Louisville basketball lands commit from international big man Fredrick King
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BVM) — Many times athletes are told, “If you can play, they will find you.” That sentiment could not be more true for Bahamas native and international basketball standout Fredrick King, who in less than a calendar year went from unknown to a Division I commit. On Nov. 9, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported that the 6-foot-10 center committed to the University of Louisville over a group including Creighton, Georgetown, Miami and Washington State, giving the team another building block for the future.
Although King has had a meteoric rise in 2021, his talent is more than deserving of a Division I opportunity. In January, King became the first player in Bahamian history to enroll in one of the NBA’s global academies when he joined NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City, Mexico.
Prior to his attendance at NBA Academy Latin America, which provides elite high school-aged basketball prospects outside of the United States in-depth player development, King played junior high basketball for the DW Davis Royals in Nassau, Bahamas where he helped lead the team to multiple Government Secondary School Sports Association and Father Marcian Peters tournament championships.
During his time at the NBA Academy, King quickly put himself on the map during the NBA Academy Games where he averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds in September, helping his team jump to a 3-0 record. King also showed his tremendous shooting touch as he converted 77% of his field goals, mostly dunks, and 74% from the free throw line, an impressively high number for a big man.
Film of Fredrick King from the NBA Academy Games in Mexico. He's a mobile big man who is quick off his feet and plays with a exceptionally high intensity level, while possessing intriguing skill, poise, and maturity. King converted 77% of his FGs and 74% of his FTs in Mexico. pic.twitter.com/1660SoiGrQ
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) November 9, 2021
The end goal for King, as it is for many Division I college players, is to get to the NBA. King will likely follow the model set by Josh Giddey, the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, who went from the NBA Academy to Australia’s National Basketball League before making it to the NBA.
Currently, there are 28 former NBA Academy players in Division I basketball which include former NBA Academy Latin America standout and current Gonzaga player Oumar Ballo, Baylor’s Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi and Virginia’s Francisco Caffaro, each of whom participated in the NCAA Tournament last season. King will look to add to those ranks next season.
King will join the Cardinals as a member of their Class of 2022, which currently only has one other member in it. The center, whose standing reach is reportedly an outlandish 9-foot-2, is one of the youngest members of the entire Class of 2022 as he will only be 17 by the time he gets to campus in Louisville. Although he is unranked by any of the major recruiting sites, this is mostly due to lack of knowledge or game film of the international standout while his reputation among scouts at both the collegiate and NBA level is rock solid as a future building block for a program or team.
With a player of King’s untapped potential, the Cardinals are certainly taking a risk, but the reward could be great as the young athlete adjusts to the American game and Division I level of competition. As Louisville begins its 2021-22 season, fans can be excited about their newest commit King coming down the road as he continues to develop his game before bringing his skills with him to the program in 2022.
