With Memphis Hoopfest performances, Bartlett's R'Chaun King reminds why he came back home
R’Chaun King came back to Memphis for moments like Friday night.
To play in a packed gym, showcasing the talent Memphis has to offer. Friday night’s game between Bartlett and Cordova pitted two of the area’s top teams against each other in Memphis Hoopfest at Bartlett High School.
And King didn’t disappoint.
He scored 23 points and led Bartlett (16-2, 2-1) to a come-from-behind overtime win over the Wolves, 63-60.
As sweet as it was to hand Cordova (16-1, 2-1) its first loss of the season, in a District 15-4A game no less, King's performance iced the cake.
"My teammates really trust me,” said King, a 6-foot-6 Arkansas State signee. “I know I had a rough game last game so I had to bring some type of energy this game to get us going.”
It’s one of the many reasons Bartlett coach Dion Real was happy King chose the Panthers when he transferred back to the Bluff City after spending his junior season at Link Academy, which won a GEICO Nationals championship last season.
"He’s played in big games before so it wasn’t one of those things where he couldn’t get it done,” Real said.
“It’s really one of those things where that’s what he’s been doing,” Real added. “It was kind of magnified with a great atmosphere, but that’s what he’s been doing for the most part of the year.”
As good as King played, he didn’t rate Friday’s game any higher than any other top performance this season. For King, it’s not just about playing well one game. It’s about doing it consistently. And winning, too.
"It was all right, I would say,” King said. “I need more like that or even better to get to state. ... I just expect more out of myself.”
King scored 21 points in a double-double in Saturday’s 68-52 loss to AZ Compass Prep in the final game of Memphis Hoopfest on Saturday. It was Bartlett’s second loss in the last two weeks – the Panthers’ only losses of the season.
When King came back to Memphis, he wanted to prove he was still as talented as he was when his recruiting started getting attention during his freshman season at Memphis University School.
And in the last two games, win or lose, he proved that's the case.
"I’m a dog and that I can still hold it down in the paint,” King said.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Bartlett's R'Chaun King is proving why he wanted to come back to Memphis
