Kentucky transfer Keion Brooks to withdraw from 2022 NBA draft

Brooks will reportedly withdraw from the draft and transfer to a different program for next season.

Kentucky junior Keion Brooks Jr. will reportedly withdraw from the 2022 NBA draft and transfer to a different program next season, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

Brooks, a former five-star prospect, averaged a career-high 10.8 points, 4.4 assists and one assist in 33 games last season. He produced arguably his best game with the Wildcats on Jan. 29 with 27 points and eight points in a win over Kansas.

He made 80 appearances, including 42 starts, in three years at Kentucky.

The 6-foot-7 forward was among the 44 prospects invited to compete in the NBA G League Elite Camp last week in Chicago, Illinois. He averaged four points, six rebounds and 1.5 assists in two scrimmage appearances.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3sp1hfsjzmc21t8jr playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3sp1hfsjzmc21t8jr/01g3sp1hfsjzmc21t8jr-4de49e1e4d753fef2ff6929fec864cc0.jpg]

Brooks declared for the draft on April 4 with the option to return to school. He then entered the transfer portal and has heard from programs like Florida, Iowa, Memphis, Notre Dame, Ohio State and UCLA among others, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

The NCAA is currently in a recruiting dead period, meaning Brooks will not be able to take official visits until May 28. He has yet to make an official decision on next season.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[lawrence-related id=76083,76076,76028]

[listicle id=75916]

Gators in ‘regular contact’ with this transferring Kentucky forward

Todd Golden and his team are looking to add this former Kentucky Wildcat to the roster.

According to a Friday morning report, the Gators are among an ocean of schools who are in “regular contact” with transferring forward Keion Brooks Jr. As a former top-25 prospect from La Lumiere in Indiana, he has been productive during his college career but has fallen short of first-round expectations so far.

Having spent the first three years of his college career with the Kentucky Wildcats, Brooks is exploring his options for the upcoming year. He has closed off virtually nothing at this point in his re-recruitment, with the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big East included in conferences represented. Brooks is also publicly mulling a return to Kentucky or a stab at the NBA.

Brooks has been in the portal since late April, riding a season’s performance that closely mirrors what he did in 2020-21 on the stat sheet but in twice the number of games. He’s a scorer first and foremost, notching 10.8 points per game, but it’s all on the inside. His production at the arc, or lack thereof, came on less than one shot attempt per game.

For a player with Brooks’ physicality, you’d generally expect more rebounds than what he’s provided. In this case, I’m willing to issue a get-out-of-jail-free card. Friend or foe, it’s tremendously difficult to make an impact on the glass with Oscar Tshibwe on the court. Getting out from under his former running mate’s shadow will make a difference and his rebounding figures should blossom.

An area where I’d like to see him make improvements is how often he gets to the free-throw line. Drawing fouls is a skill and he has the build to put those skills to work. With a 6-foot-7-inch frame that has carried a lot of lean muscle since the day he stepped onto a college campus, Brooks needs to be willing to do some of the team’s dirty work.

With two scholarships open and a portal packed full of useful players, there’s no reason not to expect reports of this nature to trickle out for the Gators. They’ve already added four players from other programs and Golden has shown no sign of taking his foot off the gas. Don’t get too disheartened if Brooks goes a different direction — he’s a talented and useful player but Todd Golden seems to know what he’s doing.

[mm-video type=video id=01g3et4rtwkn5abnb7da playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g3et4rtwkn5abnb7da/01g3et4rtwkn5abnb7da-aa95de9fa9073daf7914f163037eb709.jpg]

[lawrence-related id=84067,84040,84014,84001,83863]

[listicle id=81437]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

Kings hosted Hyunjung Lee and others for pre-draft workout

Lee was among the draft-eligible prospects that worked out with the Kings on Tuesday.

Davidson forward Hyunjung Lee was among the prospects that worked out with the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.

Lee, who was born in South Korea, was named to the All-Atlantic-10 first team after averaging 15.8 points, six rebounds and 1.9 assists on 38.1% shooting from 3-point range in 34 games. He finished eighth in the conference in scoring and fourth in 3s (80).

The 6-foot-7 standout was also invited to compete in front of scouts, coaches and front-office executives at the NBA G League Elite Camp May 16-17 from Chicago, Illinois.

Lee is looking to become just the second-ever Korean NBA player.

[mm-video type=video id=01g2mjqh1gf9xvjdt51g playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g2mjqh1gf9xvjdt51g/01g2mjqh1gf9xvjdt51g-3a0a87a40fab63bd7b20e6f115544212.jpg]

In addition to Lee, the Kings also brought in Alabama guard Jaden Shackelford, UCLA guard Johnny Juzang, Richmond forward Tyler Burton, Kentucky forward Keion Brooks and Virginia Tech forward Justyn Mutts on Tuesday.

The Kings enter the pre-draft process with picks No. 7, 37 and 49, respectively. Their workout on Tuesday was their first this year as they appear to be ramping up their draft preparations ahead of the combine next week.

The NBA draft will take place on June 23.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

[lawrence-related id=75598,75561,75505]

[listicle id=75532]

Aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith battle for No. 1

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Basketball News and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our last update, the players who have improved the most spots are Ismael Kamagate (Paris), Moussa Diabate (Michigan), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Hugo Besson (New Zealand), Efe Abogidi (Washington State),  Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Max Christie (Michigan State), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame),  Josh Minott (Memphis), Zach Edey (Purdue), and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).

Some of the top prospects who did not make the cut this time included Hunter Sallis (Gonzaga), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Tennesse), Kobe Bufkin (Michigan), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jahvon Quinerly (Albama), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Jaylin Williams (Auburn), Matthieu Gauzin (Le Mans), Isaiah Wong (Miami), Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2022 aggregate NBA mock draft: Debut ranking of all notable prospects

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, Yahoo, SB Nation, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Collegiate teams who had more than two players appear on a mock were Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA. Three players will be on the G League’s Ignite roster and one is on Overtime’s Elite squad.

Additionally, seven players are rostered in Spain and four are playing in Australia’s NBL. There are also three players on Serbia’s KK Mega Basket included.

Freshmen one-and-done candidates who didn’t make the list but could climb on to join during the season: Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), Josh Minott (Memphis), Kowacie Reeves (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky), Nathan Bittle (Oregon) and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor).

Some of the most notable collegiate returners who were snubbed from these rankings: Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Zach Edey (Purdue), Adam Miller (LSU), Colin Castleton (Florida) and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Relevant international prospects to know who were not included below: Fedor Zugic, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Jayson Tchicamboud, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Yoan MakoundouTom Digbeu and Makur Maker.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Main Image: Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group