Casteel High School's 6-foot-5, 180-pound junior guard/forward Amare King emerged this past season as one of the better looking prospects in the 2025 Class, and was relied on heavily this high school season to lead Casteel to a strong finish. King had a good junior season for himself, and has now continued his strong play on the club circuit with a talented AZ Select Team that has had very good success on the UAA Circuit. As a result, King has reeled in several offers for himself as of late, and has seen his college recruitment transform and now reach new heights, and quickly.
The AZ Select 17U Elite UAA-sponsored team this spring is absolutely loaded with talent from top to bottom, and has had a very good performance this spring on the club circuit. As a result of the team's performance throughout the spring, especially over the one weekend known as the NCAA Evaluation Period (May 17-19), many of the program's players are receiving loads of offers. King is one of them, as he went from no Division-I offers to several Division-I offers in several days, after his strong performance with the AZ Select in Ohio during Session II of the UAA circuit.
King's play during UAA's Session II resulted in several offers being extended to the gifted and versatile prospect. King has now received offers from Siena, UMKC and Northern Arizona.
This fact should only benefit King in his future college recruitment, as having several offers on the table should help to generate more recruiting interest for King. In today's difficult recruiting climate, that may or not be the case anymore, but King is in a good recruiting environment with the AZ Select, and he is also involved with club organizer John Ortega, who is the best in the business at getting his players off the recruiting board and also marketing his athletes.
King is among the state's most versatile prospects, as he was able to play all over the floor this season for Head Coach Aaron Windler and his staff. Amare is the son of a longtime successful coach, who is also Casteel's assistant coach, Commander King. Amare has been around the game at a high level all of his life. As a result, King has a very good feel and understanding of the game.
Last high school season, King played a very versatile role for his Casteel team, that had a very good season together - finishing with a 22-8 record on the season in the state's 5A Division. Alongside his teammate, 6-foot-2 senior guard Aidan Schmidt (Pima CC signee), King and Schmidt became one of the state's best one-two punches - leading Casteel to this year's McClintock Holiday Shootout Tournament Championship. King averaged very good and versatile numbers as a junior - 15.8 points, 4.2 assists, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks per/contest. King is one of the best overall stat sheet stuffers in the state, as he does it all as a player.
As I stated during the high school season, King is a superb talent for many college programs to take a very hard look at. While Division-I coaches are definitely focusing on the NCAA Transfer Portal for their current college recruitment, King as a high school prospect, has the size and versatility as a player to receive serious D-I college interest. Only time will tell how many different D-I college coaches will pursue him as a college prospect, but he is definitely worthy of the attention. The Section 7 Event in June will certainly boost his college recruitment, and the continued success of his AZ Select 17U UAA program in July will also definitely help him in this department.
This is a very good prospect for college programs at many different levels to begin to recruit and follow, as he is still currently a very good sleeper prospect in the 2025 class.
I will continue to follow King's college recruitment closely this summer, and look to bring you more recruiting updates for him as they begin to develop over time.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: King has very good size and a fundamentally sound offensive skillset. He is a good ball handler and passer from the guard position, and likes to have the basketball in his hands. He is an effective scorer that can make shots from the perimeter, but still needs to be more consistent from longer ranges to open up his mid-range jump shot, and ability to make plays off the dribble. He is a good slasher and finisher that has good body control and can finish in traffic and over defenders, at times. He is a good rebounder from the guard position. He is a good all-around prospect with versatility that will only improve over time with continued hard work and improved physical strength, as he continues to mature physically. King is definitely now considered by myself and our staff among the best prospects in Arizona's 2025 Class, and he should move up in our next player rankings for the class.
