Kentucky acquires ‘instant offense’ in Lincoln County standout King

Emma King may have just finished her sophomore season at Lincoln County, but the 5-foot-11 wing player has been a Kentucky target for a couple of years.

The Cats and Coach Matthew Mitchell got what they wanted on Wednesday when King committed to UK.

“So incredibly thankful to be able to say I’m getting the opportunity to play basketball at the school I’ve always dreamed of attending,” King said on Twitter.

King, UK’s first commitment of the 2019 class, played in all 32 games for Lincoln County last season in the Patriots’ run to the 12th Region championship game, averaging 17.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.

“This kid can play,” Kentucky Premier Director David Tapley said. “She’s very athletic. Great shooter.”

King needs to work on her mid-range game, but she’s dangerous from most places on the floor.

“She shoots the three really (well),” the AAU director said of King, who hit 58 three-pointers last season, shooting 30.5 percent from long range and 38.1 percent from the field. “She can flat stroke that thing. She has no conscience. She’s instant offense, but she’s not just a shooter. She’s a lot more than that.”

King has garnered interest from schools like Wisconsin, Florida, Dayton and Louisville among others, Tapley said.

“There’s so many I can’t list them all. There were a ton of people recruiting her. The list is long. She could play at a lot of places.”

King is one of several Kentucky Premier players who have been on UK’s campus in recent days. Maddie Scherr, a Ryle standout in the 2020 class, was at Kentucky on Wednesday, too.

“She’s a stud,” Tapley said of Scherr, who averaged 14.9 points and seven rebounds last season. “She’s a top 10 player in that 2020 class.”

“In the last week and a half, they’ve had probably 10 of our kids on campus individually and three or four more going tomorrow,” Tapley said. “They’ve really made a big push at getting to our young kids quicker. … Kentucky’s got some of the best young kids in America.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Kentucky acquires ‘instant offense’ in Lincoln County standout King."