another poll from NC

[bob]

Posted on Sun, Mar. 28, 2004_krdDartInc++;document.write('');
King named AP men's prep player of year
JAY COHEN

Associated Press



RALEIGH, N.C. - When Josh King isn't playing basketball, he's watching it on television. When he's not doing that, he's officiating an over-30 basketball league for the Archdale Parks & Recreation Department.

"They fuss a lot," King said. "They're cool with me. They know I'm young and they know who I am. They get on the other guy."

Plenty of people know who King is after this season. After leading Trinity to a state championship, the senior was named The Associated Press men's basketball player of the year Sunday.

The Trinity star earned nine of 20 votes from a statewide panel of sportswriters. South Iredell's Michael Ellis was second with five votes.

King averaged 27 points per game and led the Bulldogs to a 73-64 win against Greensboro Dudley for their first Class 3-A N.C. High School Athletic Association men's championship.

"I couldn't think of a better way to go out than winning the state championship," said King, who had 21 points in the final. "That was one of our main goals. That's what we set our sights on in October on the first day of practice, and that's what we worked on every day."

The state championship was a fitting end to a stellar career for the 5-foot-11 guard, who is looking at East Carolina, George Mason, High Point, North Carolina-Greensboro and Appalachian State for college.

The school that lands King will get a player who scored 2,577 points in high school, good for third on the NCHSAA's all-time list. He also set a state record with 164 3-pointers this season, and is the state's all-time leader in 3s in a game and career.

"He works hard to get open. He's not a guy that comes down and takes wild shots," said Trinity coach Tim Kelly, the AP men's coach of the year. "He's such a good shooter that we got to where we almost expected it to go in. I think he did. He shoots with that much confidence."

It's a jump shot that he has worked on practically all of his life. A native of Hammond, Ind., King, 18, moved to North Carolina when he was 7. He said he has been playing on basketball teams since he was in the second grade.

"It's my first love," King said. "I played all of the sports until eighth grade, but once I hit high school I just wanted to be the best basketball player I could be."

That endeavor takes him to a court at all times of the day. King's father, Terry, built a full court in the backyard for him, his two younger brothers and sister. Terry King often gets roped into rebounding for Josh, but always get worn out and goes inside before his son is finished.

"Every day he works at it," Terry King said.

That work ethic also has helped Josh King hit 89 percent of his free throws.

King is a teammate's dream, a ticket to winning games. But he hasn't forgotten everything his Bulldog teammates did for him this season.

"I got a lot of help from my teammates this year, they set me up," King said. "The offense runs through me, but they did a great job of getting me the ball and helping me get open."

Once he gets open, look out.

VOTING

The 2004 North Carolina men's high school basketball player of the year, as selected by 20 members of The Associated Press (with school, number of votes and notable statistics):

Josh King, Trinity (9)

Michael Ellis, South Iredell (5)

Kentwan Balmer, Weldon (3)

Jamal Shuler, Jacksonville (2)

Anthony Morrow, Charlotte Latin (1)

 
I don't know if this ranking carries more weight than the Gatorade player of the year, but I don't see any mention of Roy Bright on this one - the Gatorade one is based on character and academics as well as basketball skill, so maybe Roy is less talented but a welcome addition to the team based on his character and academics - a welcome change from some recruits in the past who had the opposite mix.
 




---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway - Enter today