Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore announced her commitment to the Wildcats on Thursday, April 4, three days after she entered the transfer portal and after it was reported that she requested for other programs not to contact her.
Amoore already knew where she was going.
She would go on to follow Kenny Brooks, who coached the 5-foot-6 guard for four seasons at Virginia Tech, and put on the blue and white threads.
The Australian native had the ability to enter her name in the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she very likely would’ve been a first-round pick, with multiple mock drafts having Amoore going late in the lottery.
The decision to return to the collegiate level for another year was make or break: it would either be a huge mistake, or the best decision of her career.
Fast forward to the beginning of conference play, Amoore and the Wildcats boast a 14-1 record, winning their first three SEC matchups by large margins and holding the No. 15 slot in the AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll.
Amoore is averaging the most assists of her career with 7.2 per game, a nation and conference best, taking the leadership role head on.
“She was already a star,” Brooks said. “Coming into this year, her role was very different. Her role is that she is the focal point. She’s really stepped it up with her leadership ability.”
Not only is Amoore the top facilitator in the nation, but she’s also scoring at an insane rate, earning national honors.
Since the Wildcats’ first loss of the season against No. 16 North Carolina, Kentucky has gone on a seven-game win streak where Amoore hasn’t dipped below 20 points but once against the Florida Gators on Jan.9, where she scored 18 points.
The All-American guard dropped 27 points and nine assists against Mississippi State, shooting 70% from three and helping Kentucky set a new program record for the most 3-pointers made in a single game.
She followed that performance up with a 24-point and nine-assist stat line against Vanderbilt. Averaging 25.5 points per game and 9.0 on assists per game, Amoore was named National Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week.
The point guard was also named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch list to add to her midweek recognition. She also was recognized on the Wade Trophy Watch List, Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Watch List and the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Watch-List.
After a prestigious week, Amoore led the Wildcats in scoring yet again to go along with four steals against Florida, helping the Wildcats remain undefeated in conference play.
Through 15 games this season, Amoore is leading the team with 17.9 points per game and taking each opponent head on with her Kentucky heart.
The former Hokie has surpassed several milestones thus far, tallying her 700th career assist against Arizona State on Nov. 26 and scoring her 2,000th career points against Purdue on Dec. 14.
“Looking at the five years that I’ve had, I never would have really thought about it (scoring 2,000 points) to be honest,” Amoore said. “It’s a luxury to be able to have the confidence to play like that.”
As confidence continues to build and the Wildcats look to prove that they belong with the best of the best, they’ll do so if one woman from Ballarat, Victoria, has the ball in her hands.
