Keion Brooks Jr. may not have played his last game at Washington.
Before UW’s regular-season finale two weeks ago, the Husky men’s basketball star participated in Senior Night activities with his parents Keion Sr. and Sarita, who flew to Seattle from Fort Wayne, Ind.
However, Brooks is undecided on if he’ll turn pro or return to Montlake.
“I know that’s a question that everybody’s kind of been wondering about and had their mind on,” Brooks said Wednesday following Washington’s first-round loss in the Pac-12 tournament. “If I would have made my mind up I would have had to made it up before the game. That’s not fair to (the staff and my teammates).
“I don’t know what’s next for me, per se. I just want to first of all, thank all of them for bringing me in and giving me an opportunity to showcase what I could really do.”
The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward made tremendous strides this season as UW’s go-to player after three years at Kentucky where he was a role player and part-time starter on star-studded UK teams.
With the Wildcats, Brooks averaged 8.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.6 blocks and 20.7 minutes while shooting 47.4% from the field and starting 42 of 80 games.
This season, Brooks started 30 games and tallied career-highs in scoring (17.7 points per game), blocks (1.2), steals (0.7) and minutes (35.5). He also averaged 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists while connecting on 43.3% of his field goals.
“This year, he got to be Keion Brooks again,” coach Mike Hopkins said. “At his last place, he forgot who he was. But as good as he was this year, he can take that to another level.”
Hopkins successfully enticed Brooks to Seattle last year and he’ll have to recruit the Husky star all over again to retain his services for the fifth year that’s available because the NCAA is granting players due to the disrupted 2020-21 COVID season.
The Huskies will attempt to sell Brooks on a plan in which he improves an unreliable three-point shot — he converted 32 of 112 attempts (28.6%) — and becomes a better ballhandler. Brooks committed 95 turnovers this season — he had 99 total at Kentucky — and his 3.2 turnovers per game were the most in the Pac-12.
“To me, that’s just him getting comfortable with being double-teamed,” Hopkins said. “Teams load up on him. They come from everywhere. He’s seeing things that he hasn’t seen since high school.
“But it’s also on us to put him in better spots where the can be effective. … You still want to put your best player in places and let them go to work, but the ball has to move. And in that last game, he did a better job of identifying the double and passing out of it.”
Not really.
Washington’s 74-68 defeat was a perfect case study to highlight the best and worst of Brooks.
He nabbed a season-high tying three steals and was somewhat efficient offensively while connecting on 7 of 13 shots to tie for team-high scoring honors with 16 points.
However, Brooks drained just 1 of 4 three-point attempts, collected one rebound, committed four turnovers and made just one free-throw in 36 minutes.
“What can you do to impact the game other than scoring?” Hopkins said. “That’s the next piece not just for him, but a lot of these guys.”
There are parallels between Brooks and former UW stars Jaylen Nowell and Matisse Thybulle.
Nowell had a breakout season in 2017-18 while averaging 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a freshman. He considered turning pro in 2018, but returned to UW and won the Pac-12 Player of the Year award the next season while helping the Huskies to the league’s regular-season title and an NCAA tournament appearance.
Nowell, who was selected No. 43 overall by Minnesota in 2019, also dramatically improved this three-point shot (from 35.1% as a freshman to 44% as a sophomore) and tallied 20 more assists and 55 more rebounds.
“I can’t really give him (Brooks) any advice on his future other than to say, for me that second year (at UW) was a prove it kind of year,” Nowell said. “A lot of people saw what I did as a freshman, but then they were like can you do it again? And not only do it again, but do it at a higher level and be more efficient at it?
“When Hop gave me the ball and moved me to (point guard) at times, that gave me a chance to show I’m more than a scorer. … And having the ball at the end of games was big, too.”
Meanwhile, Hopkins sees similarities between Brooks and Thybulle, who blossomed into a star during the final two years of his four-year UW career while breaking the Pac-12 steals record.
“It used to be the NBA would prioritize the one-and-done kids and penalize the guys who stayed 4-5 years in college,” Hopkins said. “Now, guys like Matisse and (former Oregon star Peyton) Pritchard are valued even though they be what you call late bloomers.”
Given his age and playing experience, the 22-year-old Brooks is not unlike Husky quarterback Michael Penix Jr., 22, who chose to return for his sixth collegiate season after transferring from Indiana and having a breakout year at UW.
It must be noted, Penix is a Heisman Trophy candidate who is coming back to a Washington football team that was 11-2 in 2022 and has national championship aspirations.
Meanwhile, the Husky men’s hoops squad finished 16-16 this season and its future — as well as Hopkins’ job status — is uncertain.
“The Pac-12 needs returning stars to market and build around. Let’s face it, most of the all-conference guys are leaving,” college basketball analyst Don MacLean said. “So, if you’re a guy like Brooks, another year to build that name recognition, improve his game at a place he’s familiar with would do him some good.”
Hopkins believes Brooks, who finished third in the Pac-12 scoring race, can win the league’s Player of the Year award next year if UW finishes among the conference leaders.
Brooks could also bolster his pro prospects. Presently, he does not rank among the top 100 NBA draft prospects, according to ESPN.
And there’s no calculating how much the ever-increasing influence of NIL deals will impact Brooks’ impending decision.
“Moving forward I’m going to have to have a conversation with coach, the rest of the staff, my teammates and my family and see what’s best for me moving forward,” Brooks said. “But as of right now I just kind of want to let this sink in and be appreciative for everything that they have done for me for my one year here so far.”
The NBA early entry deadline is April 23 and the NCAA early entry withdrawal deadline is May 31. The NBA draft is June 22.