By ADAM ZAGORIA
Kentucky forward Keion Brooks Jr. will withdraw from the NBA Draft, his agent confirmed Monday night.
The 6-foot-7 junior had said last week during the NBA G League Camp that he was “all in” on the Draft and had no plans to return to college. Players have until June 1 to withdraw and maintain their college eligibility.
He also entered the Transfer Portal and has been linked to numerous schools, including Iowa, Notre Dame, Arizona and Washington.
He originally chose Kentucky over Indiana, Michigan State, North Carolina and Purdue in March of 2019.
“My agent [Mike George] and my parents just thought that getting in the Transfer Portal was something that was good to keep my options open,” he said last week. “We didn’t want to close the door on anything, you never know what could happen.
“But I couldn’t even tell you who’s recruiting me or who’s reaching out because I just let my parents handle it all. So that’s the thing with college and this is the NBA process. I’m just working every day to try to get better.”
Brooks averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds this past season and 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds as a sophomore. He said last week he had worked out so far for the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.
“Getting in the league, finding your way, you gotta earn trust from your coaches and things like that,” he said. “I guy that I look at that does a lot that I could think I could [compare to] is Mikal Bridges,” he added.
“He’s very, very, very athletic. I want to say a game against the Pelicans, he scored 31 points on five dribbles [on April 26 in the playoffs]. To do something like that, you gotta know how to play basketball, which is something I pride myself on. High energy, knowing where to be, cutting, getting offensive rebounds, getting the open shot, that type of stuff and you build on that.”
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