2019 star Elias King decides to stay home, commits to the Dawgs

Georgia basketball's recent commitment from five-star point guard Ashton Hagans certainly raised hope for how the 2019 class may look for the Bulldogs.

Wednesday, Mark Fox took another step in raising the bar and the expectations, picking up a commitment from four-star small forward Elias King, the nation's No. 41 overall player in 2019.

“I didn’t know I was going to commit today. I just wanted to get it out of the way. I was on the phone with the Georgia guys all day with my parents and they said they were coming to my game,” King said. “Coach Fox and Coach Hayes came to the game and I played well, so I decided to commit after the game.”

King, who played briefly in West Virginia before returning to his home at Snellville's Shiloh High School, was swayed by Georgia from the top down.

“Coach (Philip) Pearson had a big role because he was the main one recruiting me. Jonas Hayes recruited me too, but it was really Coach Pearson and Coach Fox,” King said. “They’ve come to my games and I feel comfortable with them. They don’t really talk about basketball with me. They talked about how a degree at Georgia would help me my whole life. Their business school is great, which is what I want. It’s a family there.”

As for his fit with the team, the 6-foot-6, 180-pound junior believes the Bulldogs can take his game to the next level.

“It was at the Georgia Tech game when I started to lean towards going to Georgia,” King said. “Hearing Ashton (Hagans)?helped push me a little bit, but I was already feeling Georgia before that.”

So, what are the Bulldogs getting? McDonald, a national basketball analyst for Rivals, offered his thoughts.

"Elias is a long, athletic win at about 6-foot-8 after a recent growth spurt," he said. "He has a smooth jump shot and can also make plays off the dribble. He has as much upside as any wing Mark Fox has signed outside of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope."