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Five-star 2016 small forward commits to Louisville

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Nike/D1Circuit.com

Having put together a quality 2015 recruiting class bolstered by the addition of graduate students Trey Lewis and Damion Lee, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino landed his first commitment in the Class of 2016 Friday afternoon. Five-star small forward V.J. King announced that he’ll play his college basketball at Louisville, picking the Cardinals over Kentucky, UConn, Virginia and Arizona.

The addition of the 6-foot-7 King will help Louisville at a position where they’ll lose Lee at the end of the 2015-16 season, with the Ohio native joining current freshman Deng Adel at the small forward position. King, who attends Paul VI Catholic in Fairfax, Virginia, officially visited Louisville and UConn in May.

King’s played his grassroots basketball with the Team Takeover program this spring, averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in Nike EYBL action. The point man on King’s recruitment was assistant Kenny Johnson, who prior to moving to the college ranks was assistant director and head of travel and logistics for the Team Takeover program for six years.

“V.J. King is a great grab for Louisville because he’s a natural wing scorer with good ball skills and ability,” NBC Sports recruiting insider Scott Phillips said of King. “King has good natural size for the position and can score in a variety of different ways. Coming off of a strong spring, he’s a likely All-American.”