Kingsley bringing more than his size

Mike Anderson
Mike Anderson

— Arkansas men’s basketball Coach Mike Anderson said the Razorbacks needed size in this year’s recruiting class, and helped fill that need Thursday by signing center Moses Kingsley of Huntington Prep during a ceremony in Huntington, W.Va.

Kingsley, 6-10, 220 pounds, chose the Hogs over approximately 20 scholarship offers, including ones from Louisville, Ole Miss, Memphis, Florida and North Carolina State.

“First of all, I want to thank God for coming here,” said Kingsley, who played for the AAU Arkansas Wings the past two years after moving to the United States by himself from Nigeria. “This was one of my dreams. It took a long ways to get here, but I thank God I picked Arkansas.”

Kingsley, who averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and 7 block shots per game while playing at New Albany(Miss.) High School last year, is considered one of the top defenders and shot blockers in the 2013 class.

“Obviously, we talked about size and that is something that we had to address,” Anderson said. “But size is not the only answer. You want size that can play, and I think he is one of those guys that will develop and I think really become a force.

“Right now defensively, he is probably ahead of his offense from the standpoint that he is a gifted shot blocker, is long, athletic, rebounds the ball, runs the floor, just very active. ... He has got that hunger to want to become a player. You could just see over the last two years each time I got a chance to watch him, his development had come on.”

Anderson said Kingsley is “a high-character kid - yes sir, no sir. He wants to be a good player, he wants to be a good person and he wants to be a good teammate. I think he is a winner on and off the floor, and I think it is a great addition to our team.”

Kingsley said he was lured to Arkansas by Anderson, his staff ’s vision of winning a national championship and the team’s family atmosphere.

“That’s the same dream I have,” said Kingsley, who’s rated the No. 49 prospect in the nation by ESPN. “He’s [Anderson] is kind of like a dad to me. I believe it will be a family relationship when I get there.”

Information for this article was contributed by Bob Holt of the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette.

Sports, Pages 23 on 11/16/2012

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