CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball program and head coach Todd Simon have announced the signing of Kingsley Box, a guard from Australia.
"We are excited to have Kingsley part of our program," Simon said. "He is a big guard that can really shoot and score the basketball. His energy and effort combined with his basketball IQ made him a great fit for us. He's got a bright future as a Thunderbird."
Box was selected to the 2019 U20 Victorian State team, where he led the squad in scoring by averaging 15.3 points per game. That number put him in the top-10 at the tournament in terms of putting up points. During that tournament, he also had a 34 point performance against New South Wales.
He was selected to the NBL1, and suited up for the Southern Sabres. While playing for them, he averaged 11 ppg and shot 45 percent from the floor.
"Kingsley is one of the highest rated scorers coming out of Australia," said Matt Nunn, Box's U18 Victorian Championship Coach. "He shoots the three ball exceptionally well and has a deadly pull up game."
With his high school team at Flinders College, he averaged 35 ppg and shot 40 percent from behind the three-point line at the school national championships.
In 2018 he led his U18 club team to a Victoria State Title. While playing for Sandringham, he averaged 18 ppg, 5.9 rebounds per game and shot 55 percent from the field.
"Kinglsley was a dominant competitor at Australian National School boys in 2019, and really jumped on AUSA's radar as a high level prospect," said Timothy Kovacevic, head of recruiting for AUSA Hoops Australia. "Kingsley has NBA range on his shot and showed great touch around the hoop with the ability to finish above the rim with aggression. He uses his size and length well and has a great feel for the ball on the offensive end of the court."
Box will join Yuat Alok (New Zealand), Jarryd Hoppo (Australia), Ivan Madunic (Croatia), Kneyuoe Ondaan (Netherlands) and Jason Spurgin (Australia) as international Thunderbirds on the 2020-21 roster that have chosen to make Cedar City their home. In total, the Thunderbirds have now welcomed eleven international players from eight different countries to the Southern Utah campus during Simon's tenure.
"He has a very bright future at Southern Utah under coach Simon and a great staff," Kovacevic continued. "Kingsley is a credit to the success of the Australian basketball system and we, at AUSA, wish him the best of luck."
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