​

​

​

The Colorado Buffaloes were led by then unknown Derrick White who went from Division II stud to a first round draft pick. White deservedly received a lot of praise but was flanked by George King, a super athletic wing with shoulders like Corey Maggette. With White now a San Antonio Spur, King returns to Boulder after flirting with the draft process last year. He saw a decline in his numbers from sophomore to junior season but should see an uptick in usage as the returning leading scorer.

At first glance, King reminds me a lot of the Shabazz Muhammad/Corey Maggette mold of wing players. King is listed at 220 and looks every part of it. He’s very athletic and will put you on a poster whether it’s in transition or when defenses chase him off of the 3 point line. He has bounce jumping off of two feet or one. His athleticism will translate at the next level fairly easily. Another plus for King in terms of the NBA is his ability to rebound from the wing position. Averaging 6.8 rebounds per game at a similar rebounding as PJ Tucker, King could possibly play some small ball 4 (or five if he ever landed in the D’Antoni system.) With all that said, the best and most coveted asset of King his ability to knock down the 3 ball. He’s a career 40 percent shoot from deep at a decent volume of 4 attempts per game over his last two seasons. If King remains consistent with increases volume, coupled with his physical ability, he has a chance of carving out a career as a 3 and D guy.

Where King struggles at is when he has to do anything besides spotting up or running the break. He’s very limited off of the dribble. He almost always goes left and would rather just run you over than to use a counter move. Speaking of running people over, King is a subscriber of the book of Bully Ball. He gets away with at the collegiate level and might be able to some in the pros, but it’s not anything to hang his hat on, especially since he struggles to finish in traffic. King possesses no middle game; in my opinion, 3 and D guys need at least a floater if they can’t get all the way to the rim and King just doesn’t have one. He’d rather go chest up and try to finish over length and doesn’t have very much success at it. Another major knock on King is his inability to create shots for anyone but himself. He only has 50 assists in the two seasons he’s played major minutes and it’s evident in his tunnel vision when driving into congestion.
 

JAMES BARLOWE - OCTOBER 24, 2017