MORGANTOWN — Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks is familiar with the NCAA Tournament. He’s been to the Big Dance 12 times now. But this is only his second time with the Wildcats.
Before Kentucky, Brooks spent eight seasons with Virginia Tech, where he had a lot of his coaching success, including a Final Four berth. But, before his stint with the Hokies, Brooks was the head coach of James Madison, where he got his first start as a women’s basketball head coach. Brooks had a 337-122 record over 14 seasons and took the Dukes to seven NCAA Tournaments.
Now, in Brooks’ 12th time in the NCAA Tournament, his No. 5-seeded Kentucky faces the team that took a chance on him over 20 years ago against No. 12 JMU. The Dukes won the Sun Belt Conference to punch their ticket, with a 26-8 overall record and 14-4 conference record, while Kentucky received an at-large bid after losing in the quarterfinals to South Carolina, finishing with a 23-10 record and 8-8 SEC record. The game is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU inside Hope Coliseum.
Brooks is facing the team he spent coaching for over a decade, and was there even more as a player on the men’s basketball team. It’s not the first time he’s squared off against his alma mater, but the first on the biggest stage.
“Hell, I don’t even know what I had for lunch yesterday,” Brooks said. “You don’t remember a whole lot about it, but you’re very proud of what you were able to accomplish there. A lot of people want to make a lot to do about this particular game with me and women’s basketball, but I have just as many memories that are playing on the men’s side. My friends that I had when I was in college. 10 years removed, it just really makes it another basketball game. It really does.”
Brooks isn’t just facing the logo he once wore. Brooks is matching up against his former assistant, who is the head coach of the Dukes, Sean O’Regan, adding another layer. Since O’Regan took over 10 years ago, he’s won over 200 games and had two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Brooks and O’Regan have exchanged text messages throughout the week, but it hasn’t been anything major.
“He’s done a really good job there,” Brooks said. “James Madison is a wonderful school. It’s a wonderful athletic program, and he’s done his part to keep women’s basketball afloat alongside football, men’s basketball has done well lately, all the other Olympic sports. But it’s a wonderful school. Obviously, you keep up with them as an alum and are very proud of what everybody’s done there.”
Since O’Regan was a disciple of Brooks, the teams’ play styles are very similar. Both are heavily defensive-oriented.
Kentucky was just behind South Carolina and Texas, who are both No. 1 seeds in the tournament, for the best defense in the SEC. The Wildcats also have some premier offensive weapons, like Clara Strack, who was named first team All-SEC. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.
“They have a great defense,” JMU’s guard Peyton McDaniel said. “They have a few good players that are a big emphasis for us right now. We know what we have to do some things to try and shut them down, but we also have to just play our game and focus on what we can control.”
James Madison was the best defensive team in the Sun Belt Conference. Guard Bree Robinson helped on the defensive front and was named to the conference all-defense team. The Dukes are also really strong at defending the offensive glass. On the offensive end, JMU is led by McDaniel, who averages 18.9 points per game.
“They’re a good team,” Kentucky’s forward Teonni Key said. “To make it into the tournament, you have to be. Our focus has been just playing our basketball, not taking any game for granted, going out and playing hard. Every possession matters. That’s been our biggest focus and just respecting our opponent. Every game presents its challenges, so just locking in on them.”
Both Brooks and O’Regan know there’s a history between them, but they made it clear they want the focus to be on their team, instead of themselves. The history goes out the window once the ball is tipped.
Brooks is looking to take Kentucky to the second round for the first time as its head coach, and O’Regan will be trying to do the same.
“It’s too bad we got to go face-to-face,” O’Regan said. “It’s going to be surreal. I mean, the last time we played, we were literally calling the same play. I’m not joking.”
