Kenny Brooks Ready for 'Wonderful Opportunity' at Kentucky
When Kenny Brooks was finishing the 2023-24 season as the head coach of the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team, he admittedly was not looking for a new opportunity. However, when he was approached about being the women’s head coach at Kentucky, it was an opportunity he could not pass on.
On Thursday, Brooks was officially introduced as the ninth head coach in UK women’s basketball history. A winner of over 500 games as a head coach, including a trip to the 2023 Final Four, Brooks is ready to hit the ground running.
“It’s a pleasure to be here and it’s an honor to be the head women’s basketball coach here at Kentucky,” Brooks said. “When you think about Kentucky, you think about basketball. When I was approached about the situation that could possibly be, I wasn’t looking. We had a wonderful thing going at Virginia Tech, it was very, very special.”
Brooks sees some similarities between the Kentucky program and the one he took over at Virginia Tech eight seasons ago.
“When I got to Virginia Tech, I felt like it was a sleeping giant and as I continued to research everything about Kentucky, what I came up with was, it’s a sleeping giant it just needs to be awakened,” Brooks said. “I’m here and I’m going to come in here and we’re going to work. We’re going to put a product out there that you’re going to be very, very proud of. This is an honor for me. I’m extremely excited about the new possibilities, what we’re going to be able to do. We’re up for the challenge.”
As far as philosophies go, Brooks’ is simple.
“I’m excited to share philosophies and our philosophies are going to be that we’re going to be a team,” Brooks said. “If you want to compete for championships, you have to be a team. We haven’t done it with just one player or two players here or there, we’ve done it with a team concept. That’s something we will definitely do here at Kentucky. In my opinion, that’s the only way it can get done in this day and age because it’s very competitive. The SEC is the best women’s basketball league in the country.”
Another theme throughout the program will be family, something that is very important to Brooks, who is a husband and the father of three daughters.
“I would not be here if I didn’t think this was a wonderful opportunity,” Brooks said. “This is an extremely wonderful opportunity not only for the program but for me and my family. We’re looking very forward to being embraced by the community. I’m a family man, it’s very, very important to me that my family is good, my family is OK. That’s what we’re going to spread throughout the program is family.”
Brooks is not absolutely set on one style of play. He admits that in a given season, his team might play differently than it did the year before.
“Style of play changes year to year depending on the type players you have,” Brooks said. “We will evolve every year so we can stay competitive. We will have a winning attitude and our expectations are to win. We know that we have to do a lot of work to get to that point and we’re willing to do that.”
Brooks brings a new excitement to, and for, the Kentucky program. His track record of success speaks for itself and he will bring that, his philosophies and his hard-working attitude to the UK program.
