In what is a script straight out of Hollywood, Kenny Brooks and Kentucky women's basketball are headed to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on James Madison. It will be an emotional night for a man whose very identity was shaped in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The Waynesboro kid
Kenny Brooks is no stranger to the purple and gold of James Madison; he lived in it for a large portion of his adult life. He grew up in Waynesboro, a small town just 40 minutes from the campus of JMU.
He was a four-year letterman for the legendary Lefty Driesell and even earned a captain's nod.
He stayed to learn how to be a coach, spending four years as an assistant on the men's side before taking a chance and moving to the women's game.
It was a risk that proved to be a huge reward. The move was the start of a 14-year journey that saw him rack up 337 wins and turn the Dukes into a perennial tournament team.
Where a man is made
When Brooks finally left Harrisonburg for Virginia Tech, he didn't talk about the wins or the five conference titles. He talked about the man he had become and how the program shaped his life. He called JMU the place "where I grew up as a man and a coach." I am sure he would have been rooting for JMU had he not been playing them.
He took those lessons to a Final Four in Blacksburg, and eventually, to a rebuilding project in Lexington. He’s a different coach now, a little grayer for sure, perhaps a bit "softer" as his former players joke, but the foundation remains the same.
This is the 2nd straight 20-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance in Lexington. While the Cats won't host like they did last year, they will be just 5 hours from home in Morgantown, West Virginia.
A showdown with a familiar foe
Now, the bracket has demanded he travel five hours to take on the very team that raised him. This is a place where he is a Hall of Famer.
It is a matchup that feels heavy with history.
You can’t write it any better if you tried: a coach at the peak of his powers, standing on a neutral court in West Virginia, trying to defeat the memory of who he used to be and the program he used to lead.
This isn't just a 5-seed versus a 12-seed. This is a homecoming for many. But in March, there is no room for nostalgia once the ball is tipped.