into the upper echelon of women’s college basketball. A 2023 Final Four trip accentuated that upward growth, and with All-American Kitley sidelined, the Hokies’ early tournament departure last season allowed Brooks to display the younger talent waiting in the wings.
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Many had considered him a Virginia lifer, considering he was born and raised in the state and every job he’d ever had was within a two-hour radius. But Brooks said that was never the plan.
“It just worked out that way,” he said. “That has never been my narrative. Obviously, if there was a great opportunity for me, it doesn’t matter where it is. As long as my wife is on board, my family is on board, that’s all that matters.”
When Kentucky’s top job opened in March, after four seasons of gradual slippage under Elzy, Brooks’ proven track record made him a key target. The university had invested $82 million in renovations of Memorial Coliseum, showing Kentucky’s commitment to women’s basketball. Getting Brooks was its next proof point.
Now, with the program just weeks away from summer workouts, Brooks has settled in. He might be farther than he has ever been from his hometown, but he feels right at home building a program in Lexington.
“I know what we’re putting together, and if we come together and everyone sacrifices a little bit of themselves for the betterment of the team,” Brooks said, “I think we can go out and we can compete.”
(Photo: Courtesy of University of Kentucky Athletics)
Chantel Jennings is The Athletic's senior writer for the WNBA and women's college basketball. She covered college sports for the past decade at ESPN.com and The Athletic and spent the 2019-20 academic year in residence at the University of Michigan's Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalists. Follow Chantel on Twitter @chanteljennings
