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The 6’9” transfer forward, Tre King, out of Lexington and playing three years at Eastern Kentucky University has committed to Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas.
— atg.treking (@AtgTreking) April 12, 2021
Never releasing a true “final four” list of choices, King relayed to Jaime Shaw of Rivals that “Georgetown, Xavier, Virginia Tech and Marquette” were recruiting him the hardest. King had also reportedly heard from Vanderbilt, Georgia, East Carolina, Pittsburgh, and South Alabama.
Tre King stands 6-foot-9, 225-lbs. and averaged 14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds & 1.2 blocks at Eastern Kentucky this season
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) April 5, 2021
With his production, King’s name made a stir when he hit the portal, I caught up with him to see where things stand
FULL Story https://t.co/BXaEiShNJ9 pic.twitter.com/32cb35nNOv
The 6-9, 220-pound King averaged nearly 15 points and over 6 rebounds as a junior per game last year. Playing for Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference, he is considered a bit under the radar. Still, as a sophomore, King averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds.
not some fly by night kid hopping up a level either. Captain at Hargrave, started 18 games as a FR at EKU, eventually a 1st Team OVC guy as a JR
— Nolan (@NationWideNolan) April 12, 2021
For instance, Tre King did play a game against Xavier last November, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the 96-99 overtime loss to the BIG EAST team early in the season.
"Eastern Kentucky vs Xavier Highlights 2020 College Basketball Highlights" https://t.co/5tj2k6x0PF
— Philadelphia Hoyas (@PhillyHoyas) April 12, 2021
At the end of the season, EKUSports wrote of King when he was awarded All-OVC and “all-district” by the NABC:
King earned first team All-OVC honors this season after ranking ninth in the conference in scoring (14.9 points-per-game) and seventh in rebounding (6.2 rebounds-per-game). He also ranked in the top-15 in the league in steals (ninth / 1.5 steals-per-game), blocks (fifth / 1.2 blocks-per-game) and field goal percentage (15th / 49.1%).
He finished the regular season as one of only two players in the country with more than 40 steals and more than 30 blocks.
The junior had one of his most impressive performances of the season in an overtime loss at Xavier in early December...
He was voted OVC Player of the Week three times during the year.
The Lexington native finished the season 27 points shy of 1,000 for this career.
King might play forward or small-ball center. Foul statistics for King do jump out. King fouled out in 8 games last season and had 4 fouls in seven games. Like Chudier Bile last year, figuring out how to stay on floor could be the biggest transition.
| Rk | Date | School | Opponent | Type | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020-11-25 | Eastern Kentucky | N | North Florida | REG | W | 1 | 29 | 6 | 18 | .333 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | 2020-11-27 | Eastern Kentucky | N | Charleston Southern | REG | W | 1 | 31 | 7 | 13 | .538 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 15 | |
| 3 | 2020-11-30 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Xavier | REG | L | 1 | 40 | 11 | 21 | .524 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 25 | |
| 4 | 2020-12-02 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | USC Upstate | REG | W | 1 | 29 | 6 | 12 | .500 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 5 | 6 | .833 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 17 |
| 5 | 2020-12-07 | Eastern Kentucky | Morehead State | REG | W | 1 | 27 | 6 | 9 | .667 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | |
| 6 | 2020-12-12 | Eastern Kentucky | Transylvania | REG | W | 1 | 21 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 2020-12-14 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Morehead State | REG | L | 1 | 31 | 6 | 13 | .462 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 17 |
| 8 | 2020-12-17 | Eastern Kentucky | Campbellsville | REG | W | 1 | 27 | 12 | 18 | .667 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 24 | ||
| 9 | 2020-12-22 | Eastern Kentucky | High Point | REG | W | 1 | 24 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .714 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 2020-12-30 | Eastern Kentucky | Eastern Illinois | REG | W | 0 | 29 | 9 | 17 | .529 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 4 | 7 | .571 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | |
| 11 | 2021-01-02 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Austin Peay | REG | W | 1 | 35 | 5 | 8 | .625 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | 4 | .500 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| 12 | 2021-01-07 | Eastern Kentucky | Jacksonville State | REG | W | 1 | 34 | 8 | 19 | .421 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 13 | 2021-01-09 | Eastern Kentucky | Tennessee Tech | REG | W | 1 | 27 | 13 | 23 | .565 | 2 | 5 | .400 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 29 | |
