Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future

ECU & C-USA Hoops Recruiting Report Sunday, May 16, 2004 By Thad Mumau Special Correspondent

Trinity star brings royal scoring pedigree

©2004 Bonesville.net

East Carolina basketball coaches have crowned their recruiting class with a King. And one who is a sensational shooter.

Josh King led Trinity High School to a 31-1 record and the North Carolina 3-A championship as he scored 27.4 points per game and made an amazing 53 percent of his three-point shots. He was named Mr. 3-A Basketball by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

He has point guard size at 5-11, but possesses wing guard firepower and offensive tools. The four-year starter finished his high school career with 2,577 points, ranking him third on the all-time North Carolina scoring list.

"Josh is the best shooter I’ve ever seen," Trinity coach Tim Kelly said. "East Carolina recruited him as a shooter. He has never played point guard.

"A bunch of smaller schools were after him, and East Carolina was the biggest Division I school to recruit him. They started halfway through the season, and Josh really liked Coach (assistant Greg) Herenda.

"He said, `Look, we know you can play, no matter what size your are.’ Other schools were kind of holding back because of Josh’s size, so that meant a lot to him."

King signed with the Pirates in late April after also receiving scholarship offers from UNC-Greensboro (where Kelly’s son, Tim, the Trinity point guard, is headed), Army, Appalachian State and High Point. N.C. State talked to King about joining the Wolfpack as a preferred walk-on.

"I think Josh had his heart set on East Carolina from the beginning. He likes the Conference USA schedule and the fact that Greenville is not too far from home, but not too close, either."

King threw in 12 three-pointers in scoring a career-high 42 points against Eastern Randolph. He had 36 in the western regional championship game vs. Kings Mountain and scored 21 in the title game victory over Greensboro Dudley.

A four-time all-conference selection, he helped Trinity to a four-year record of 98-15. He owns the North Carolina high school record for career three-point baskets with 416 and made a state single-season record 164 threes as a senior.

"The really remarkable thing about Josh and his points," Kelly said, "is that he only took 15-20 shots a game. They came off our offense, not gunning the ball every time he got it. We had three other players average in double figures.

"I have heard that East Carolina does things to get shooters open. He reads screens really well and comes off screens really well, too. He has a quick shot.

"Josh is very quick with the ball in his hands and has above-average quickness on defense. He is not slow. He plays really good on-the-ball defense, but will have to improve off the ball. But he’s strong (at 175 pounds) and will fight for position."

King is a 3.5 student who scored nearly 1,000 on the SAT.

He is the fourth member of the Pirates’ 2004 class. The others are Jonathan Hart, a 6-7 small forward from Roselle (NJ) Abraham Clark; Charles Bronson, a 6-10 center from Philadelphia (PA) Lutheran Christian Academy; and 6-8 Mike Castro, a power forward from Cumberland (MD) Allegany Community College.

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02/23/2007 02:41:48 PM