King, Ron
(born: 1951)Ron King, a 6'4" shooting guard, was born in Louisville, KY. He played high school ball at Central High School where he scored 44 points in the state title game against Ohio County in 1969 [source: C. L. Brown, "Central High back in the middle of things," Louisville Courier-Journal, 03/18/2008, p.C.1.]. The championship win gave Central High School its first state basketball title and Ron King was selected as Kentucky's Mr. Basketball. He chose Florida State University to play his college ball and scored 35.7 points while on the freshman team 1969-70 [NCAA did not allow freshmen to play on the school's regulation team]. King was an All-American Honorable Mention his sophomore year; he averaged 22.7 points per game. During his junior year, King averaged 17.9 points; he was 1st Team All-American. He took the Florida State University basketball team to their first NCAA Final Four; they lost in the championship game 81-76 to UCLA. In his final year at Florida State, six games into the season, King tore three ligaments in his left ankle when he stepped on another player's foot; he was out for the rest of the season. King was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the 4th round of the 1973 NBA Draft, and he was also selected by the Kentucky Colonels, an ABA team. He chose to play for the Kentucky Colonels and stayed a few months before going to play for the Golden State Warriors for a short period, then left and tried out for a few other teams, including a brief stint in Israel, and a return to the U.S. to play for the Kentucky Stallions before the team folded. Ron King returned to Louisville and became the Youth Director of the California Community Center. In 2005, Ron King's jersey was retired at Florida State University. For more see C. Ray Hall, "Headline: What's up with...? Ron King; Former Central star scores as youth director," Louisville Courier-Journal, 02/02/2004, p.E.1; D. Poore, "Trip to Florida State revived memories for Central's Ron King," Louisville Courier-Journal, 12/28/2009, Section: ZONE; and Ron King at Basketball-Reference.com.