Recruiting Report: Houston King (2018)

Scouts and college programs are sleeping on <strong>Houston King</strong> (2018), a 6’4” combo guard for King James Shooting Stars and St. Johns Jesuit. King does have one offer from Kent State. Also, Akron, Toledo, Miami (OH), Princeton, Colgate, and Liberty (VA), have shown interest. While his talent is of Division I caliber, King tore his meniscus just prior to last year's high school season. For scouts who were looking forward to catching him in high school action, there weren’t too many opportunities. However, he’s in a great basketball situation this summer, including playing in Peach Jam. “Getting up every day, going to St. Johns. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, lifting with some of the guys who aren’t in football right now. Then after that, getting some ball-handling in and getting some shots up. Playing in open gym. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays I’ll just come in and get some ball-handling and shots up with Coach Jones, and some other players like Vince [Williams] and Harrison [Riggs],” King said. On the other sides of this extensive June schedule, he’s been training with the AAU team. “I’m actually in Lima with them right now. We’re all at Coach Q’s house, training two times a day.” Basically, he’s not complaining about not having an offer yet. He’s doing something about it, because he has plenty of time left to change that reality. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-73238" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2016/07/51f1d377-8f37-4f28-b09e-beb130e4bfc8-1024x899.jpg" alt="51f1d377-8f37-4f28-b09e-beb130e4bfc8" width="550" height="483" /> King, who was born in Atlanta but moved to Ohio at age 2, can score the basketball with the best of them. Playing with top tier talent, he is also excellent at finding cutters and open shooters. “I’m a hard-working player. I want to get the win first. I’m not going to be mad if I’m not scoring, but I think I <em>am</em> a scorer. I’m a scorer first, but I can also make my teammates better, and you know, drop some good assists.” King continued by discussing his defensive game, “Rebound well. Defense is definitely a big part of my game. I like to guard the other team’s best player. Just to, you know, get things started on defense. And also send a message to say we’re here to play.” With all of those days he’s putting in at the gym, what is he focusing on to improve? “Keep getting to the rack and finishing. And keep getting better defense, to make sure I can sit down on the best player even when I’m tired and still be able to score.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYUiPxVdzXw King told Prep Hoops Ohio that he has always used the court as his escape — whether that be family tension or moving to a new state. The court is his second home. He also carries a 3.0 GPA at a prestigious school. King will surely gather offers throughout the next few seasons, and this month at Peach Jam will be a huge opportunity to showcase his game in front of scouts nationwide. He’s ready.