Former Dayton sharpshooter Koby Brea signs with Kentucky
New Kentucky head coach Mark Pope, whose BYU team attempted the third most three-pointers in America last season, has landed last year’s top three-point shooter in the country.
Dayton transfer guard Koby Brea signed with Wildcats Wednesday following a visit to Lexington. He picked the Cats over fellow bluebloods UConn, Kansas, Duke and North Carolina.
“By the numbers, Koby Brea is the most efficient mid-to-high major player in college basketball in the last decade,” Pope said via press release. “He’s the best returning shooter in college basketball next year. Koby is a dangerous, dangerous man who is a great human with an incredible family. He will be key in allowing us to play the style of basketball that we love the most. Koby and this group are going to take Big Blue Nation on an incredible ride.”
“His (Pope’s) style of play complements my strengths as a basketball player,” Brea told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “He’s proven to be one of the best when it comes to utilizing the 3-pointer. There’s nobody in college basketball who can shoot off the catch, off the bounce and off the move all together the way I do.”
“The biggest thing I’m looking forward to accomplishing is helping Coach Pope and the University of Kentucky hang another banner. Switching that 8 with a 9! I’m also looking forward to picking Coach Pope’s brain, expanding my game and being pushed to become the best version of myself every day. After discussing with my family and agent, we decided to take this offseason to train like a pro, get stronger and add to my game,” Brea said. “Kentucky is the perfect place to do that, while performing on one of the biggest stages.”
Brea, a Washington Heights, New York native who stands 6-foot-6, has spent the last four seasons at Dayton.
As a freshman during the 2020-21 season, he played in 17 games and made three starts averaging 2.9 points per game while as a sophomore he played in 35 games and started four averaging 8.1 points per game and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three. His sophomore campaign earned him A10 Sixth-Man of the Year honors.
Brea’s junior season of 2022-23 saw him play in 28 games and start 10. He averaged 6.8 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and shot 36.3 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three.
This past season, Brea played in 33 games, started four, and averaged 29.1 minutes of playing time for a Dayton team that earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Round of 32. He averaged 11.1 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while averaging 51.2 percent from the field, 49.8 percent from three, and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. He was named the A10 Sixth Man of the Year for a second time.
