Koby Brea was the top 3-point shooter in the transfer portal but wants to show he can do more than just shoot. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Koby Brea was considered the best 3-point shooter in the transfer portal when he picked Kentucky over Duke, Kansas, Connecticut and North Carolina. He was a two-time Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year at Dayton and had 33 games in his career with three or more 3’s. He was also a career 43.4 percent shooter from 3.
Those numbers are why Kentucky coach Mark Pope considered him the “perfect 3 man” for the offense he wanted to run and called him a “beautiful piece” to add. It also helped that Brea said he had “always dreamt about coming to Kentucky” to play.
However, Brea wants to show that he is more than just a shooter on a team loaded with shooters.
“I also want to show that I can play defense and do other things besides just shoot,” Brea said.
He had an impressive start in the exhibition win over Kentucky Wesleyan as he scored 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting overall and 3-for-5 from 3 in 19 minutes. He also had two assists, one steal and one rebound.
Just like he did at Dayton, he came off the bench in the exhibition game but that is no problem for him.
“I am able to accept a role. Everybody wants to be a starter but that is not what my role has been. I am willing to bring a spark off the bench and am more than willing to do that,” Brea said.
“I think everybody does a good job, taking what they are given, and trying to do the best with what they got. I feel like everybody did a great job accepting their role and trying to be the best at their role. I feel like we did a good job out there. Everybody meshed really well—which I’m not surprised about because I have seen it in practice—but to see it against outside competition was really good.”
While he wants to show he can do more than shoot, do not doubt his confidence in his shot-making ability.
“It is just about being ready and waiting your turn and understanding when you are in the game the coaches still need somebody to knock down shots and that is something I have always done,” the Dayton transfer said. “Coach has made it clear he wants us to shoot. Probably the first thing he told me when he reached out was that I would be shooting a lot of 3’s. He wants his team to shoot the most 3’s in the country and that is the perfect system for me.”
He also quickly learned it is the perfect system for freshman Travis Perry, Kentucky’s all-time high school scoring leader.
“It’s just incredible how every day he continues to show how great of a shooter, how efficient he is. He puts in the work. I feel like the sky’s the limit for him,’ Brea said. “The biggest challenge for players is to be consistent, to be able to do it every single day and he’s one of those guys that has been able to do it every single day.
“Once you see it so many times, you know this isn’t luck but it is actually he’s the real deal. He proves it every single day. It’s fun playing with him.”
Former Kentucky All-American Jack Givens, the analyst for the UK Radio Network, likes what he has seen from Brea.
“It’s easy to say he can shoot but shooters must have confidence and the confidence he plays with shines through,” Givens said. “There will be nights where he will miss shots but he plays with so much confidence.
“He needs to figure out what else he can be good at and show his teammates and scouts he is not just a shooter. I would tell him to look at Antonio Reeves and the jump he made from his junior year to senior year. By the time he left here he was a scorer in addition to a shooter.”
Brea doesn’t think it will be hard to figure out how to excel in Pope’s offense.
“It’s pretty easy when the other guys on the team can do everything that you can do, too,” Brea said. “I think we just have a lot of options, a lot of weapons, and everybody sticks to their strengths, plays together and does what they do well.”
2 Responses
Is Koby 100% back from the problem he had with his legs? He, Kriisa, and Chandler are still finding their groove with this team, but all 3 will play big roles in our success.
Koby is going to be great in this offense. He can shoot as many 3 pointers as possible and probably hit 45-50%. What I love about this team is the way they pass the basketball. Very unselfish and they seem to always make the extra pass. I absolutely love the way Pope runs the team by example. They feed off his energy and as you can see he has plenty of it. He is also very intelligent. The last minute of the game will completely change with him in charge. We also have great assistant coaches for once. I can’t wait to see where we are as a product when we play Duke. I think its going to be a very close game. If we win the game which I think we will. Watch out. We have 2 great pre conference games to see where we stand early on and that’s Duke and Gonzaga. If we split these games I know we will be able to compete with the big dogs. Win both of these games and we could be looking at a very exciting year. Lose both of these games and ill be happy with a sweet 16 showing in his first year with no roster. Next year will be a great indicator of the direction of the program. Year 3 could be a national championship. We could win it this year or next year but I don’t expect it. The recruiting so far has been fabulous. Now we need to see what the on court product looks like in year 1. 25 or more wins will feel like a success to me. Another thing about this offense is there will probably be a different leading scorer every single game. Whoever has the hot hand will probably be fed the ball. This team seems like winning is there main focus not personal accolades. After watching the football team fall apart this will be a welcoming sight for my eyes. Let me say this Oweh is unstoppable. He was shooting 37.8% from 3 last year which is great for someone who is built like him and plays the way he plays. If he improves on that to say 40-42% at the 3 point line he might be our leading scorer. He’s elite on defense and he’s great at driving to the basket through contact and he’s a good 3 point shooter. That’s very rare but like I have been saying he was top 3 on the team maybe even the best. Carr Robinson and Oweh are going to be a 3 headed monster for opposing defenses. Oweh Butler and Williams are a 3 headed monster on the defensive end. We have the right balance to have a great year. I say we end up like 29-8? Maybe 30-9? This team can go as far as the 3 pointer will allow us to go. One thing is for sure we have to many shooters for everyone to have a off night. Its nearly impossible.