Vicky Graff Photo
He might not have been the Southeastern Conference Coach of Year — even if many felt he should have been — but that didn’t stop The Sporting News from naming Kentucky’s Kenny Brooks as its National Coach of the Year.
Texas women’s basketball head coach Vic Schaefer was the SEC Coach of the Year. Texas is ranked No. 1 with a 29-2 record and won the SEC title but also had a more stable — and talented — roster than Brooks had to quickly put together at UK.
Kentucky had never had a women’s national coach of the year but he guided UK to a 22-7 mark, fourth place in the conference and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky opens play Friday at noon by hosting Liberty.
Texas was picked to be one of the best teams in the SEC. Kentucky was picked eighth. Instead, UK had its first 20-win season in five year — it was Brooks’ 19th 20-win season in 23 years as a head coach
Kentucky started the season 7-0 that included a win over Louisville, which had won seven straight against Kentucky. Kentucky started SEC play 5-0 to push its record to 16-1.
Kentucky throttled No. 11 Tennessee 82-58 for its biggest win ever over the Vols.
Kentucky was better both offensively and defensively in league play than it had been the previous five years and was the first Kentucky team to shoot at least 45 percent from the field in 22 years. Kentucky also only had three SEC road losses, its best total in six years.
