King Emerging At Perfect Time

TUCSON, Ariz. — In hindsight, perhaps the stage had been set for Oregon five-star freshman Louis King to enjoy a breakout week against the Los Angeles schools last week.

King, the wing from Jersey City, N.J., only recently has been fully cleared for game action after a knee injury. The Ducks were in need of someone to pick up the reins after their other five-star freshman, Bol Bol, was sidelined by a foot injury. Then, Oregon had its collective heart broken by UCLA, and was looking to make a statement by bouncing back.

And finally, just for good measure, USC made sure King was ready and willing to spark the Ducks to victory Sunday. Because after Bennie Boatwright raised the stakes of what had been some light trash-talking by barking in King's face after a first-half foul Sunday, the UO freshman went into beast mode.

On Oregon's next possession, King elevated high above the rim and flushed home a rebound. At the other end, he had a hand in Boatwright's face as the USC senior missed a three-pointer. King then turned the tables by knocking down a three of his own, with Boatwright defending.

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Some players talk the talk, and some walk the walk. King did both, like he used to on the playgrounds back home.

"It's the New York, New Jersey style of play," a smiling King said Tuesday while recalling the sequence. "I'm used to all that."

King finished Sunday's win over USC with 19 points, plus eight rebounds and six assists. He's averaging 19.3 points and 9.3 rebounds since Pac-12 play began, and shooting 48 percent from the floor plus 41 percent on three-pointers.

The Ducks will look for King to sustain that level of play when they open their first conference road trip of the season, Thursday at Arizona (6 p.m., ESPN). Its bench still thin due to injuries, Oregon can't afford a drop-off by anyone, even if King's recent production has surprised UO coach Dana Altman.

"I'm shocked, really, how quickly he's come back," Altman said. "You just don't anticipate a guy that's been out nine months — and when you have both knees worked on, you're not doing anything — so for him to sit out that long, and how quickly he's come back, I think it's pretty good. And obviously we needed it."

Injured during his senior season at Hudson Catholic High, King didn't make his UO debut until Dec. 8, the eighth game of the regular season. He'd only been cleared to practice a couple weeks earlier, and had his playing time restricted as he played himself back into shape.

But as Pac-12 play dawned, Altman asked King to unleash the beast. He obliged — with some further prodding from the Trojans on Sunday.

"Coach wanted me to go in and rebound, score," King said. "And that's what I did."

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King's rebounding, Altman said, has been particularly impressive. The freshman didn't shy away from crashing the boards as a recruit, the coach noted. But with King still working himself into shape, his will sometimes exceeded his grasp.

That's changed the last couple weeks. King had 10 rebounds in Oregon's Pac-12 opener against Oregon State, plus 17 points. He recorded another double-double in the loss to UCLA, with 22 points and 10 rebounds. And then, in the win over USC, King flirted with his first collegiate triple-double.

"Conditioning is so important in rebounding," Altman said. "Now that he's gotten in a little better shape, his rebounding numbers have really picked up."

King's reward for that production is even more prodding from Oregon's coach.

"We've got to get him to put it on the floor a little bit more, and get to the free-throw line a little more, and get those assists up a little bit," Altman said. "But man, he's shown a lot of basketball savvy and a lot of good things here the last two, three games."

Good news, King said — there are more good things to come.

"I'm still not really 100 percent, I would said," King said. "But I'm closer to getting there. Getting to the rim, getting free throws up, that's a main part of my game."

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Players Mentioned

Bol Bol

Louis King

University of Oregon Athletics