Koby Brea wanted to play at Kentucky since he was little and now he gets the chance. But, it was a long path to get there for the Dayton transfer.
The recruiting process for Koby Brea when he hit the transfer portal was something he had never dealt with. Every — and I mean — every school wanted him. From Kansas to North Carolina. UConn to Indiana. But, it took some time for the school he wanted to hear from to reach out — Kentucky.
“My family they were throughout the whole transfer process were like, ‘What do you think? A lot of schools are hitting you up’. And I was like, yeah but there’s this one school that hasn’t reached out yet,” Brea told reporters last week. “So I was waiting patiently every day like when are they going to hit me up. But obviously a lot was going on with him (Mark Pope) being the new coach.”
Brea wasted very little time to commit to Kentucky after the initial conversation. It was a combination of Pope’e energy, pitch and his dream to play for the Wildcats.
“I loved his energy and was something i wanted to be a part of,” Brea told reporters this week.
“That (the system) was the biggest draw for me though — coming here just to see how perfect the system was for me. Coach Pope did a great job of explaining to me where I can excel in the offense, his system in general, and the defensive system as well.”
That system is one that wants to put up a lot of 3s and play with a fast pace. Both of which are ideal for Brea who led the nation last year shooting 49.8 percent from three.
Brea hit 100 3s last season and ranked in the 100th percentile, with an 83 percent effective field goal rate. He also ranked in the 96th percentile in spot up shots, scoring 1.47 points per possession.
“He will be key in allowing us to play the style of basketball that we love the most,” Pope said of Brea.
His ability to space the floor and also create his own opportunties both off of the catch and off the dribble gives Pope a weapon that will pair well with guys like Jaxson Robinson, Kerr Kriisa and Otega Oweh.
“I’m really excited not only for me but, man, we have shooters all over the court,” Brea said. “So it’s going to be hard for teams to stop one person because you’re going to have to worry about four others at the same time.”
Brea finished last season with averages of 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in addition to his stellar three-point shooting.
So when he takes the floor in just a few short months time, he’ll be able to check off something that has been a dream of his since he was a kid.
“I mean, it’s the University of Kentucky,” Brea said. “I can’t stop saying it enough … It has always been a dream of mine to come here since I was little.”