Louisville basketball: V.J. King to get a chance with the New York Knicks

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft, former Louisville basketball wing V.J. King will get a chance at the NBA.

Chris Mack’s system was supposed to be a hand-in-glove fit for Louisville basketball wing V.J King. At 6’6″ 215-pounds, the junior former McDonald’s All-American looked on paper like he was going to finally have his breakthrough.

After an up and down sophomore season playing under David Padgett, Chris Mack was able to convince V.J. King, a player who’s performance still hadn’t matched his expectations and hype, to stay for his junior season.

It wasn’t hard to see why King would want to.

Mack had a history of coaching up wings and getting them ready to play at the next level. Justin Coleman, Jordan Crawford, Trevon Blueitt, and JP Macura come to mind quickly – none of which had the natural skills and abilities.

Unfortunately, in 2018-19, King wasn’t ever able to find his rhythm playing for his third coach in three years. After starting a handful of games and struggling, then struggling in a bench role, King eventually fell out of Chris Mack’s rotation and looked like a lost cause. But a late come to Jesus moment with Mack led to King getting a second chance as an energy guy down the stretch of the season, a role he thrived in.

Many believed that due to the incoming six freshman and a need for a scholarship point guard that King would soon be on his way out as a graduate transfer – however, no one saw him entering the NBA Draft.

Surprisingly enough teams showed interest in King as he worked out with the Philadelphia 76ers during the draft process and after going undrafted, ultimately ended up signing with the New York Knicks according to NBA reporter Shams Charnia.

While that deal won’t guarantee him anything other than a chance to compete in next month’s NBA Summer League, it will give a chance exactly what we knew he needed; a fresh start.

In a new city, a new team, and a new chance to become the player we all knew he could be, King will go to work with the Knicks hoping to prove that he still is the same player who was named a McDonald’s All-American and five-star high school recruit.

The talent is there and if King can overcome the mental fog that he couldn’t seem to shake during his time at Louisville, there’s a chance he could be an attractive G-League development prospect or even a Two-Way player.

With nice height and length, a decent ability to score around the rim, and his tenacious rebounding King could be a surprise that no one in New York saw coming. Throughout his career King would make plays, whether shooting the ball from deep (3J King) or around the rim that made you wonder what was holding him back. No matter how bad things got this season for King, he never pouted. He displayed a great work ethic and was always an incredible teammate who was clearly loved by his peers.

We saw glimpses of a dominant VJ King (only at times, however) and maybe with a chance of making an NBA roster and earning big-time money on the line, King will rise to the occasion like he’s more than capable of doing. All VJ needs is a chance, and that’s exactly what he’ll get with the New York Knicks.