UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 7, 2007 ?C Penn State coach Ed DeChellis announced the signing of Schyler King (El Paso, Texas) to a National Letter of Intent today. King, a 6-6, 197-pound forward out of Tyler Junior College (Texas), fills the Nittany Lions one remaining scholarship for 2007-08 and completes a class of four new players that will join the Lions next season.
??We are excited to have Schyler join our program,?? DeChellis said. ??He is a long and athletic player who fits very nicely with what we want to try to do on the floor and the type of players we have been adding to our program. He is an excellent perimeter shooter, is very active and has the type of athleticism we are looking for to guard on the perimeter and get up and down the floor.??
A two-year player at Tyler, King joins fellow junior college transfer Stanley Pringle (6-1, Pasco Hernando CC), who also signed in the late period, and freshmen Talor Battle (5-11, Albany, N.Y.) and Jeff Brooks (6-8, Louisville, Ky.), both early period signees, in completing Penn State??s 2007-08 recruiting class. They are joined by red-shirt freshmen David ??D.J.?? Jackson (6-6, Farrell, Pa.) and Andrew Jones (6-8, Philadelphia, Pa.) to give the Nittany Lions six new players who could contribute in 2007-08.
??Schyler has just scratched the surface of how good he is going to be,?? Tyler coach Mike Marquis said. ??He grew two inches and added 20 pounds since he arrived here and he??s a real young kid ?C he??ll just be 19 next fall. He??s a great kid, a good student, has a real good personality and comes from a strong family background.??
King averaged 10.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game for a Tyler team that posted an 18-12 record in 2006-07. He made 54 three pointers on the year while shooting 35.8 percent from three and 44 percent from the floor. He had a pair of career high 21-point outings last season and recorded a double-double in eight of his last 12 games.
??He was really just starting to come on at the end of last year,?? Marquis said. ??He shoots the ball with good range, has a quick shot and uses his length real well. We play a pretty disciplined style here, so I think he??ll make a good transition to that level. I know he really enjoyed his visit and the coaches and the team members, so I look for him to fit in real well.??
The son of a retired army colonel, King earned first team All-District and All-City honors in high school where he played the center position for Andress High School in El Paso, Texas.
Penn State returns four starters and its top three scorers and rebounders in 2007-08, including two-time All-Big Ten selection Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley, the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.