Rhode Island basketball adds another recruit; what he hopes to bring to the Rams

The start of the 2024-25 school year is about a month away and the University of Rhode Island is still filling men’s basketball scholarships.

The Rams received a commitment Tuesday afternoon from 2025 point guard Damone King. He is a Louisville native and will skip a planned preparatory year at Hargrave Military Academy and immediately enroll at URI this fall.

King plans to redshirt and will debut alongside fellow 2025 defensive tackle Barrett Loer. They will serve as backups heading into the 2025-26 season, with the Rams set to lose Albany transfer Sebastian Thomas, Jaden House and, pending a possible medical redshirt, East Carolina transfer Quentin Diboundje.

More: Rhode Island basketball lands 6-4 guard from Massachusetts to fill the gap in the backcourt. Who is he?

King is a Louisville native who made an official visit to campus last week. The 6-foot-10 prospect attended a private clinic at the Ryan Center organized for name, image and likeness donors to the school. King announced he would be renouncing his admission to Hargrave on social media and pledged to URI on his Instagram account a few days later.

King has claimed recent offers from the likes of Atlantic 10 rival Saint Louis, Youngstown State, Charlotte, North Alabama and Stetson. He has received previous offers in his recruiting process from Illinois State, Northern Kentucky, Ohio State and more. King could have seen his stock rise by reclassifying and following a year of preparation—Louisville, BYU, Murray State and Western Kentucky were all in contact at some point.

King played his final high school season at DeSales, an all-boys powerhouse in his hometown. The Colts finished with a 24–10 overall record, won the 22nd District title and reached the Region 6 playoffs. King recorded a team-high 20.0 points per game, ranked second with 5.6 rebounds and compiled an elite shooting line – 50.6% from the field, 40.9% from 3-point range and 87.1% from the foul line.

King played grassroots basketball on the Adidas circuit with Wildcat Select. He returned in July from a season-ending injury with the Colts and impressed at the organization’s event in South Carolina. King shot in double figures in each of his five games, averaging 12.0 points on 21-of-46 shooting.

King and Loer were among several defense targets prioritized by URI during the July live evaluation periods. Arness Lawson, Gabe Tanner, Jalen Harper, KJ Cochran, Adriel Nyorha and Kai Shinholster were among the other guards who claimed offers from the Rams after July 1. URI could now turn its attention to the frontcourt, with 2025 forwards like Javon Perry, James Turner, JJ Kelly, Abdou Yadd — King’s teammate — and Spencer Ahrens among the new names linked to the program.

The Rams are currently on a week-long trip to the Bahamas and opened with a Monday night win over Calgary. URI won, 93-66, in Baha Mar, putting five players in double figures. Western Michigan transfer Javonte Brown had 16 points and nine rebounds, while St. John’s transfer Drissa Traore had 15 points and nine rebounds.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

This article originally appeared in The Providence Journal: Point guard Damone King commits to Rhode Island