King In Lane-Filling Role
Tagged in: FIBA U19 World Championship, Junior Tall Blacks
When you see New Zealand Junior Tall Black Sam King, it’s easy to think rugby number eight before you think power forward.
Standing 2.01m (6ft 7in) and weighing in at 115kg, the Southern boy fills a large chunk of the lane, a big body the under-sized New Zealand team will need at the FIBA U19 World Championship, starting in eight days.
And the 18-year-old Southlander understands his role perfectly.
“I play power forward because I’m not tall enough to be a centre and not quick enough to be a small forward,” King frankly told team-mates during an introduction session in April.
In a team stocked with plenty of mobile and athletic big men, King’s value is likely to come in backing up 2.11m (6ft 11in) centre Rob Loe.
“I’ll probably end up defending the big players from the other team. I’ve got the weight advantage, I’ll be able to push up under them and keep them out of the lane. I’ll need to set good screens, just use my body really,” said King, who, despite his size, can still step out and hit a smooth jump-shot.
“Coach is talking about using a lot of rotations because of the style of game that we’re going to play. We’re going to be running a lot, getting up in peoples’ faces and we’ll need to be ready to go.
“I’ll probably see a mix of the faster, more athletic, players and the slower, more powerful, players, so that’s going to be a challenge for me.”
Growing up in Invercargill, the world’s southernmost city, King played rugby as a lock/number eight – he was a Southland U16 rep – and had aspirations to play for the Stags, Southland’s senior team.
But after getting introduced to basketball by his intermediate school principal, rugby started to take a back seat.
“I went on the Koru Tour and it’s just gone from there,” said King, who, yes, still rolls his Rs, despite moving from the province with his family five years ago.
“I like the physicality and the fast-paced nature of basketball. I like that mix. People say basketball is a non-contact sport but that’s bull. Rugby is really physical but it’s just more constant running, slowly.”
After a year in Timaru, King went on to attend Otago Boys High, where he linked with Junior Tall Blacks team-mates Tom Rowe and Morgan Nathan, helping the Dunedin school to back-to-back national quarterfinals appearances and earning tournament team selection in 2007.
King made his first New Zealand age-group team in 2006 with U16 selection but had to wait until last year’s tour to Germany and the Albert Schweitzer Tournament to make his JTBs debut. He has three national tournament team selections to his name, the last coming at U19 level 12 months ago.
Along with Loe, King is the other JTB still at high school, attending Rangitoto College on Auckland’s North Shore while part of the Breakers Academy before the team’s residential programme in Wellington started three weeks ago.
“It’s pretty disruptive but you’ve just got to prioritise things. Playing at an U19 world championship is a chance in a lifetime, so it has taken priority over school this year. I’ll catch up afterwards.”
Right now, King has a lane to fill.
