Athlete Spotlight: James Wood Basketball Player Keiana Brooks

Posted: December 16, 2014

James Wood High School 16-year-old junior

Sport: Basketball

Position: Guard

Parents: Kenia and Chad Brooks

Hometown: Winchester

Nicknames: My teammates call me “K,” some of my friends call me “K Money,” or “K Money Buckets.”

What do you love about basketball: Probably the pace. It’s so fast. It’s intense, and so competitive.

Biggest strength and weakness in basketball: [Strength], my athleticism, and I take pride in my ball-handling. [Weakness], if you ask my coach, she’d say my defense. But personally, since I’m one of the shorter players out there [5-5], my size is a little inconvenient at times. One game against Dominion I was guarding a big post player, and it was a little inconvenient.

Funniest person on the team: Senior] Kaitlyn Crane. Her laugh, and just the way she says things, makes her funny. Regardless of what’s going on in practice, even if there’s a tense moment, she always makes it funny.

Pregame routine/ritual: I like to listen to music by myself. I have a set list of five songs that I listen to in a set order, and it gets me in the zone.

Most memorable moment in basketball: My freshman year against Clarke County at home, the first half I was having a terrible game, but in the second half I hit a big 3[-pointer] to either tie or give us the lead. (James Wood trailed 36-31 heading into the fourth quarter, but Brooks scored seven of her 10 points in a 11-3 run that put the Colonels up 42-39, and James Wood stayed in front the rest of the game in a 52-51 win.) I couldn’t shoot that well from outside my freshman year, so making that 3 was a big accomplishment for me.

Most embarrassing moment in basketball: The first thing that comes to mind is when we were at SVCA my freshman year. It was the last few minutes of the game, and we were up by seven. Sam Yarnall was guarding me, and three possessions in a row I dribbled the ball off my foot. [My teammates] made me fun of me for like two weeks after that.

Favorite athlete: [Cleveland Cavaliers point guard] Kyrie Irving. I love his ball-handling. He has the dirtiest moves. I love watching him play.

Favorite sports team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Three people you can have dinner with, dead or alive: [TV character] Walker, Texas Ranger; I love that show. I’ve love for Walker to teach me his moves, some hand-to-hand combat. [Gangster] Al Capone. He’s probably the coolest guy ever. I’ve love to have a conversation with him. I’m sure he’s got some good stories. [Author] Mark Twain. He’s hilarious, and I just like his writing and his books. And I know you said three [people], but I’ve got to put my friend [and soccer player] Emily Denton on there. (When asked if Brooks wanted to remove one of the first three people she mentioned, Brooks said with a smile, “Absolutely not.”)

Plans after high school: I want to play basketball in college, but I don’t know what I want to study or do yet.

— Compiled by Robert Niedzwiecki