"It's a lot different watching the Discovery Channel than actually being in the water with a great white shark."
Kentucky men's basketball associate head coach Alvin Brooks III heard Kobe Bryant say that many years ago, and it's never left him.
"I watched him play one-on-one against a guy. They were playing to 11. He gave the guy ten points plus the ball first," Brooks told BBN Tonight anchor Maggie Davis ahead of the 2025-26 season. "That line - it just hit me."
Thus, shark mentality was born. Brooks carried it with him through the 2020-21 season, when his Baylor Bears cut down the nets. When he made the move to Lexington, he brought it with him, along with matching merchandise.
In the years since, Brooks says he's spotted his former players still wearing their shark wristbands in the NBA, while he and his wife have also given away shark-related shirts to team managers and graduate assistants as Christmas presents.
The point? A physical reminder of a mental fierceness.
"I think you have to have an alter ego to be elite," Brooks explained. "I’m a quiet guy, but once I get onto the court, I’m a different person. I feel like I turn into a shark. I make sure the people I’m around have alter egos, as well."
"Otega [Oweh] is the ultimate shark. He’s quiet; he’s one of the coolest, meek dudes. But as soon as the ball is tipped he turns into a shark. If a shark sees prey, it don’t slow down. It speeds up. That’s Otega."
Brooks also applies the mantra off the court and in his personal life.
"My oldest son AJ, Alvin Brooks IV, has severe autism and is non-verbal at the moment. A month or two ago, my wife said "AJ made something for you." He made me this shark," Brooks said quietly while looking down at his hands.
There, he's holding a small, painted shark toy, no bigger than the palm of his hand. But the message is sizable.
"Obviously being non verbal, he can’t communicate with me. But to give me this shows he also sees what’s going on."
"He’s a shark because of what he’s battling, and it’s not easy," Brooks continued. "The fact that he’s fighting through it no matter what. He gives me inspiration. This is something I’ll cherish forever."
Brooks also tells Davis about his family's game day traditions and how this year's team has been especially quick to adapt the mantra, while Oweh describes what "shark mentality" means to him.
Watch the full story here, shot and edited by BBN Tonight photographer Nick Lazaroff:
For more on Kentucky basketball and all of the Wildcats, join us on BBN Tonight, airing weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on the official station for UK Athletics, LEX 18.
