WATCH: Keion Brooks Jr. and Ben Jordan preview Mount St. Mary's

This morning, Kentucky freshman forward Keion Brooks Jr. and walk-on forward Ben Jordan spoke to the media to preview their upcoming game against Mount St. Mary's on Friday evening. Brooks got things rolling with a breakdown of Kentucky's underwhelming performances of late, what has caused them, and how the team plans to turn things around in the immediate future, starting with the Mount St. Mary's game. Here was the entire interview with Brooks: https://youtu.be/mmUImasRVPk And the transcript from his time talking with the media:

Q: Where are you seeing yourself getting better? A: "Just everything overall. I am a freshman getting used to the speed of the game and physicality and just being ready for the ball in my hands. Being able to read a defense better and on defense learn rotations and have a better IQ of the game." Q: On defense, I know that every team is going to make a run. As a whole how do you think the defense has been as you continuously adjust to the speed? A: "I think to start off the season in the first two games the defense was tremendous. We came out with a fire and to get stops but I feel like we got complacent and get back to our defensive energy like we were in Madison Square Garden and make it hard for opponents to score and take out their stuff. And we are getting back to it, it's just a matter of time and focus." Q: Some of the times you seem very calm. Where does that kind of come from as a basketball player? Where does that kind of come from? A: "It just comes from my upbringing. My mom and dad never let me get too high, never get too low. You know, to me I am playing the game that I love at the best university in the world so what do I have to be sad about? But it is such a blessing that I get to wake up every day. God has blessed me to put me into a position to be able to be here and nobody get to have this opportunity. So, I just take it and strive and be grateful for everything that I got." Q: How much different is the new 3-pt line than it was in high school? Has that been a big issue for you all and a lot of teams you think? A: "I think if you can shoot the ball, you can shoot the ball. Probably for some people, it might be an adjustment but for our team, we have shooters that can shoot from that line anyway. So, I don't think its a whole problem, we just need to get our offense catered to the speed with a whole lot of young guys so those three-point opportunities we are going to get are the same ones we got in high school so that's why we are probably not shooting as high of a clip than what we are capable of." Q: Coach Justus said even though you all got one three against Utah Valley you still scored over 80 points and he thought that was good. With that said, how do you try to find that balance doing both 3-pt line and everywhere else on the floor? A: "It is just sometimes, coach is still trying to focus some stuff out. I guess we got a lot of young guys who haven't played this system before. What we played before we were able to catch the ball and take our time and do whatever we want in the game and the speed of the offense is a lot faster so I just think now, I can speak for myself that I am not always ready when I catch the ball when I have an open shot so that's why I probably miss when I take the shot." Q: How tough has practice been and the games when the full complement of guys healthy enough to go out there and run? A: "We just have the next man up mentality. It can get tough at times, coach can't always get the things we practice and in the game, players know they play more minutes than they're used to. We are taking our strive and everyone is doing a great job have that next man up mentality and the coaching staff and everyone on the team believe that everybody that does step up that they can go out there and do a great job and able to get the job done." Q: Do you think you can step over to the baseball diamond and help out over there like Ben is doing here with basketball? A: "Not at all, it's admiral to see how he comes over here every day and has the mentality to help the team get better every day in no matter what it is. Our players have been learning a lot about baseball since he's been around so it's been a joy having Ben around." Q: What have you all learned from these games that you need to move forward against these teams that you are heavily favored against? A: "We need to learn to play again to our standard. I feel like lately, we have been playing to the low of our competition and not playing like we were in the beginning of the season. Especially in the first two games against Michigan State and EKU. In those two games, we came out with a mentality that we wanted to get stops and win in transition and just kept raising our level of intensity. I feel like since then we've been letting go and we got to get back to that."

Ben Jordan also spoke to the media, but the majority of his questions focused on his transition from the baseball field to the basketball court. Among the questions: How has the transition been? Is he making an impact against the Kentucky scholarship players in the frontcourt in practice? What does it feel like to be a Kentucky basketball player? Here is the entire interview with Jordan: https://youtu.be/-jFSA5umEWg And the transcript from his media opportunity:

Q: How much different is it from baseball to basketball? A: "It's different. They're both passions of mine. I've played basketball my whole life and getting to do it here is pretty awesome." Q: What's tougher, a 3-2 fastball to the knees or blocking out Nick Richards? A: "Well, I don't have to hit that since I am a pitcher but blocking out Nick is pretty hard not going to lie." Q: What has it been like going to practice with the guys? A: "It's been challenging, haven't played in a couple of years. I'm getting a hold of things a little bit. It's been challenging but fun." Q: What have you been doing to get the pace of baseball and match that pace in basketball and how have you adjusted to that? A: "I've played basketball my whole life and I've enjoyed it so I'm kind of used to basketball but obviously it's faster pace here, baseball is more slow. Obviously it's a lot fast than it was in high school but I was kind of used to the basketball pace." Q: Does it feel like you are starting over? A: "A little bit but it's good." Q: How does that all transpire? You can't show up one day and say I wanna play basketball A: "No, I think Coach needed somebody to work out during practice. Just another big body to do workouts and stuff and practice with the team. I just came over one day and watched practice and he asked me is this something that you want to do and I said yes and it went from there." Q: What does your schedule looking right now. How much are you still doing baseball? A: "Right now, we are not throwing so I'm not doing much we are just lifting and conditioning. So I get a lot of that stuff over here so I am not doing a whole much with baseball right but we have like 20 hours a week you can work out so it's set up when the time arrives I'll have my time to do baseball and basketball both." Q: When did it kind of hit you that you're a Kentucky basketball player? A: "I think the Blue and White Game when I stepped out of Rupp, well this is real. I really think it was around then when I really am on the team." Q: How do you stack up with guys like EJ and Nick in the post? A: "They're better offensively than me but I do the best I can." Q: In what way? A: "Just block out every time and really just trying to push them on defense, just trying to make the team better. That is what I try to do." Q: How much do they challenge you and what kind of advice do they give you in practice? A: "The guys really help me a lot but they knew some things would be a little slower to me and I didn't know the plays but they help me and push me and they really take care of me. They know I am going to learn things a little slow I don't have a basketball mind but I have gotten quicker and getting better." Q: You kind of started something with Lynn Bowden A: "I saw the tweet the other day and well, might as well." Q: How has it gone so far? Competitively wise, do you think you are over your head or how is it? A: "I mean, I am getting better every day but these guys are better basketball players than me so I'm working and trying. I do not think I am over my head but I enjoy the challenge."