Whether it was Ridiculous or Magical, Koby Brea Ignited Cats for Statement Win

Koby Brea, right, celebrates with Andrew Carr. (Vicky Graff Photo)

How would you describe Koby Brea’s shooting?

For ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, it’s a one-word answer — ridiculous.

“He is ridiculous. He is the best shooter in the country,” Bilas said while watching Brea go 7-for-9 from 3-point range to score a career-high 23 points in the 106-100 win over previously unbeaten Florida. It was his first collegiate game with seven 3-pointers and made him only the third UK player with seven threes against a top-25 team.

Magical was the word Kentucky coach Mark Pope used to describe Brea.

“We worked so hard to create shots for Koby and Koby comes off of an action that we think is so creative and then he stops and he lets the defense recover because he just wants to go off the bounce and just wants to just shoot off the bounce.  He was magical tonight, wasn’t he?” Pope said.  

Ridiculous? Magic? You pick.

“It was good to see him find shots again,” UK Radio Network analyst Jack Givens said. “There have been teams who have done everything to keep him from catching the basketball. He made 3-point shots after catching the pass where he had to create his shots.

“Sometimes you have that feeling and the basket is huge and even under that pressure you feel the ball is going to go in and that was the type of game he had.”

He was 8-for-11 overall from the field in his 22 minutes and put his 3-point percentage back over 50 percent for the season.  

“Koby is just special,” Givens, a former UK All-American, said.

Brea got a rousing ovation from thousands of UK fans who stayed for the postgame radio show and the hot-shooting guard thanked fans for their role in the win.

“This is something as a kid you want to be part of,” Brea, who has made at least one 3 every game this season, said. “To see how BBN showed up tonight, it was crazy.”

Florida jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first half in the top 10 matchup but Brea and his teammates never panicked.

“Every game playing Kentucky is a big deal and teams start out aggressive and strong,” Brea said. “We might take a few hits but we stay strong and as long as we play like us we will be fine.

“Something our coaches do a good job of even at practice is throwing adversity at us and making sure we understand it is a 40-minute game and we have to continue to play. We have guys off the bench giving energy as needed.”

Brea also admitted he now has a better feel for what defenses will be doing to him the rest of the season.

“I understand now at this point of the season I am not going to get many open looks,” Brea said. “I have to create for myself and I have confidence I can do that and today I was able to show that.”

He even drove left inside the lane once and finished with his left hand.

“That is part of my game that is continuing to grow. You can see how much I have grown (my game) since I got here until now,” Brea said.

Florida coach Todd Golden certainly appreciated what Brea did, especially since stopping him was a point of emphasis for the Gators going into the game.

“I thought Koby did a great job taking advantage of his opportunities and there were times when we were standing in space, but it felt like every time we gave him a little bit of room, he was able to separate and knock it down. He did not let us off the hook today,” Golden said.

Pope doesn’t expect Brea to let any SEC team off the hook.

“You are hard-pressed to make a real cogent argument that he’s not the best shooter in the country, it’s just ridiculous.  The way he shoots it, how he gets it off, where he shoots it, how high he shoots it,” Pope said. “Clearly, he was massively important for us and he was also another huge catalyst in those runs.  

“We had some fatigue on the floor and had to go with some makeshift lineups, maybe that were a little heavier on different guys than traditionally we do.  And Koby was like, don’t worry – I got it.  I’m just going to make shots.  He was spectacular.  

‘He has also grown immensely on the defensive end.  He’s also like the most beautiful kid you are ever going to meet. Man, he’s special.’