Tigers’ King shows tenacity as freshman
The game was well out of hand, but University of Memphis freshman swingman Nick King wanted back in.
Oklahoma State’s lead had grown to more than 30 points late in the second half of its 101-80 win over Memphis last Tuesday, and there was King, practically begging coach Josh Pastner from the bench to put
him back in.
“From being in a winning program all your years, you’ve just got a winning mentality. You don’t like to lose. You don’t like to see things go bad,” King said. “So I gotta kind of control that because I kind of get mad. I get mad at myself. I just gotta control my attitude and get better.”
While that’s typical of most freshman, especially those who have grown accustomed to being as depended upon as King was at East High, it’s arguable that the reserve forward has been the Tigers’ best player this season.
He’s certainly been their most productive, ranking first on the team in scoring (18 points per game) and tied for second in rebounding (6.5 rpg) coming off a 23-point, eight-rebound performance against the Cowboys.
Coach Josh Pastner said this week King’s production has likely earned him more playing time with No. 11-ranked Memphis (1-1) looking to get the bad taste of Tuesday’s blowout loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State out of its mouth Saturday against Nicholls State (0-3) at FedExForum.
“If he keeps producing like that, it’s hard to take him off the floor because of the energy he’s bringing,” Pastner said. “The big thing with Nick is he’s gotta guard better. He’s gotta really lock in defensively.”
Besides being t he team’s scoring leader, King also leads the Tigers in offensive rebounds Coaches: Memphis, Josh Pastner (107-35 at school and overall); Nicholls State, J.P. Piper (97-170 at school and overall) Series: Memphis leads 1-0 Memphis: Sr. G Joe Jackson (6-1, 174, 11 ppg, 3.5 apg), Sr. G Geron Johnson (6-3, 203, 6.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Sr. G Chris Crawford (6-4, 222, 8.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Fr. F Austin Nichols (6-8, 212, 6.5 ppg, 4 rpg), So. F Shaq Goodwin (6-9, 242, 11.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg). Nicholls State: Jr. G Shane Rillieux (6-2, 190, 7 ppg, 2 rpg), Sr. G Dantrell Thomas (6-2, 200, 16.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Sr. G Jeremy Smith (6-3, 175, 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg), So. G T. J. Carpenter (6-4, 190, 8.7 ppg, 1 rpg), So. F JaMarkus Horace (6-7, 180, 7 ppg, 5.3 rpg). The Tigers have shot just 23.1 percent from 3-point range over their first two games, with Jackson, Johnson and fellow senior guard Michael Dixon a combined 1 of 13 from beyond the arc. ... Memphis’ bench has scored just 11 fewer points (82) than its starters (93). ... Nicholls State was picked this preseason to finish eighth in the 14-team Southland Conference by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. ... The Colonels have been outrebounded by an average of nearly eight per game (3830.3). ... Jackson’s zero-assist effort against Oklahoma State snapped a streak of 57 consecutive games in which he had at least one assist. Dixon also went without an assist in Tuesday’s road loss to the Cowboys, snapping his streak of 20 straight games. Memphis has as many turnovers (35) as it does assists (35). ... The Tigers’ 163 wins at FedExForum since the 2004- 05 season are the most home wins in college basketball over that span. Ohio State is second with 155 since 2004- 05, followed by Syracuse (153), Kansas (152) and Louisville (150). (eight), shooting percentage (61.9), free throws (nine) and free-throw attempts (13) — all while having played just 15 minutes per contest, eighthmost on the team.
His 36 points in his first two collegiate games are the fourth-highest scoring output by a Memphis freshman in his first two games since 2000- 01, behind Dajuan Wagner (50), Tyreke Evans (38) and Derrick Rose (38).
King regularly demonstrated in preseason practice that he’s capable of being one of the Tigers’ top rebounders. But he’s also been extremely efficient offensively, with Pastner having instructed the versatile 6-7 forward to focus on attacking the rim rather than looking for his perimeter shot.
Senior point guard Joe Jackson said he hasn’t been surprised by King’s production, which Jackson expects to increase as King grows more comfortable with the college game and what’s expected of him.
“We all know Nick is a good player. He’s a top talent coming into (college). So he really didn’t do anything that I didn’t think he could do,” Jackson said. “He’s been helping us, even in preseason and practice (with his) rebounding and stuff.
“I expect big things from him. He works hard. He works on his weaknesses every day. Just seeing that in a freshman, it shows a lot about his character. He wants to get better and he’s got a great work ethic. I know when he hits stride he’s going to do pretty good because he works hard.”
Having practiced behind closed doors since Thursday, King and the Tigers have an opportunity to get back on track Saturday against a winless Colonels squad before heading to Orlando, Fla., next week for the eightteam Old Spice Classic, which also features Oklahoma State.
Nicholls is wrapping up a four-game road trip to start the season that’s consisted of double-digit losses to Auburn (76-54), North Texas (92-78) and Troy (77- 62).
“(Tuesday’s loss) wasn’t any fun, but we can’t sit and dwell on it. We gotta move on. We gotta get better,” Pastner said. “We can’t sit here and bury our heads. We gotta go play. We gotta lot of season left. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”