Eastview's Joey King Commits to Drake for College Basketball

Joey King can check one thing off his summer to-do list.

The 6-foot-8 rising senior and standout forward on ’s basketball team has committed to play basketball at Drake University after he graduates high school.

King, one of the state’s top players in the class of 2012, helped lead the Lightning to a 22-5 mark and a South Suburban Conference title this past winter. He averaged a team-best 17.6 points per game and scored in double figures in 24 of 27 games, with a season-best 36 points versus Eagan, his former school.

King said Drake had a feel similar to the Minnesota Southside AAU program with which he’s had a strong spring and summer; King’s comfort level with the school made his decision easy.

“It was just like Southside,” King said. “They took me when I was not very good at all and they just believed in me, so I believed in Southside. They brought me to where I am and now [it’s the same] with Drake.”

King received interest from several schools, including Santa Clara; Drake only more recently began recruiting King, but he noticed the attention the staff paid him at a recent team camp. He could have waited until the end of the July recruiting period for new scholarship offers, but decided to end his recruitment.

“Before I made my decision to go to Drake, I was considering going all the way through July and seeing what happens, but I found the best fit for me already, so why wait?” he said.

He said a weight has been lifted from his shoulders after making his college choice.

“Once I started talking to Drake, it was an easy decision,” said King. “Now, there’s not ‘Oh, my gosh, this coach is here.’ I can relax a lot more.”

Another plus for King was that Drake doesn’t have a Division I football team, so basketball is the main sports on campus.

“There are no other sports that bring in all kinds of people,” he said. “The basketball team should be pretty exciting.”

And the school is three hours away from Apple Valley—close enough so his friends and family can watch him play, but still far enough away to start living as an adult.

“It will be nice that my mom can come and watch games,” King said.

King admits that he is still learning about the Bulldogs’ program; the team finished 13-18 last season, but lost only one senior and should be much improved this upcoming year. Drake assistant coach Brett Nelson watched King play Wednesday at Bloomington Jefferson.

“They are totally behind me 100 percent,” King said.

With his recruitment over, King is focusing on having a big senior season for the Lightning. He and his teammates have already been busy this summer.

“We played five tournaments over this summer,” he said. “We want to make a run in the state.”

King said the Lightning’s early exit from the postseason this past year will be a big motivating factor; the Lightning lost to Lakeville South 56-50 in the Section 3AAAA semifinals.

“We were definitely upset our season was cut short,” said King. “We did not expect to lose in the section tournament, but once it happened, we just had a sour taste in our mouths. We are really making a push this year and getting better over the summer.”