Bernard King (Texas A&M Aggies)
Encyclopedia
Victor Bernard King, Jr. (born July 24, 1981) is an American
former star college basketball
guard for Texas A&M University
who has played in the NBA Development League and is currently playing for APOEL
.
King holds numerous Big 12 Conference and Texas A&M records. King left A&M as the top scorer in Big 12 conference history, as well as third in the league for all-time career assists. He led the Aggies in scoring and assists in all four of his seasons, and ranks among Texas A&M's all-time leaders in points (first), three-point field goals made (first), and assists (second).
, the son of Victor King, a former LSU
basketball player and second round NBA draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers
from Newellton, LA] and Vernita King. From the time young Bernard learned to walk, he would accompany his father to the gym, and began to express an interest in playing with the basketball too.
When he was eight, King's parents brought him to basketball camps run by LA Tech
and the Dallas Mavericks
. Organizers of those camps realized quickly that King played at a much higher level than others in his age group, and recommended that he instead play in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). By the time he was in eighth grade, King was playing alongside high school juniors and seniors. When given the opportunity to play in place of a guard who had fouled out, King sank three three-pointers in a row, helping his team to win the game. As a fourteen-year-old, he played on an AAU team for seventeen-year-olds, scoring six three-pointers in one game in the state playoffs before helping the team to win a national championship.
King played with the varsity all four years of his career at Gibsland Coleman High School, helping them to a 143-34 record in that time period. In his career, he accumulated 4,018 points, more than 1000 rebounds, and 1348 assists. In his senior year, King averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 5.4 steals, and 3.7 blocks, leading the team to the state championship, the school's first since 1984. He earned 1998 AAU All-America honors, and was named Louisiana Mr. Basketball
by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Despite the time involved in maintaining his dual basketball careers, King made sure to devote enough time to his academic career, graduating from high school with a 3.8 GPA.
Bob Gibbons named King the 33rd best prospect in the country, and almost every major recruiting service ranked him as one of the top 75 prospects. Although he was recruited by Purdue University
, University of Minnesota
, Seton Hall, LSU
, University of Wyoming
, and Tulane University
, King chose to attend Texas A&M University to play under coach Melvin Watkins
and attempt to turn around the program.<
Freshman of the Year by the Associated Press. Against Colorado, he had a career-high 34 points, while in a game versus Nebraska, he scored 30 points and had ten rebounds. After scoring 17 points with nine rebounds in the A&M upset of Oklahoma State, King wa named the ESPN.com National Freshman of the Week.
The following year, King, who started 29 of 30 games, including all 16 in conference play, was named to the NABC Second-Team All-District. He averaged 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, joining Duke's Jason Williams and Monmouth's Rahsaan Johnson as the only Division 1 players during the 2000-01 season to achieve at least 18 points and 4.6 assists per game. King scored a season-high 31 points against Missouri
, and versus Lamar University
tied the school record for three-point field goals made, completing 8 of his 11 attempts, and scoring a total of 30 points in the game. In his team's two games against archrival Texas
, King recorded 23 points and 21 points. King led the team in assists and steals (1.4).
In his junior season, King became the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top ten in both scoring (fifth) and assists (sixth), and was only the fourth player in league history to record a triple-double after a 20 point, 10 rebound, ten assist performance against Texas Tech
. He almost managed a second triple-double against Long Beach State University, but had to be satisfied with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and only 9 assists. For the season, King averaged 17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
King played in 30 of the team's 31 games, missing the contest with Miami
after suffering a concussion. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors after scoring 30points, with seven assists and six rebounds, against then No-24 Texas.
In his senior year, King averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, earning him a second team All-Big 12 honor. He posted a season-high 29 points and seven assists against Missouri
, with 27 points and 7 assists against Oklahoma State.
