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NBA Draft 2019 Prospect Watch: Louis King

By Scott Romportl

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 24: Louis King #2 of the Oregon Ducks celebrates after a basket in the second half against the UC Irvine Anteaters during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 24, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 24: Louis King #2 of the Oregon Ducks celebrates after a basket in the second half against the UC Irvine Anteaters during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 24, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

Weaknesses

While very smooth and polished on the offensive end of the ball, King needs to improve his on-ball defense.

If tasked with guarding smaller, quicker guards and wings, King at times had difficulty staying in front of the player. While this is an issue with many players who stand at 6’9” with a taller/lankier frame that doesn’t posses elite lateral quickness, King at times seemed partially disinterested.

When guarding larger body bigs trying to bully through him, King would sometimes struggle with his leaner physique trying to match strength with strength. Adding upper body strength will be paramount in King’s first few years in professional basketball, so he is better equipped to match the physicality of other NBA forwards.

While he had the length and athleticism to recover, he simply got beat in isolation too many times in his freshman season. The combination of a lack of lateral quickness/shuffling (perhaps from his frame being almost too long and lanky), coupled with upper body strength that has not filled out yet, there is hope that these weaknesses can be improved upon in a professional program.

As for the random possessions where King showed a lack of effort, if that remains an issue in the NBA, his long-term prospects may not be too bright. Adding strength can generally be attained for most body types, however the effort level is 100 percent mental. Raising effort levels should be the simple adjustment for King, or any professional athlete for that matter.

Beyond the defensive fundamentals, some of the “hustle” stats (blocks, steals, rebounds) left a little to be desired. While averaging 5.3 rebounds in his Freshman season is commendable, he does not get confused for a rim protector. Having such a height/wingspan mismatch against other wings, one would expect that King could potentially develop into a passing lane threat and weak side rim protector. This part of his game just hasn’t come around yet, despite the foundation being present.

Beyond any shortfalls of physical strength that must be added, these areas of weakness really come down to intangibles. Will he do all the little things to win every possession? This is what will carve out a rotation spot in the NBA, and this is what can be improved upon in the right system with the right set of coaches and veteran players to provide the right leadership and set the right examples.

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