The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

AFTER playing sparingly as a reserve for the past three seasons with the Creighton Bluejays, Fredrick King is heading to Murray State where he’s expected to play a more pivotal role with the Racers men’s basketball team.

Acquired on Monday from the transfer portal, the 6-nine, 9-inch centre from Mangrove Cay, Andros, will join the Racers for the 2025-26 season as he reunites with newly hired head coach Ryan Miller.

Miller was an assistant coach with the Bluejays during King’s three seasons there. He now becomes Murray State’s 18th head coach and is excited to have King on his roster. 

“Having coached him at Creighton, I know firsthand the energy, athleticism, and competitive spirit Fred brings to the court,” Miller said. 

While at Creighton, King played a backup role to two-time All-America centre Ryan Kalkbrenner, one of the best big men in college basketball.

In addition to King, Miller also signed 6-4 guard Ben Shtolzberg from Cal Santa Barbara. But he said he really likes the physicality that King brings to the Racers as he welcomed him to Murray State.

“His experience guarding and learning from a player like Ryan Kalkbrenner, combined with his efficiency when given minutes, makes him a versatile big man who can impact both ends of the floor,” Miller stated.

In playing more than 15 minutes per game, King shot 64% from the field, while averaging 10.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks, proving his ability to dominate the paint and protect the rim.

With those stats, Miller said King is “ready to take on a bigger role here at Murray State, and this is a significant step in building our program.” 

During his freshman year in 2022-23 season, King was honored as BIG EAST Player of the week after a pair of double-double performances against Arizona State and Marquette where he combined for 32 points (16-of-19 FG) with 21 rebounds. 

Last November, he made a start against Notre Dame, played a career-high 26 minutes and put up 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds and four blocked shots. 

As the first Bahamian development player at the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico, King went to the Bluejays where he emerged as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022 where he had some big games in 2021 and averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds over three contests.

He actually didn’t start playing basketball until he was 14. But his size was what made a difference in his transformation as he now possesses a widespan of 7-1. 

A former player with the CI Gibson Rattlers and coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson, King is the son of Carson and Pamela Lundy and a brother to his siblings Jade, Amelia, Celeste and Shamell.

While he became the biggest name from The Bahamas to move on so far, there are a number of other players who hope to follow King in the transfer portal, which gives them the option to sign with another programme without losing their eligibility, or to remain with their current team.

Among the others are guard Zion Richardson from Cal State; forward Roman Dean from Fordham; forward Rhema Collins from Ole Miss with Bahamian coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin; Jada Miles, a guard at James Madison and Veronaye Charlton, a guard from Noeth Alabama.