Senior Phillip King is poised to make his season debut this Friday at home against Terre Haute North. He has been held out thus far due to a fractured tibia sustained during football season. King was the starting point guard for the Panthers the past two seasons, averaging 7.3 points per game and leading the team in assists (4.4) as a junior.
“I’m extremely excited to be on court with my teammates, and I’m hoping to do whatever I can to help the team,” King said.
In King’s absence, the Panthers have relied heavily on senior Chris Bomba, sophomore Noah Jager and freshman Connor Hickman. Jager has started at the point guard position in every game to date this year and has proved to be an extremely solid distributor, so King may find himself adjusting to a new role on the team. However, King is more than willing to work to find the best fit for him in the new system: “(Jager) has done a great job this year at the point, so I see him staying there and me playing an off-guard position when he’s in.”
King’s teammates are just as excited for him to be back. “Phil and I have been playing together since about 6th grade, so it’s been a while since I’ve played without him this long, and it feels good knowing he’s gonna be back,” senior Chance Coyle said.
Coyle also agrees with King’s sentiment about sharing ball handling duties with Jager. “It’s going to be great having (King) and Jager on the floor at the same time. They both see the floor well, and Phil is a little bit more of a scoring threat because of his size,” Coyle said.
