Kentucky officially announces Alvin Brooks III as part of Mark Pope's staff

New Kentucky head coach Mark Pope has added Baylor assistant coach Alvin Brooks III to his first Wildcats’ staff this week, the school officially announced Thursday.

In a release from the Kentucky Athletics website, the University confirmed that Brooks is now a Wildcat:

“Alvin Brooks III, regarded as one of the nation’s best assistant coaches, has joined the Kentucky men’s basketball coaching staff as associate head coach it was announced on Thursday.”

The release also included comments from both Brooks himself and Mark Pope. First, here was Pope on the latest addition to his staff:

““Alvin Brooks is a national champion coach, three times over. He is one of the most highly regarded tacticians, recruiters and relationship-builders in all of college basketball. He’s been mentored by some of the great coaches of the game, including Bruce Weber and Scott Drew. He and his wife, Tiffany, and their sons AJ and Austin are going to be a big part of Big Blue Nation and help us bring home No. 9.”

Now, Brooks himself on how honored he is to take the position:

“I am so excited to join Coach Pope and his staff and be a part of the Big Blue Nation. I’m very appreciative of the opportunity to join a storied program, with such a passionate fan base as we chase banners together. My family and I are grateful to Coach Pope and Mitch Barnhart and I can’t wait to get started.”

Here is some more added background on Brooks’ and his path to the University of Kentucky alongside Pope, via the UK website:

“A Houston native, Brooks began his coaching career at the junior college level. He spent two seasons at Arkansas-Forth Smith, helping the Lions to the 2006 NJCAA Division I championship. He then joined the staff at Midland, where he again was on staff for an NJCAA title team in 2007.

“Brooks ascended to the Division I level when he joined the staff for three seasons at Bradley as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. From there he also was a part of the Sam Houston State (2010-12) and Kansas State (2012-16) staffs before joining forces with Scott Drew at Baylor in 2016.

“At Baylor, the Bears put together one of the best seasons in program history in 2019-20. BU finished 26-4 and were projected for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the postseason. The following season, Baylor earned a No. 1 seed and captured the program’s first national title.”