Kentucky Transfers Bryce Hopkins, Keion Brooks Jr Flourishing With New Teams

The former Wildcats are making noise with their new teams, taking advantage of greater opportunities on the court outside of Lexington.

If you've ever listened to a John Calipari press conference or two, you've probably heard this remark from the head coach about playing for Kentucky:

"This isn't for everybody." 

It's hard to disagree, just take a look at the drama that has circulated around Big Blue Nation this season. "Rock bottom" this, "Cal to Texas" that, there's been no shortage of panic and hysteria surrounding the team as the Wildcats dropped six games in the first half of the 2022-23 campaign. 

That's just a microcosm of life as a player during the Calipari era. It's not always about the mental aspect of playing at Kentucky, however. Sometimes, the fit just isn't right or playing time isn't on the table, sometimes it's a mixture of everything. 

The power of the transfer portal now allows for players to get out of those situations rather quickly. That's what three Wildcats did after Saint Peter's stunned UK in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March. 

Veteran forward Keion Brooks Jr., former 4-star forward Bryce Hopkins and Bluegrass native shooting guard Dontaie Allen all searched for — and found — new homes over the offseason. 

Brooks would remain in the Power 5 and head across the country to play for Washington, Hopkins joined prominent Big East program Providence and Allen remained in Kentucky, moving over to play for coach Rick Stansbury and WKU. 

As UK has meandered through its season, two of the three former Wildcats have seen great success at their new schools. 

Starting with Brooks, the Fort Wayne, Ind. native has become the A1 option for the Huskies. After averaging 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds over his last two seasons in Lexington, he's taken a tremendous leap, now pouring in 17.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG. 

The 6-foot-7, 210-pounder has scored at least 15 points in 13 of 21 games this season and has led Washington in scoring in 14 games. In a 12-point win over Cal Poly on Dec. 13, Brooks collected 30 points, breaking his career-high that was notched last season in his dominant 27-point outing in UK's spanking of Kansas in Lawrence. 

His best basketball has come in Pac 12 play, as he's scored 20-plus on three occasions and went on a three-game double-double stretch. 

Brooks was often looked at as the eventual odd man out for Kentucky. He showed flashes at points, but also had clunky outings that made BBN ponder if he was the right man to hold down the starting power forward gig for the Wildcats. With other pieces in the paint like Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin thought to return for another year, while incoming freshman Chris Livingston was viewed as a potential one-and-done, the decision for Brooks to return for that illustrious fourth season at UK didn't make an amazing amount of sense. 

The Huskies are just 12-9 and nowhere near an NCAA Tournament berth, but Brooks' senior season is going down a treat in the northwest. 

KEION BROOKS IS 𝐇𝐈𝐌‼️

A career high 𝟯𝟬 𝗣𝗧𝗦 tonight for KB!#TougherTogether pic.twitter.com/6cN8up3WjQ

— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) December 14, 2022

Moving cross-country to Rhode Island, Hopkins is on his way to becoming the Big East Player of the Year. After earning just 6.4 minutes-per-game in his freshman year at UK, the Oak Park, Ill. product is leading the Friars with 16.6 PPG and 9.3 RPG. 

The forward has acquired eight double-doubles on the season, shooting 48.9 percent from the floor while now averaging 33.8 minutes. His marquee performance came in a double-overtime win over Marquette on Dec. 20, as he canned eight shots and made 13 free throws, touting 29 points to go along with a whopping 23 boards. He has seven games with 20 or more points this season, including a 27-point night in a huge win over then-fourth-ranked UConn on Jan. 4.

Bryce Hopkins records his 3rd straight double-double and is looking like a lock for Big East player of the year 👀🔥 @BryceHopkins pic.twitter.com/tZNHTsCud4

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) January 21, 2023

The emergence of Hopkins isn't exactly astonishing, but it is at least somewhat surprising. There was no worry about Brooks being able to translate elsewhere, as he had proven he was a capable player across his three years at Kentucky. Hopkins never really got that opportunity last season. 

Calipari gave him some tick in the beginning of the year against the mid-major foes, but once conference play cracked down, his minutes became few and far between. His lone stamp came in a 71-66 win over LSU on Feb. 23, as he stepped up to the plate and played 16 minutes (season-high in SEC play), connecting on five of six shots and adding a few free throws to collect 13 points as well as four rebounds.

The performance earned some praise from Calipari: 

"What he did today is he rebounded and he went to the offensive glass, he tried to guard, he was involved in everything, made a stick back, makes a 15-footer. But there was nothing like crazy-crazy, but we're all talking about him because he did what the team needed him to do," he said. "He did it because I said 'I'm playing guys that are going to fight.' If you're not fighting, I'm not playing you. And I went with him. The team was so happy for him and so was I."

Fast forward to this season, and Providence is the No. 22 team in the nation with a 15-5 record. At the front of the helm for coach Ed Cooley's team is that same combo-forward who always tried to take advantage of his minimal opportunities in blue and white.

Playing basketball at the University of Kentucky may not be for everybody, but that clearly doesn't mean it's a bad thing if you fall into that category. Brooks and Hopkins are two examples of former Cats flourishing in perhaps better environments and situations. 

Remember, "they're not machines, they're not robots!."

More on Kentucky's win over the Texas A&M Aggies here.

The Cats let it fly from deep in the win. More here. 

WATCH: Calipari, Williams speak after Kentucky's victory

WATCH: Tshiebwe, Ware, Reeves speak after win

Game notes from the win can be found here.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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