A rising King — Jakeem draws on brotherly inspiration to shine on basketball courts

SINCE age two, when he saw his uncle Kushiah King rise high above the rim to complete a slam dunk, Jakeem King has been fascinated with the sport of basketball and the art of getting the ball into the hoop.

Though not tall enough to execute high-flying dunks like his uncle just yet, Jakeem, a 12-year-old Form One student at Fatima College, is steadily making a name for himself across the hard courts of Trinidad as a rising basketball talent and has also made his way into his school’s under-17 team for the ongoing RBC Royal Slam College Basketball competition.

For the Belmont boy, one of his driving forces is to emulate and even surpass the exploits of his elder brother Jedaiah King, 18, who currently features as a captain for Fatima’s first teams in basketball and the premier division of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL).

Jakeem also dabbles in football, and had the small matter of a north zone Form One knockout semifinal to run off to after his chat with Newsday at the school’s library on November 6.

On first interaction, Jakeem cuts a quiet and shy figure. However, once he opens up on the basketball game he loves dearly, he sounds like a seasoned pro who has already experienced the ups and downs of intense playoff matches. After all, he’s been playing the game since the age of two and was able to dribble two basketballs simultaneously with steady control just two years later.

“It’s just about having fun,” Jakeem said, with a cheeky smile, when asked what he likes most about basketball.

“I would be watching my uncle’s games and I felt the sport was fun so I wanted to try it...there was this one game where I saw him (Kushiah) dunk and I was like ‘how he do that?’ I want to do that. I thought it looked really good.”

Jakeem plays the point guard position and has already gained popularity on the local basketball circuit as he is known as “Baby Curry,” a reference to Golden State Warriors superstar and four-time NBA champion Steph Curry. Fittingly, Curry is Jakeem’s favourite player and it’s no surprise that Golden State Warriors is also his basketball team of choice.

“People from football call me by first name, but everybody else does call me Baby Curry,” he said. “I’ve got used to it (the name) now but I didn’t really understand it at first.”

Just last month, Jakeem gave a glimpse of what could be a very bright future when he lit up the Royal Slam tournament with impressive numbers of 17 points, ten steals and six assists as Fatima got a facile 92-36 win over St Francis Boys’ College in preliminary-round play.

“I’m not not accustomed to having such high stats but it was a pleasure to have it,” Jakeem said, of his showing against St Francis.

When asked if he was intimidated by playing against bigger and older opponents, he said, “It was normal because before this tournament, I was playing in the north zone basketball competition in the under-17 age group with my team Royal Basketball Academy as well.”

The budding playmaker later explained his thought process when confronted by a bigger defender on the perimeter.

“It depends. If I find they’re slower than me, I’ll blow past them and dish it out to one of my teammates. But if they’re faster than me, I’ll pass the ball, and while the ball is moving around, I’m moving around too to get a free shot.”

That kind of court vision and understanding doesn’t come overnight. Jakeem would have honed these types of plays at home in his free time when he’s not playing football, video games or breaking down fractions in his favourite subject Mathematics. Credit must go to the Royal Basketball Academy as well, a club which was founded by his grandfather Cleveland King, one of Jakeem’s biggest supporters. His grandmother Kathy-Ann and dad Cleveland Jr are also often in his corner cheering for the next three-pointer or defence-splitting pass.

“(My drive) comes from working hard when nobody is watching. So while you’re home just kick a ball or pick up a ball and throw it in the sky and catch it. Pass it against the wall.”

The love for sports runs in the King family. And although Jakeem’s dad is more drawn to the national instrument, the steelpan, the youngster doesn’t have to look far for sporting inspiration as Kushiah has represented TT’s deaf national basketball and futsal teams, while another uncle, Hakeem King, has been a fixture for the national beach soccer team for a number of years.

And of course, there’s the ongoing sibling rivalry with Jedaiah.

“I get confidence from watching (Jedaiah) do all them things, I feel as though I have to be better than him.”

To date, Jakeem said his most memorable moment came in the Basketball Fiesta tourney which was held in July, as he was fouled while hitting a buzzer-beating three at the half for his Royalty team. Beating the buzzer wasn’t enough, as Jakeem dusted off himself to complete the four-point play at the free throw line. He was named MVP of the under-13 division and was adjudged the most impactful player in the under-15 division, with Royalty taking the boys’ under-11 and under-13 crowns to go along with the girls’ under-19 title.

This weekend, Jakeem had a chance to add to those accolades as he was set to feature in the semis of the Royal Slam tournament with Fatima in a matchup with Presentation College San Fernando.

Before the interview wrapped up, he left a bit of advice for his peers.

“Stay committed. But don’t over-commit because then you will fall back in your schoolwork ad you wouldn’t be able to have fun playing basketball, football or whatever sport you like.”