King finally trusts his repaired knee
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Wisconsin’s Kobe King flashed a mischievous grin and fessed up.
Whenever reporters inquired last season about the status of his surgically repaired left knee, King offered glowing reports that didn’t jibe with reality. In short, King fibbed.
“I never really trusted it,” the redshirt sophomore guard acknowledged, “especially jumping off of it or cutting off of it, even falling down on it.
“It is just a process. It takes time. You can’t really rush it.”
King is in a rush to show he is completely healthy and has no issues with the knee, which he injured after playing in only 10 games in 2017-18.
He is set to make just his second college start when UW opens the season against No. 20 Saint Mary’s at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Sanford Pentagon. The game can be seen on ESPNU.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound King has been in attack mode the entire preseason. He got to the free throw line 15 times and led UW in scoring with 21 points in UW’s closed scrimmage against Iowa State and contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the 82-53 exhibition victory over UWLa Crosse Friday night at the Kohl Center.
King attempted only 1 three-pointer and instead attacked in transition, posted up smaller defenders and finished through contact.
He displayed such aggressive play in short spurts last season when he averaged 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds and 19 minutes per game.
A 14-point performance against
Oklahoma, thanks to 5-for-8 shooting, was followed by a five-point effort against Virginia.
King played a key role in UW’s 64-54 victory over then-No. 2 and unbeaten Michigan on Jan. 19. He hit a critical three-pointer and finished with six points and five rebounds in a seasonhigh 31 minutes.
He was more tentative over the next five games and combined for four points and eight rebounds. Whenever head coach Greg Gard thought King wasn’t being aggressive, he trimmed his minutes.
“If you look at film of games from last year you don’t ever see me jumping off just my left leg,” King said. “It’s always off of two feet.
“Over the summer, being able to work on it and get more rest, I got all that confidence back.”
That confidence was obvious to anyone who watched practice.
“He is quick and he can get downhill,” redshirt junior forward Aleem Ford said, “and not a lot of guys can stay in front of him. And he is strong.”
Gard, who was an assistant under Bo Ryan when he began recruiting King, isn’t surprised to see the growth spurt.
“It’s good to see that he is confident in it,” he said. “He has had the whole offseason to prepare, where a year ago he didn’t. He sat out most of the spring and in the summer was very limited.” Not this past off-season. “From April on he has been in full preparation mode for this coming season,” Gard said. “Also, the opportunity is there, with Khalil (Iverson) graduating.
“Kobe has worked. Kobe has improved his game, improved his body. Good to see him stepping up. He has had a good off-season, a good preseason and he is ready for his opportunity.”