Georgia Amoore with UK coaches at the WNBA Draft. (UK Athletics Photo)
It was no surprise last week when Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said he was “heartbroken” when he found out that Georgia Amoore had suffered a knee injury that ended her first WNBA season before it even started.
Amoore had an All-American season at Kentucky after following Brooks from Virginia Tech and was the No. 6 pick in the WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. However, she was injured in practice.
“Obviously Georgia has put in a lot of work. Last year was a difficult year in the sense that I felt a responsibility to make sure she was still on the trajectory to achieve her goals,” the Kentucky coach said. “She took a wild leap of faith to follow me here. We worked diligently to get her adjusted to SEC play.
“The season went perfect. She learned a lot. She put herself on a different stage.”
Brooks said Amoore texted him the day she was injured in practice and said she had hyperextended her knee. Later that night, he got a FaceTime call, and Amoore was crying.
“I was a basket case. She was consoling me. She told me it would be okay. She would learn different things,” Brooks said. “The Mystics took care of her. They sent her to New York for surgery. They kept her on the roster. They are going to keep her involved. She is a big part of what they are going to do.
“The silver lining is she will be able to come back (to UK) to some games and sit in on what we (UK coaches) are doing. She is a tremendous person and handled it better than I ever could have.”
Brooks admitted it was “weird” not having Amoore on his roster and that he was still mentioning her name in practice to make points to his current players.
“It is weird she is not physically present and not in the office. We still talk. She left a lasting impression on the whole team,” Brooks said. “She worked hard. She was fearless. Every time she walked on the floor, she was prepared and knew she could win.”
Brooks said Amoore had “passed the torch” to Clara Strack and Teonni Key to “impose their leadership on the team” next season.
One Response
Armoire was a terrific player – with BOTH points and assists filling the stat sheet game after game.
I had hoped to see some UK Men’s’ BB players sent to watch her play so they could learn that players who are genuine TEAM players should not only score by taking too many shots including too many bad & crazy shots, but how essential assists are for a player to be a true TEAM player. Jaxson & Oweh could have learned a lot from her.
Brooks has done some good things, but the nasty removal of a scholarship for a loyal player with deep Kentucky roots that made her a real inspiration to others to play FOR UK and not just play AT UK. That was a very hurtful and erratic decision that he never apologized for (at least not publicly, which is necessary if he wants to go forward with a clean slate). That turned my impression of Brooks from very high to really poor. The HC needs to have and apply the complete package by taking care of EVERY player who truly cares for UK.
After decades of wasted seasons under TLT and the fraud, as well as the coach who trashed the great program that Mitchell built up, my tolerance for coaches who make boneheaded decisions is almost nil. Without an apology, it’s downright nasty in this case!.