| 14 | 2021-01-16 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Eastern Illinois | REG | W | 1 | 34 | 9 | 17 | .529 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 3 | 5 | .600 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| 15 | 2021-02-02 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Jacksonville State | REG | W | 1 | 26 | 3 | 14 | .214 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
| 16 | 2021-02-04 | Eastern Kentucky | Austin Peay | REG | L | 1 | 18 | 4 | 8 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | ||
| 17 | 2021-02-06 | Eastern Kentucky | Murray State | REG | L | 1 | 34 | 7 | 18 | .389 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 3 | 4 | .750 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 17 | |
| 18 | 2021-02-08 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | SIU-Edwardsville | REG | W | 1 | 30 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 8 | 10 | .800 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 19 | 2021-02-11 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Belmont | REG | L | 1 | 15 | 4 | 11 | .364 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | |
| 20 | 2021-02-13 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Tennessee State | REG | W | 1 | 28 | 5 | 10 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | |
| 21 | 2021-02-15 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Tennessee Tech | REG | W | 1 | 23 | 5 | 9 | .556 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 22 | 2021-02-18 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | UT-Martin | REG | W | 1 | 29 | 10 | 13 | .769 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | .667 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 24 | |
| 23 | 2021-02-20 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Southeast Missouri State | REG | L | 1 | 22 | 2 | 9 | .222 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | |
| 24 | 2021-02-22 | Eastern Kentucky | @ | Southeast Missouri State | REG | W | 1 | 24 | 6 | 10 | .600 | 2 | 3 | .667 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 25 | 2021-02-25 | Eastern Kentucky | Belmont | REG | W | 1 | 24 | 7 | 11 | .636 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 26 | 2021-02-27 | Eastern Kentucky | Tennessee State | REG | W | 1 | 32 | 4 | 9 | .444 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| 27 | 2021-03-04 | Eastern Kentucky | N | Austin Peay | CTOURN | W | 1 | 33 | 6 | 11 | .545 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 4 | 5 | .800 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| 28 | 2021-03-05 | Eastern Kentucky | N | Morehead State | CTOURN | L | 1 | 22 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 4 | .250 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 28 Games | 27 | 778 | 170 | 346 | .491 | 19 | 56 | .339 | 57 | 84 | .679 | 57 | 117 | 174 | 27 | 41 | 34 | 56 | 97 | 416 |
Our respected colleagues at Anonymous Eagle reported on Tre King last week as a potential transfer target:
... King averaged 14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game, but he also chipped in 1.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game as well. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely interested in a guy who at least as the potential to assemble the near-mythical 5-by-5 stat line in a game.
King averaged 27.8 minutes per game for EKU this past season, so there is a little bit of potential for growth there. He had a teeny bit of a foul problem with 4.9 per 40 minutes, but that was a career low while posting a career high in minutes per game...
The most interesting part about King’s game might be his three-point shooting. After averaging less than an attempt per game in his first two seasons while shooting just 18%, he made a huge step forward this past year. Two attempts from long range per game on the nose out of his 12.5 overall attempts per game, and King hit 33.9% of them. That’s basically exactly what you want from a guy who is playing the 4 or the 5 for you: Not relying on it, but exactly threatening enough that defense have to take him seriously.
Here are some highlight videos:
Tre King appears to be using his fourth year of eligibility after playing three seasons with EKU. The presumption is that, with any rising senior transferring, the new team would have to use a scholarship that would count to the limit of 13. He would potentially have a bonus year of eligibility in 2022-23.
As for Ewing’s roster, most fans believe that Georgetown is currently at 13 scholarships with the loss of Qudus Wahab and the presumption that Donald Carey is staying (and still counting as his fourth year of playing). Unfortunately, unless some loopholes emerge, this may indicate that someone has to transfer out or decommit. Time will tell.
While Georgetown has been a bit too quiet in the transfer portal free agency frenzy for some fans’ likings, King represents a solid, measured addition that appears not likely to disrupt chemistry and fill a gap at power forward.
Welcome to the Hilltop, Tre! HOYA SAXA!