Prospect Spotlight: Kalib LaCount 2022
It was anything but a normal season for the King/Drew boys basketball team. The regular season didn’t start until May, and with a few Coliseum League teams such as Dorsey and Fremont opting out of the season, the Golden Eagles…
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Continue ReadingIt was anything but a normal season for the King/Drew boys basketball team. The regular season didn’t start until May, and with a few Coliseum League teams such as Dorsey and Fremont opting out of the season, the Golden Eagles were only able to get in a handful of games.
They did find some major success, however, going undefeated in the season games they did end up playing, and a big part of their success was powered by junior point guard Kalib LaCount.
LaCount’s growth and development this season began during the months leading up to spring. With high school basketball largely shut down and coaches unable to gather with their team for workouts, players were largely on their own in terms of practice and getting better.
LaCount used that time to work on his game and he was a regular standout during the Hoops 2.0 events during the winter and early spring.
“I’ve been doing little stuff at home. I’m thankful that I have a gym that I can go to and still workout in,” LaCount told Prep Hoops. “I’ve been working on my shooting, my ball-handling, and just my overall IQ. I’m getting better at everything pretty much.”
And all that work seems to have paid off in a big way. LaCount has been the floor leader for King/Drew. He’s had some huge scoring games his season including a 53 point outburst against Arcadia on May 15.
He may be small, but he plays much bigger than his size. He routinely attacks the rim and puts pressure on the defense with his slashing game. He’s not afraid to challenge bigger defenders and he can also be found crashing the glass against big men.
While he has become a prolific scorer, one of the major strengths of his game is his playmaking ability. He quarterbacks the Golden Eagles and can run the offense to perfection. He’s very unselfish and can find the open teammate while handling defensive pressure. There’s a reason why the team has been one of the best in Los Angeles City Section this year.
“I make everybody better, I think I do that best,” LaCount said. “I’m just a dog. I always want to win so I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. If that’s defense, offense, whatever you need me to be, I’m pretty much that guy.”
A big part of LaCount’s development over the years has come from his participation with Compton Magic, one of the premier AAU organizations in not only the state of California but in the country.
A lot of talented players who have gone on to play college basketball and even on to professional opportunities such as the NBA and overseas got their start with Compton Magic. LaCount credits his coaches with the organization with being upfront with him about what he needed to do to improve his game.
“They critiqued my game and they just told me what I have to do better. I’m already a smaller guard,” LaCount said. “They helped me, they just kept it real with me. I just had to take it to the chest.”
LaCount, along with his teammates, has been part of a driving force behind the resurgence of LA City Section teams. There was a time when the teams who now comprise the Coliseum League were the best of the best when it came to high school basketball in Southern California.
Those teams had fallen off over the years for various reasons, many of those out of the players’ control, but they’re coming back with a vengeance. King/Drew is a relative newcomer on the inner city LA basketball scene, and they’ve joined traditional powers like Crenshaw and Washington Prep as up-and-coming forces to be reckoned with.
LaCount is confident that with each game, he and his teammates are proving that they’re not a team to be taken lightly.
“We’re inner city so they don’t respect us as much,” LaCount said. “We’ve got to gain that respect. That’s the only way to get that respect is by showing them.”
And with King/Drew poised to make a strong run in CIF playoffs, LaCount is very clear about what his goal is.
“I want a ring,” LaCount said. “I haven’t gotten any ring yet or anything, I really want a ring,”