After decommitments, Elias King explores his options
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Elias King’s recruitment hasn’t been the typical recruitment. Last December, the four-star small forward decided to commit to Georgia to play for Mark Fox and his staff. When Fox was fired in March, he backed off that decision and opened up his recruitment.
In May, he made a commitment to play for Xavier, as the Musketeers had previously been recruiting him and he had a relationship with assistant, Jonas Hayes, from his time at Georgia on Fox’s staff. But last month, he backed off that commitment for family reasons.
Since opening up a few weeks ago, he’s had a number of schools checking in on him. Tennessee and Alabama visited his school earlier this week. He says Georgia, Mississippi State, Seton Hall, South Carolina and Virginia Tech are the schools staying in contact most consistently. He took an unofficial visit to Georgia shortly after decommitting from Xavier.
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Georgia: “I like what coach (Tom) Crean does with his guys. He’s a basketball guy. I watched them work out when I went up there. It was great. I thought the intensity was great.”
Mississippi State: “They are a great program, too. They’ve been talking to me a lot, too. They are basketball minds and great people, too.”
South Carolina: “I really like their program. I really like their system and how they guard the ball. They have a close-knit team.”
Virginia Tech: “They have a whole bunch of seniors, so a lot of playing time is up for grabs. Coach Buzz Williams is a great basketball mind and lets his guys play. I’m also close with Landers Nolley up there.”
RIVALS’ REACTION:
There is a good chance King ends up playing in the SEC, with the way his recruitment is shaping up. Georgia has been the school getting the most buzz recently, and getting him on campus never hurts. One other school that will be a serious player here is Mississippi State, given assistant coach Korey McCray’s ties to the Peach State. Safest guess is he chooses between those two schools, although South Carolina should not be ruled out, especially if they get him on campus for a visit.