Coach Pitino and his staff have started their 2016 recruiting class off with a bang landing the #2 SF in the country today VJ King. King who is ranked #16 by 247Sports, #18 by Scout, #11 by Rivals and #25 by ESPN picked the Cardinals over UCONN and UK. Louisville assistant Kenny Johnson is a former assistant at King’s high school and this is thought to have played a big role in his decision.
I had a chance to check out King first hand at EYBL in Lexington this spring. He is a very nice player and was making some very nice plays. He has a great looking jump shot and can handle the ball very well for his size. His skill set makes him very hard to guard.
Talk about a stat stuffer in the Friday session I watched he had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. He is also a very crafty defender. During the second session on Saturday night Coach Balado and Coach Padgett were there scouting out King for Louisville. King had another very impressive performance again at this session scoring 18 points while showcasing his multidimensional game. He has growing to do and will need to add some bulk to his frame. Once he does watch out. This kid is an elite player and I’m glad the Cardinals staff spent so much time on this kid. He’s going to be an immediate impact guy.
ESPN:
Strengths:
King is a long athletic and skilled wing with a very smooth game. He can handle, pass and shoot with accuracy from a variety of areas on the floor. He excels on the break by running the floor and making acrobatic moves around the rim. He uses his length well to shoot deep jumpers over smaller defenders with ease. King has the ability to get into a groove and hit two or three jumpers in a row. He has the length and athletic ability to be a capable multiple position defender as well.
Weaknesses:
King will need to add strength and work to improve his shot selection at times. He also will need to work on beating his defender off the dribble when pressured and not have his mind made up to shoot the jumper regardless of what the defender does. King could also improve as a rebounder and finisher in traffic all which he is more than capable.
Bottom Line:
King is a very athletic and skilled wing that has all the tools to be a special player he will need to continue to hone his skills and build his game and productive in other phases of the game. King’s calling card is his ability to score with his jump shot. King has incredible upside.