9401110394
DETROIT FREE PRESS
940324
Thursday, March 24, 1994
METRO FINAL
1C
MITCH ALBOM
1994 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Copyright (c) 1994, Detroit Free Press
WHY HASN'T KING RAISED HIS GAME?
At the moment, his parents are more famous than he is. They were all over
CBS-TV during Saturday night's game against Texas, rolling their eyes, shaking
their heads, fainting, reviving themselves, praying, covering their faces
when their son shot free throws and slumping in their seats each time he
missed. It was the semaphore of parenthood -- anyone who has ever suffered
through a school play or Little League knows the feeling -- and Nyoka and
Jimmy King Sr. were putting on a clinic.
Which is fine by Jimmy King. His parents have the right to outshine him now
and then.
A bigger concern is other college basketball players. Why did so many of
them outshine Jimmy King this year? He was nowhere to be found on the
post-season All-America lists, or, for that matter, the All-Big Ten lists.
Strange, for if any player in the Michigan area was expected to leap above the
rim of stardom this year, it was King -- and only partly because he has been
leaping like a grasshopper since his childhood in Plano, Texas.
Back then, he made friends take his picture as he dunked on a baby rim in
the driveway. King studied those pictures. Saw what he was doing. When his
body sprouted to its pogo stick, 6-foot, 5-inch frame, he already was mentally
ready for life in the air. It came naturally.
Those kind of smarts, and that kind of physical ability, were why people
figured King would chew up the void left by Chris Webber, pile on the points,
take over the excitement, grow into the Fab Four spotlight even more than
Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard who, as superstars, had less distance to go.
It hasn't happened.
"I'm not the top option," King says, shrugging. "I wasn't in my freshman
or sophomore year, and I'm not now.
"This is a team game. But some people have to sacrifice more than others."
A lot of theories
King says this as he is sprawled in a recruiting lounge couch. It has been
noted, quite righty, that Jimmy King never met a couch he couldn't fit. So
natural is his melt into the cushions -- feet up, head back, arms out -- that
you almost think it's his natural posture.
But has he been too willing to contour his basketball to the frame of the
team? Is it, as he says, a matter of "not having any plays called for me. I
could count on one hand the number that we've run. We go to Jalen and Juwan
first, I'm supposed to make it up as I go . . .
"Am I disappionted? A little. But that's Coach's decision. Whatever he
says."
Interesting. But is it true? Or is it, as Steve Fisher says, a case of King
"suffering more than any other player from the loss of Chris Webber. When
Chris was here, Jimmy got three or four dunks a game, because Chris grabbed a
rebound and there was Jimmy on a breakaway.
"And those shots gave him confidence in the rest of his game. He's like
anyone else, if he makes a few baskets, he's a lot more confident."
And King does seem less confident this year. Last season, in addition to
shooting better and averaging more rebounds, King was U-M's Miracle Man in
the tournament, saving the team with gutsy, heads-up plays in the final
seconds. This season, he disappeared in the first big game, against Duke,
making just two shots.
He never fully came back.
King even went to Fisher at one point and said he couldn't understand why
his shot wasn't falling. What was he doing wrong? His accuracy from the floor
-- especially in the Big Ten -- was down considerably from last year. And
fans have still not forgiven his ill-advised three-point attempt with 15
seconds on the shot clock against Purdue. It missed badly.
"You know what happens," Fisher says, "as soon as you wonder about your
shot, you got 100 people telling you what you should do. Then, you can really
get confused . . .
"Jimmy's done a nice job. But like everyone, he needs to do better."
Wait till next year
In some ways, this was inevitable with the Fab Five. They were all huge
stars in high school. King -- like Rose, Howard and Webber -- was one of the
top 10 recruits in the nation his senior year. But when they all got to
Michigan, there was still only one ball. Webber did the most with it the first
two years. Howard is doing it now, followed closely by Rose.
King and Ray Jackson already have resigned themselves to waiting. "Senior
year, I figure I may have to lead the team," King says.
He pauses and grins. "Of course, if we keep winning, everything will take
care of itself."
In another program, as the focus, Jimmy King might average more than 20
points a game. He did that back in high school, and Friday night, King comes
home. It would be fitting if he stepped up his game in front of the old Texas
audience, which will include his folks and about every childhood friend he
has.
Meanwhile, his season is a mystery. He admits to "thinking too much" this
year, worrying about misses and turnovers. And yet, last game, against Texas,
King blew free throws because he didn't think enough. "When I concetrated, I
made my last five straight."
Too much thinking? Not enough thinking? Whatever. If there's a switch he can
throw to get back to his own excellence, Jimmy King should throw it now.
It would improve Michigan's chances.
And make life a lot easier for his parents.