King brings real enthusiasm to a new realm

TEENAGE Next Stars signing Mojave King is settling in well at the Cairns Taipans under new coach Mike Kelly.

King, who turned 18 yesterday, has completed his third week of training with the Snakes, after arriving in the

Far North from the US last month.

The NBA prospect, who decided to bypass the US college system and use the NBL as his career launching pad, said he had been enjoying his time in Cairns and was looking forward to working with Kelly in the NBL 2020-21 season.

“I like the way he coaches,” King said. “If you make a little bit of a mistake, he’ll give you a chance to figure it out yourself before he jumps in and starts really coaching you a lot.

“I really like that because it gives you a chance to learn yourself.”

Coach Mike Kelly said King had settled in at the club under different, but ideal, circumstances.

“It’s been good, in some ways, for Mojave that he didn’t come in and have full team training,” he said.

“He’s gotten to do his screening with the physiotherapist and our strength and conditioning coach. He’s been able to go through a program and talk through that at the same time and then get on court in a more low-key way than if he just came in a preseason and jumped right into everything.”

Kelly said he was looking forward to getting a better understanding of the teenage shooting guard’s strengths in a professional setting.

“He’s very athletic, he shoots the ball well and he’s eager to learn,” he said.

“I’m really excited to see how he reacts to the physicality and how other guys react to him and his athleticism.”