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The Minnesota Golden Gophers endured a terrible 2015-16 season, but despite this, Joey King continued to perform and lead the Gophers. With his senior year now in the books, the questions being asked are not about leading a youthful group anymore. The questions are now about if he's done enough to improve his draft stock.
Well, there's a saying that statistics don't tell the whole story and in his case this is also the truth.
King is known for his passionate play and undeniable effort on the court which is something flourishing in today's NBA. Guys like Draymond Green, Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard and Goran Dragic are known for their passionate play, so it can translate to the NBA.
Obviously the biggest knock when mentioning him with these other guys is that there's a drastic talent level discrepancy. Yes, from a pure talent standpoint, he lacks the enticing quality of many other prospects, but this skill is a necessity which could potentially sway a team to take a chance on him.
Once draft season is underway, the word "intangibles" is mentioned a lot when discussing prospects and with a guy like King it's one of his best strengths that cannot go unnoticed.
Now let's backtrack, I know earlier I said there's a saying of statistics not telling the whole story, but they do matter in terms of draft projections because in most mock drafts he's not in them.
Here are his career statistics per ESPN:
The senior forward played in 29 of 31 games during this season and started 19 of those games. He also missed the last two games due to a right foot fracture.
Though at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds, he has the ability to stretch the floor because of his ability to shoot the ball from deep, being a career.398 three-point percentage shooter in his Minnesota career.
For a guy who didn't have a standout season, an NBA Scouting Combine participant opportunity would've helped, but he was not on the list once the NBA released it.
The biggest highlight of his season was the upset victory against the Maryland Terrapins and it also happened to be a moment were everyone got to witness who he is as a player during his post-game interview.
King will forever be in Minnesota basketball lore, but as for his chances of getting selected during the two rounds of next week's draft, they are slim to none.
Draft Projection: Undrafted free agent