King of the Court: Jordan King’s Spider debut one to remember

Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated Siena College's mascots were the bulldogs. Siena College's mascots are the Saints. 

Few could imagine having a better season debut than University of Richmond graduate guard Jordan King did against the Virginia Military Institute Nov. 6. 

In fact, when you have the coach of the school you just beat by 18 points praising your ability to score, you know your performance was one to remember. 

“[King’s] never met a shot that he didn’t like,” VMI Head Coach Andrew Wilson said in the postgame press conference, following the Keydets’ loss to the Spiders. “He can shoot it from the perimeter, he can attack you off the dribble, he can finish at the rim. He can do it all and he’s a really challenging matchup.”

Wilson saw plenty of King’s style of play last season, as before King joined the Spiders, he played at East Tennessee State University for two years— a school in the same conference as VMI.  

“I’m just glad we don’t have to see [King] again,” Wilson said. “He was as talented as a guard as there was in the Southern Conference last year.” 

In his first time ever lacing up for the Spiders, taking to Dick Tarrant Court in the Robins Center in front of over 5,000 people, King scored 34 points on 11 of 18 shooting and made 6 3-pointers at a 50% clip. 

King said his mom, who made the trip down from New York, was at the game and that her presence gave him the boost of energy he needed.

“And if she can get down here, that means the world to me,” King said. “And I just found my rhythm early. Got to the layup for my first bucket and I just felt like the rim got bigger and bigger ever since and then once I started playing.”

After that first layup, which happened to be an and-one play, King was off and running. His next score was also an and-one, but it turned into a 4-point play, as he was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. 

In the blink of an eye, not even four minutes into the first half, King had already scored 7 points.

“When I first stepped into the Robins Center and actually saw people in there, it’s all you could ever ask for,” King said. “So many people showed up and the fans were really into the game. They just gave us all the energy in the world to go out there and get a win.”

The Spiders ended the game ahead of the Keydets 93-75. King only played 24 minutes. 

UR Head Coach Chris Mooney said in the postgame press conference that King’s play was spectacular, adding that King set the tone for the Spiders. 

When King entered the transfer portal, he said Mooney told him about the great guards who had played at UR in the past. 

“And I kind of just felt like I could be the next one,” King said. “But, I just want to come here and play hard and compete and that’s what I want to do at the end of the day. Just trying to win basketball games and play as hard as I can, and hopefully I’ll leave a good mark here.” 

King is one of three new transfers the Spiders acquired in the portal leading up to the 2023-2024 season. The other two, senior guard DeLonnie Hunt and graduate forward Tyler Harris, transferred from Wagner College and Western Carolina University, respectively. 

“[Hunt] and [Harris] are in the same boat — they’re also transfers as well,” King said, “but we learned the system fast and became a great group of friends and great group of guys really fast. And I think we just gel together.”

In the past, UR has been defined by its players staying with the program for four, five or even six years in some cases. In fact, the UR team that made the Atlantic 10 Championship run in 2022 was headlined by five and six year players like Jacob Gilyard, Nathan Cayo, Grant Golden and Nick Sherod. 

However, just in the past year or so, with the transfer portal gaining more traction in collegiate athletics, UR has had players come into the program from other schools. Last season, it was now-junior guard Jason Roche and now-graduate center Neal Quinn and forward Zae Bigelow. 

“It’s definitely a different process,” King said. “You gotta go from one school to another and you have to learn all the things. But the guys here made it easy. Neal Quinn, Zae Bigelow, they took me in, they showed me the way, their leadership, and it was easy to just start getting everything down.”

King began his collegiate career at Siena College, whom the Spiders coincidentally play against in their second game of the season Nov. 11 at the Robins Center. At Siena, King averaged 4.7 points per game his first year and 12.2 points per game his sophomore year. 

After two years, King transferred to ETSU, where in two seasons with the Buccaneers, he averaged 14.6 points per game and 15.6 points per game, respectively. King also made the Third Team All-Southern Conference in both his junior and senior year at ETSU. 

Having entered the transfer portal following his senior year, King ultimately chose the Spiders as his final collegiate destination. 

“When I stepped on campus, it just felt like home,” King said. “Everybody in the community was welcoming, coaching staff was welcoming, the team was welcoming. And Coach Mooney was one of the best coaches that recruited me while I was in the portal. I just fell in love with the environment here and the Robins Center is beautiful.” 

Now at UR, with just one game as a Spider under his belt, King has already established himself as the Spiders’ floor general — a guard who will push the offense and impact the game with his scoring. 

After a less than ideal season for the program last year, finishing 15-18 with a second-round exit in the A-10 Tournament, the Spiders will lean on him and other fellow graduate students and transfers to get back to a level to compete for an A-10 championship. 

“Hopefully we can just build off that win that we just got,” King said. “Obviously, we have some things to learn, some things to go over as a team, but we’re just trying to perfect our craft so that we can win many more games.”

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.