Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo
gets an up-close look at the one who
got away. Despite being
heavily recruited by the Spartans,
Keion Brooks Jr., chose to
become a Wildcat.
With much less fanfare than its blue-blooded, cobalt-clad
peer, Kentucky buckled down, hit its typical mid-to-late-
season stride and also reached the round of eight before
being bounced by Auburn in overtime.
Cal and company said goodbye to a few players early,
as has become the norm for college basketball at large and
Kentucky basketball in particular. But a couple of players
who had a legitimate opportunity to leave college eligibil-
ity on the table to pursue NBA riches instead returned for
another tour in Lexington, and a handful of highly touted
newcomers entered the blend.
And again, they’ll be tested out of the gate in the
Champions Classic by a fellow national power. This time
it’s the Spartans — the same ones who eliminated Duke last
season for a trip to the Final Four, and who return four of
the seven players who set foot on the fl oor in that game —
on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. in Madison Square Garden.
“We have to learn fast here,” Kentucky sophomore EJ
Montgomery said. “When you come to Kentucky, (you
have to) just try to be ready for big games like that, but
that’s what you come to Kentucky for.”
Michigan State indeed fi gures to test the Wildcats
immediately, and Calipari will ask freshmen to produce in
key moments. Meet Keion Brooks Jr., who hails from Big
Ten country and chose Kentucky over the Spartans in the
recruiting process.
“I still do have a great relationship with Tom Izzo,”
the Indiana product said. “He was recruiting me very
hard and I feel like he’s a good man. But I just want to
go out there and win a basketball game. Madison
Square Garden is a big venue for my fi rst collegiate
game, but I feel like after the fi rst couple minutes,
I’m gonna be fi ne.
“It’s just basketball. It’s what I’ve been doing my
whole life, so I should be fi ne after that.”
Whether that proves to be the case for Brooks and his
classmates, the burden won’t solely be on wide-eyed
players in their fi rst moments on the college hardwood.
Montgomery, Ashton Hagans, Nick Richards and
Immanuel Quickley are Kentucky returnees with NCAA
Tournament experience. Nate Sestina joins the milieu as a
grad transfer with March Madness on his resume, having
scored seven points off the bench for Bucknell against the
Spartans, of all teams, in a competitive loss in the fi rst
round of the 2018 tournament.
“Last year, at the beginning, we had some bumps,”
Hagans said. “This year, it’s just gonna take a little bit
more time. We’re almost there.”
Whatever happens against Michigan State should testify
to that, but it’ll be far from the closing argument.
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