Commit Recon - Damone King to Rhode Island

Rhode Island and Archie Miller continue to stack commitments. Last week, Barrett Loer, a skilled 6-5 guard/wing from St. George’s School and the Middlesex Magic. Today, it’s 6-foot-2 guard Damone King from Louisville, Kentucky, who visited last weekend.

King is currently listed as a Class of 2025 recruit, but he’ll re-classify and join the Rams as a redshirt for this 2024-25 season. He’s a slippery quick driver with burst and the ability with added strength to be disruptor defensively. This is a strategic “runway” add, with current point guard Sebastian Thomas set for his last dance this season — and URI will have the ability to bring King along from an experience, strength and conditioning, and overall player dev perspective with the hope he assumes a larger role in his redshirt freshman season.

“I’m originally a Class of ‘24,” King told College Chalktalk. “I was going to do a year at Hargrave Academy but I feel like going to college and redshirting my first year will have me acclimate to the college world. Working on my game, getting stronger, more athletic, learning the system at URI is what I think is best for me.”

Out of Dupont Manual High School in Louisville, 247 Sports ranks King as a solid 3-star recruit, technically a combo guard (although expect Rhody to have more primary ballhandler plans for him).

On campus, he came away impressed with what he observed from practice and this year’s team.

“High intensity practice!”, King said. “I notice it will be a lot to learn as far as the system and concepts. I know we will be pretty good this year — and it’s a very hard working team.”

BYU, Louisville, Ohio, Northern Kentucky and other schools such as Murray State have been linked to King. With a year of maturation under a college program’s developmental wing, Rhode Island and staff have high hopes for him.