King left A&M as the top scorer in Big 12 conference history, as well as third in the league for all-time career assists. He led the Aggies in scoring and assists in all four of his season, and ranks among Texas A&M's all-time leaders in points (first), three-point field goals made (first), and assists (second).
in Turkey
, averaging 12.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in the nine games he played. In the 2004 Development-League Draft, King was selected as the 28th pick overall, chosen by Huntsville in the 5th round. After playing twenty-give games with the Huntsville Flight
, averaging a team-high 18.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, King finished the season in the French ProA League, playing for ASVEL and averaging 12.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.
He signed with Bnei HaSharon
on April 2006 as a replacement for Adam Harrington, but suffered a season ending injury after playing just one game
On October 2007 King signed with Strasbourg IG.
On 18 January 2008, King signed with Mersin BŞB. S.K. but later moved to BK Ventspils
where he won the Latvian Championship and in the final deciding game seven scored 20 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds. For the 2009-10 season King signed for Cypriot
club APOEL
and remains to be one of the only European players to hold career averages over 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former star college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
guard for Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
who has played in the NBA Development League and is currently playing for APOEL
APOEL B.C.
APOEL is a professional basketball team from Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is one of the most successful basketball clubs in Cyprus by winning 10 Championships, 11 Cups and 10 Supercups. APOEL B.C. is part of the APOEL multisport club.-History:...
.
King holds numerous Big 12 Conference and Texas A&M records. King left A&M as the top scorer in Big 12 conference history, as well as third in the league for all-time career assists. He led the Aggies in scoring and assists in all four of his seasons, and ranks among Texas A&M's all-time leaders in points (first), three-point field goals made (first), and assists (second).
Early years
Bernard King was born in Gibsland, LouisianaGibsland, Louisiana
Gibsland is a town in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. Conveniently near Interstate 20 and less than an hour from both Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana, Gibsland offers small town living with access to urban amenities...
, the son of Victor King, a former LSU
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
basketball player and second round NBA draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
from Newellton, LA] and Vernita King. From the time young Bernard learned to walk, he would accompany his father to the gym, and began to express an interest in playing with the basketball too.
When he was eight, King's parents brought him to basketball camps run by LA Tech
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
and the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
. Organizers of those camps realized quickly that King played at a much higher level than others in his age group, and recommended that he instead play in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). By the time he was in eighth grade, King was playing alongside high school juniors and seniors. When given the opportunity to play in place of a guard who had fouled out, King sank three three-pointers in a row, helping his team to win the game. As a fourteen-year-old, he played on an AAU team for seventeen-year-olds, scoring six three-pointers in one game in the state playoffs before helping the team to win a national championship.
King played with the varsity all four years of his career at Gibsland Coleman High School, helping them to a 143-34 record in that time period. In his career, he accumulated 4,018 points, more than 1000 rebounds, and 1348 assists. In his senior year, King averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 5.4 steals, and 3.7 blocks, leading the team to the state championship, the school's first since 1984. He earned 1998 AAU All-America honors, and was named Louisiana Mr. Basketball
Louisiana Mr. Basketball Award
Each year the Louisiana Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the United States....
by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Despite the time involved in maintaining his dual basketball careers, King made sure to devote enough time to his academic career, graduating from high school with a 3.8 GPA.
Bob Gibbons named King the 33rd best prospect in the country, and almost every major recruiting service ranked him as one of the top 75 prospects. Although he was recruited by Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
, University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, Seton Hall, LSU
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
, University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
, and Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
, King chose to attend Texas A&M University to play under coach Melvin Watkins
Melvin Watkins
Melvin Lenzo Watkins is an American college basketball coach and former player. He is an assistant coach under Mike Anderson at the University of Arkansas. He has also been the associate head coach at the University of Missouri...
and attempt to turn around the program.<
College career
As a freshman at Texas A&M, King started in all 28 games and averaged 16.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He led the Aggies in scoring, assists, blocks (0.6), and three-point field goals (79), and ranked second on the team in rebounding, steals (1.6), free-throw percentage (.702) and three-point percentage (.346). After setting a Big 12 freshman season record for scoring average and tying the Big 12 record for three-pointers, he was named the Big 12Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Freshman of the Year by the Associated Press. Against Colorado, he had a career-high 34 points, while in a game versus Nebraska, he scored 30 points and had ten rebounds. After scoring 17 points with nine rebounds in the A&M upset of Oklahoma State, King wa named the ESPN.com National Freshman of the Week.
