Kenny Brooks was 'very intentional' with adding Asia Boone (Kentucky's '6th starter') in the portal

Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kenny Brooks prioritized fit over everything else in the transfer portal this past offseason. It’s resulted in a 10-1 start to the season.

Now in year two leading the Wildcats, Brooks didn’t need to retool his roster over the summer. He just needed to round out the edges and ensure his returning pieces (primarily Clara Strack, Teonni Key, and Clara Strack) would be put in position to help the team thrive once again.

Tonie Morgan, who came over from Georgia Tech, has been an excellent replacement for WNBA Draft pick Georgia Amoore thus far. Morgan leads the entire country in total assists at 93 on the season. But she was also an All-ACC performer the last two seasons with the Yellow Jackets. Her fit was easier to see as the heir to Amoore’s point guard spot.

Asia Boone, on the other hand, was not as obvious. A former Liberty player, she was the Flames’ third leading scorer as a sophomore last season — albeit as an All-CUSA performer. But Brooks saw her skill set as exactly what he wanted on his roster. Now 11 games into her junior campaign, Boone is putting up the same numbers for an SEC team off the bench as she was for a CUSA team as a full-time starter.

“We need a shooter,” Brooks said after Sunday’s 82-55 win over Central Michigan when asked about what he was looking for in the transfer portal. “Whether you (Boone) start or not, you’re gonna play starter minutes. We feel like she’s our sixth starter.“

Kenny Brooks was asked about how he goes about roster construction after five Wildcats scored in double figures against Central Michigan.

It all starts with getting the pieces that fit, even if it means you’re a bit underrated and overlooked to start the season… pic.twitter.com/5pSGhDmVFZ

— Phoenix Stevens (@PStevensKSR) December 7, 2025

And that’s exactly what Boone has been for Kentucky. She dropped 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists against the Chippewas, shooting 3-8 from deep. This season, Boone is averaging 9.6 points in 25.3 minutes per outing (sixth-most on the roster) while shooting 36.8 percent from long range on a career-high 6.9 attempts per contest. She has six games in double-digits, including a season-high 21 points against Morgan State on Nov. 28, along with eight games with at least two made three-pointers.

Known as a shooter during her two seasons at Liberty, the 5-foot-8 San Diego native has taken on a new role in Lexington, one that has expanded her game and made her even more impactful than before. Brooks is letting her play through mistakes, knowing the long-term benefits will only help Boone and the team as a whole.

“My first conversation with (Brooks), he put me in a new position right off the bat, and that’s being point guard,” Boone said. “I haven’t played point guard since I was in high school. He just kept reminding me that I had to embrace it, keep working hard, even through the bad days where I made mistakes and my confidence was low. But he continued to remind me that, yes, I have to continue to embrace this because the more positions he’s going to put me in, the more I can play. And that’s why I have those minutes.”

So far this season, Brooks has only gone about eight-deep with his rotation. He needed a big season from Boone, and his evaluation of her in the portal has been spot-on.

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