| OC’s King will test skills at Bethel | | Posted: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 7:00 pm
| | By KEVIN WEAKS
Messenger Sports
Zack King has the size to be an effective perimeter player in college. The Bethel coaching staff will now make sure he develops the skills needed.
The Obion County Central senior made it official Monday afternoon in front of family and teammates as he signed a grant-in-aid to play for the Wildcats.
“He has a lot of potential,” OC head coach Bill Kail said. “We’re excited he’s getting a chance to play college ball and get his education. That’s the main thing, getting an education. We’re happy he can go to a good Christian-based school, and we’ll get a chance to see him play.”
While his 6-4 frame made him a decent-sized post forward and center at the prep level, he will need to make the move to the perimeter in college. To that end, King will put in a lot of summer work with assistant coach Jonathan Stanley.
“I specialize in skill development, so I want to work a lot of one-on-one skills with him,” Stanley said. “I want to help him develop his ball-handling skills. Ideally, my main goal is to get him to be a shooting guard. A shooting guard who’s 6-4 and pretty athletic is going to be hard to stop. He’s so versatile, though, he can do it all. He can certainly stretch the floor with his size and ability.”
As a senior for the Rebels, King scored 8.1 points a game. He connected on 98-of-198 field goal attempts but shot just two 3-pointers, hitting one. King knows where his future at the college level is and is prepared to make the transition.
“This summer, I’m going to be working a lot on my ball-handling and my shooting because my height is not suited for the college game,” King said. “So, hopefully, I can play the three-spot and get better on my outside shooting.”
King has shown the potential to put points on the board. He hit double digits 11 times, including back-to-back efforts of 18 and 19 points against Milan and Waverly in December.
“We’re very excited to have Zack join our program,” Stanley said. “He’s a very well-coached player and displays tremendous character. Bethel is going to be a great place for him to continue on with his education and play basketball at a high level.”
Bethel posted a 24-7 record last season and will graduate seven players, including three guards. Published in The Messenger 5.7.13 | | | | |