The following year, King, who started 29 of 30 games, including all 16 in conference play, was named to the NABC Second-Team All-District. He averaged 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, joining Duke's Jason Williams and Monmouth's Rahsaan Johnson as the only Division 1 players during the 2000-01 season to achieve at least 18 points and 4.6 assists per game. King scored a season-high 31 points against Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, and versus Lamar University
Lamar University
Lamar University, often referred to as Lamar or LU, is a comprehensive coeducational public research university located in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar confers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and is classified as a Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Commission on Higher...
tied the school record for three-point field goals made, completing 8 of his 11 attempts, and scoring a total of 30 points in the game. In his team's two games against archrival Texas
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, King recorded 23 points and 21 points. King led the team in assists and steals (1.4).
In his junior season, King became the only player in the Big 12 to rank in the top ten in both scoring (fifth) and assists (sixth), and was only the fourth player in league history to record a triple-double after a 20 point, 10 rebound, ten assist performance against Texas Tech
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
. He almost managed a second triple-double against Long Beach State University, but had to be satisfied with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and only 9 assists. For the season, King averaged 17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
King played in 30 of the team's 31 games, missing the contest with Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
after suffering a concussion. He earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors after scoring 30points, with seven assists and six rebounds, against then No-24 Texas.
In his senior year, King averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, earning him a second team All-Big 12 honor. He posted a season-high 29 points and seven assists against Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, with 27 points and 7 assists against Oklahoma State.
King left A&M as the top scorer in Big 12 conference history, as well as third in the league for all-time career assists. He led the Aggies in scoring and assists in all four of his season, and ranks among Texas A&M's all-time leaders in points (first), three-point field goals made (first), and assists (second).
Professional career
In 2003-2004, King played for FenerbahçeFenerbahçe Ülker
Fenerbahçe Ülker is the professional men's basketball department of Fenerbahçe S.K., a major multisport club based in Istanbul, Turkey. The department has been sponsored by the Ülker since 2006. In 2006 Fenerbahçe S.K...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, averaging 12.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in the nine games he played. In the 2004 Development-League Draft, King was selected as the 28th pick overall, chosen by Huntsville in the 5th round. After playing twenty-give games with the Huntsville Flight
Huntsville Flight
The Huntsville Flight was a National Basketball Development League team based in Huntsville, Alabama. Playing their home games at the Von Braun Center, the Flight was a charter franchise for the 2001-02 season but folded after the 2004-05 season...
, averaging a team-high 18.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, King finished the season in the French ProA League, playing for ASVEL and averaging 12.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.
He signed with Bnei HaSharon
Bnei HaSharon
Bnei HaSharon/Herzliya is a professional basketball club based in Herzliya, in central Israel. The club currently plays in Ligat HaAl, the top division of Israeli basketball.The club was created by the merge of Maccabi Ra'anana and Bnei Herzliya in 2002...
on April 2006 as a replacement for Adam Harrington, but suffered a season ending injury after playing just one game
On October 2007 King signed with Strasbourg IG.
On 18 January 2008, King signed with Mersin BŞB. S.K. but later moved to BK Ventspils
BK Ventspils
BK Ventspils is a professional basketball club that is located in Ventspils, Latvia. The club competes in the Latvian Basketball League and the Baltic Basketball League .-History:...
where he won the Latvian Championship and in the final deciding game seven scored 20 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds. For the 2009-10 season King signed for Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
club APOEL
APOEL B.C.
APOEL is a professional basketball team from Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is one of the most successful basketball clubs in Cyprus by winning 10 Championships, 11 Cups and 10 Supercups. APOEL B.C. is part of the APOEL multisport club.-History:...
and remains to be one of the only European players to hold career averages over 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.