Keion Brooks Jr. capitalizes on the lost art of the mid-range jumper

In just 16 games during the 2020-21 college basketball season, Kentucky forward Keion Brooks Jr. took 28 total 3-point attempts, good for 1.8 per contest. His success rate? 21.4 percent, making just six on the year. Fast forward one season, and Brooks has attempted just 24 shots from deep in 26 games, converting on six. And that’s after taking ten 3-pointers in Kentucky’s first four games.

Since then, the junior forward has taken more than one shot from deep just twice and has failed to register a 3-point attempt 10 times, 11 in total on the year. He’s taken just two attempts in his last six games, knocking down one vs. Alabama.

Instead, Brooks has transformed his game to become a pure inside-the-arc specialist, taking a career-high 8.1 2-point attempts per game while making a career-high 4.2 per contest. And he’s doing so in efficient fashion, shooting a career-high 48.7 percent from the field overall and 51.4 percent from two. More specifically, Brooks has made his killing at the intermediate level, falling in love with the mid-range jumper.

“I was happy to see Keion make a three, but that’s not who he is,” UK head coach John Calipari said following Kentucky’s win over Alabama on Saturday. “He’s a mid-range two-point shooter, and you know what? (He’s) one of the best in the country.”

In a basketball world focused on living and dying by the three — just ask the Crimson Tide — Brooks has found his sweet spot in that 10- to 17-foot range, serving as a strong complementary piece alongside Kentucky’s 3-point shooters and inside scorers. The mid-range game may be dead to some, but Brooks is fighting to bring it back to life — and keep it there.

“It’s always been a part of my game since I was little,” Brooks said Tuesday. “My dad made sure I was able to shoot in those spots and in those areas. Growing up, being really little, the players that I watched operated in those areas and they were dangerous. The game has changed a little bit, but you know, I don’t you have to tell (you) I don’t believe the mid-range is dead. If you can get in those areas and pull up and make those shots you can make it really hard for a defense.”

Make it hard for the defense, he has. On the year, Brooks has scored in double figures 14 times, including three games of over 20 points. Looking deeper at the advanced analytics, Brooks actually ranks first on the team in adjusted team offensive efficiency (121.8) and third in Bayesian Performance Rating (44.6), the ultimate measure of a player’s overall value to his team when he is on the floor.

He still throws down slam dunks, knocks down free throws and hits the occasional 3-point attempt, but his bread and butter is undoubtedly the mid-range jumper. There’s clear value there, finding small gaps in the defense and knocking down quick jumpers.

Brooks saw his favorite NBA players knock down the shot with consistency growing up, and there are still players in the league incorporating it into their games. He wants to continue following in the footsteps of his idols at the collegiate level and beyond.

“Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade (were the players I watched growing up),” Brooks said. “Today, DeMar Derozen, Devin Booker, those guys make it tougher on defenses. Now, defenses either want to take away the three or not let you get all the way to the rim. So if you can break in those areas in between, it makes it harder for a defense to really lock in and stop you.”

Like his NBA idols, it all starts with reps in the gym, trying to make jump shots as easy as layups. With confidence, Brooks is slowly approaching that level of consistent success

“It starts by getting in the gym, getting up those extra reps and taking the extra time to work on your craft, work at the shots you’ll get in the game,” Brooks said. “Moving into the game after you’ve built on that, you have confidence. You have to take the shots that the game gives you. If you’re open and it’s a shot that you that you can make, you have to shoot it.”

Brooks has quickly proven he’s not afraid of taking the shot when the opportunity presents itself.