Photo by Shawn Smith | Go Big Blue Country
Tyrese Maxey is Recruiting Keion Brooks to Join him at Kentucky
EMERSON, Ga – Keion Brooks, a five-star small forward in the Class of 2019, is hearing all about Kentucky. Not only is John Calipari recruiting the 6-foot-8 senior to Kentucky, so is UK commit Tyrese Maxey.
“Tyrese is my brother, that’s my guy,” said Brooks. “We’ve been playing against each other for so long.”
Brooks is ranked as the No. 16 overall player and 5th best small forward in the Class of 2019 by 247Sports. In addition to a Kentucky offer, he holds offers from Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, UCLA, Ohio State, and North Carolina, among others. He unofficially visited Kentucky last October for Big Blue Madness and he wants to visit again. If Maxey has anything to do with it, Brooks will join him in Lexington.
Related: James Wiseman is Hearing from Tyrese Maxey about Kentucky
“Every time he (Maxey) see’s me he says BBN or he’ll text me and say I’m next. Tyrese is doing a hell of a job recruiting me.”
Brooks, a native of Fort Wayne, IN., will see his name rise in the rankings if he keeps up his torrid pace on the Nike EYBL circuit. Through nine games, he is averaging 22.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. Additionally, he is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from three-point range.
UK coaches compare the 6-foot-8 Brooks to former Wildcat Kevin Knox, who is similar in size at 6-foot-9. Knox departed Lexington for the NBA after one season like so many before him. Now, Maxey and the coaching staff hope Brooks is the next forward in line.
“I’ve heard comparisons to Kevin Knox this past year. The way he is versatile and able to play multiple positions on the floor. They (the coaching staff) tell me that I have that edge about myself that I can come in and be an impact player.”
UK assistant coach Tony Barbee was believed to be the weak link in the coaching staff when the Wildcats were surprisingly losing commitments the last couple of seasons. However, Barbee played a major role in landing Maxey and fellow 2019 commit D.J. Jeffries. He’s also the lead recruiter for Brooks.
“Coach Barbee is very hands-on with me. I love coach Barbee because he’s a good man. He always shoots me texts with words of motivation and things I can work on. He helps me a lot on just becoming a better player and better person.”
Already having Maxey and Jeffries on board could help Kentucky land Brooks. He mentioned both players as two guys he would like to play with in college, along with AAU teammate Trayce Jackson-Davis, who is considered an Indiana lean.
“Guys like Tyrese and D.J., I love playing with them. Of course my teammate Trayce, I’d love to play with him in college. It’s going to take some time for me to sit down and decide who all I want to play with.”
There’s no certain timetable for a decision but Brooks plans to trim his list of schools soon. He currently holds 21 scholarship offers, but he’s getting close to zoning in on a group he is strongly considering.
“We are going to sit down and try to cut down my list sometime soon, and then we will take it from there.”
