Marcus: Eagan's Joey King staking claim to starting spot

Donate To GopherHole
S

scher215

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
6,609
Reaction score
2
Points
38
Not sure if Bleed is still asleep (????) or I am just missing this already posted, but article from the PP today.

Even on a team with little front-court depth, it took Joey King almost an entire season to become a starter. But since then, the power forward from Eagan has become one of Minnesota's most productive players.

And as the Gophers zero in on another NIT Final Four appearance, the 6-foot-9, 225-pound sophomore has been a go-to scorer. He had a team-high 18 points in Sunday's victory over St. Mary's and is riding a three-game, double-figure scoring streak entering Tuesday's quarterfinal against Southern Mississippi (29-6) at Williams Arena.

"What I liked about Joey more than anything is that he basically, point blank, said, 'I'm winning the starting spot and you're not taking it from me,' " Gophers coach Richard Pitino said.

http://www.twincities.com/gophers/c...tball-eagans-joey-king-staking-claim-starting
 

Good for Joey. I'm glad he's playing with confidence & was determined to win the starting job. At the same time we should keep expectations realistic as it took Oto's knee giving out & an entire season to become the starter & his only competition now is Charles Buggs. His three game scoring streak mentioned were a blowout loss to Wisconsin, plus wins over High Point & St Mary's. Joey's a 6th man & if we go into next season with Joey as our PF, it'll be another long year.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Good for Joey. I'm glad he's playing with confidence & was determined to win the starting job. At the same time we should keep expectations realistic as it took Oto's knee giving out & an entire season to become the starter & his only competition now is Charles Buggs. His three game scoring streak mentioned were a blowout loss to Wisconsin, plus wins over High Point & St Mary's. Joey's a 6th man & if we go into next season with Joey as our PF, it'll be another long year.
Click to expand...

I am willing to bet that Joey King will be on the floor the first time the ball goes up in the air next year. He's a Junior and in his 2nd year in the program.

I hope i'm wrong because that means Josh Martin is legit or we snatched a great PF out of free agency. I would not be upset if Joey was our starting PF next year giving his progress and how much I think he'll improve over the off season with some dedicated strength and conditioning as well as some one on one work with Pitino and co.
 

When you're a player you can't worry about things you can't control. When you're number is called you need to step up and perform to the best of your ability. Joey has done that for two straight years. I'm not expecting 4*'s to start dropping out of the sky anytime soon.
 





King will be a great 3pt threat off the bench for us next year. He's also gotten more confident in the post, which will become even more of an asset when he gains some weight. He's turning into a nice player.
 

march madness said:
Anyone else not buying 6-9 225? Glad he is playing well. In an ideal world the Hulk can start and Joey can be the combo scoring forward he was always meant to be off the bench.
Click to expand...

I've never stood next to him. Plus I am only 5' 11" so not sure how much good it would do. But everything I've seen says he does measure 6-9 in shows.
 



He is clearly shorter than Oto and Buggs... that being said, if he is not a legit 6'-9" he is at least 6'-8" (something) and they rounded it up.
 

march madness said:
Anyone else not buying 6-9 225? Glad he is playing well. In an ideal world the Hulk can start and Joey can be the combo scoring forward he was always meant to be off the bench.
Click to expand...

After someone else questioned his height on twitter, Josh Martin basically vouched for him by saying that he (Josh) was 6-8 or 6-9 and that Joey was taller than him
 

Do you guys think that Joey could ever contribute as much as say, Dusty Rychart?
 

fryguy22 said:
After someone else questioned his height on twitter, Josh Martin basically vouched for him by saying that he (Josh) was 6-8 or 6-9 and that Joey was taller than him
Click to expand...

When was this? Josh was closer to 6'-8", but now is now said to be 6'-10"
 



Some of you might just be expecting too much out of a true freshman next season. I hope Martin is the real deal as well but what are the odds he is from day one? I fully expect King to be the starter next season with Martin getting enough minutes off the bench to show the promise of bigger things to come. No idea what to expect of Buggs?
 

I am not buying 225 either. I have seen Adrian Payne listed anywhere from 225 to 240.
 

I've seen Joey in person, and I have two friends who are 6'6 and 6'10. I'd put Joey at about 6'7 just by comparison. As for weight, I can't really be sure on that, but I'd make an educated guess that he's in between 215-220 lbs.
 



You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom