Colorado University Athletics
Buffs' King Earns Pac-12 'Most Improved' Honor
March 07, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When the season began, almost nobody outside the Colorado basketball program knew what to expect from sophomore George King.
King, after all, was coming off a redshirt year after playing as a true freshman, and his numbers from that first season were by no means special: 1.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and roughly 5 minutes per game in 27 appearances.
But after spending a year in the shadows of the redshirt world, it didn't take King long to find the spotlight when he returned to the floor. He opened the season with a 14-point, six-rebound effort in an opening loss to Iowa State, then followed it up with 27 points and five rebounds in a win at Auburn.
That was enough to serve notice to CU fans — and the Pac-12 — that King would be a force for the Buffs this year. He finished the regular season averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, led the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting percentage (63 for 139, .453), and proved to be an important cog in the Buffs' 21-10 finish, a mark that tied the CU record for most regular season victories.
Those numbers were enough to earn him recognition as the Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year, an honor announced Monday evening by the conference. It is the second player of the year honor won by a Buff in the Pac-12, as CU's Andre Roberson was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
Redshirt years after playing as a true freshman are rare. If it is deemed that players need a year of “seasoning” before playing, they almost always sit out their freshman seasons.
King, though, agreed with CU coaches when they approached him about sitting out his second season. The results are hard to argue with.
“It feels good,” King said Monday afternoon when learning of the honor. “I feel like I worked towards it — but it's just an individual achievement. We're out here to earn a lot more than individual things. It's the team goals that we still have left that are important.”
The Buffs open play in the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday in a 3:40 p.m. game vs. Washington State.
King's numbers have been outstanding this year. Along with recording the first double-double of his career — 10 points and 10 rebounds in a CU win over Washington — King has 22 double-figure scoring games this year, with six of those 20 points or more. His biggest basket thus far was a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that forced a second overtime against Washington State (the Buffs won in two OTs), and he ended up sixth in the league in 3-point baskets made.
King admits he wasn't a fan of the idea of redshirting when coach Tad Boyle first approached him with the possibility. As is the case with most players — particularly one who has already played for a season — King saw it as a statement that he wasn't good enough.
“I was ready to come out and prove I was a good player my sophomore year,” King said. “When coach first talked about the redshirt thing, I wasn't hearing it. … He came to me right before the season and I had to sit on it a little bit. I had to talk to my family, my high school coach.
“But after discussing it, I accepted it and embraced it. I decided I would use it to the best of my ability, and obviously it worked out well.”
King also hopes his story helps send a message to other players who might be facing a similar situation.
“I hope for the kids out there who are thinking they might have to redshirt, wondering if they should do it, maybe they'll hear my story and hopefully that will help influence them,” King said. “You have to look at the big picture and not what's just right in front of you.”
Boyle has always been a proponent of redshirting in the proper circumstances. CU junior Wesley Gordon, who arrived in the same recruiting class as Josh Scott, Xavier Talton and Eli Stalzer, sat out his first year with the Buffs.
“I'm a firm believer in redshirting,” Boyle said. “To think that next year would be George's last year would be a disappointment for me, and for him, too.”
Now, King still has two years of eligibility remaining.
“Two years can go by fast,” King said. “It seems like a long time, but I've been here three years and it seems like I just started. I still have some things I'm disappointed with in my game that I have to improve. I know there are things I can do a lot better. It just means I have two more years to work on those things.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
